It has been a rollercoaster ride for the Indian startup ecosystem in 2024. Far from 2021 when it rained capital left, right and centre, the past three years were a reality check as funding became scarce and valuations slumped.
Despite the extended funding winter, the year 2024 saw a reversal of sorts with more capital trickling into the startup ecosystem as investors began deploying the dry powder accumulated in the past two years.
Investors tilted towards established startups and innovative models in 2024. A case in point was the sharp jump in funding raised by the quick commerce sector.
As a result of renewed investor interest in late stage startups, mega deals (funding deals above $100 Mn) witnessed an uptick. Indian startups raised a cumulative funding of over $5.2 Bn via mega deals in 2024 as against $4.2 Bn through 23 such deals last year.
Giants such as Zomato and Zepto bagged capital in excess of $1 Bn each this year as quick commerce emerged as the flavour of the season, accounting for nearly half of the total amount raised by Indian startups via mega deals.
Meanwhile, segment giants such as PharmEasy, Physics Wallah, Rebel Foods, and Rapido also bagged funding north of $200 Mn each in 2024.
A sector-wise breakdown of the mega deals in 2024 showed that the usual suspects, fintech (with 5 deals) and enterprise tech (4 deals) continued to dominate the charts.
What was also interesting was that the troubled edtech sector cornered two mega deals during the year in the form of Physics Wallah and Eruditus. This indicates that investors are willing to back startups that have sound financials and exhibit a healthy growth path, irrespective of the sector they operate in.
Besides, the obvious sectors with large total addressable markets (TAM) like consumer services (quick commerce), fintech and SaaS grabbed a lot of attention from investors.
With a couple of weeks still to go before 2024 ends, all eyes will be on whether the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem will be able to add a few more mega deals to its kitty. While time will tell that, we at Inc42, as part of the ‘2024 In Review’ series, have collated a list of all the startups that garnered $100+ Mn deals in 2024.
Note: This is not a ranking of any kind and the startups have been listed alphabetically.
Atlan
SaaS platform Atlan raised $105 Mn in its Series C funding round in May 2024, co-led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and Meritech Capital. The fundraise pushed the startup’s post-money valuation to $750 Mn.
The startup gained the confidence of investors on the back of its next-generation platform for data and AI governance.
Founded in 2018 by Prukalpa Sankar and Varun Banka, Atlan enables enterprise teams to collaborate on projects and help create a single source for all data assets on its platform.
The Delhi NCR-based startup has so far raised over $200 Mn across funding rounds. It counts Insight Partners, Waterbridge Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Peak XV Partners, among others, as its investors.
On the financial front, Atlan’s profit after tax (PAT) declined 18.7% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 7.74 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), hurt by higher tax expenses in the previous fiscal year. Operating revenue rose 189.78% YoY to INR 93.83 Cr during the year.
Avanse Financial Services
IPO-bound education-focussed non-banking financial company (NBFC) Avanse Financial Services entered the 2024 mega deal club after it raised a primary capital of INR 1,000 Cr in a round led by Mubadala Investment Company in March 2024.
Founded in 2013, Avanse offers education financing for students and educational institutions in India. It also caters to students looking to study abroad and offers skill-enhancement loans.
The Mumbai-based NBFC has so far raised $332.09 Mn across funding rounds. Its investors include Warburg Pincus, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Kedaara Capital, among others.
In October 2024, the company received the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) nod for an INR 3,500 Cr public listing.
Avanse’s net profit more than doubled YoY to INR 342.4 Cr in FY24, while revenue zoomed 74.5% to INR 1,727 Cr.
BlueStone
Omnichannel jewellery company BlueStone snapped up INR 900 Cr (more than $106 Mn) in a round, which was a mix of primary and secondary transactions, in August 2024. Peak XV Partners, Prosus, Steadview Capital, Think Investments and Pratithi Investments participated in the round, catapulting BlueStone’s valuation to $970 Mn.
The fundraise was followed by BlueStone filing its DRHP with SEBI for its IPO in December. Its public issue will comprise a fresh issue of shares worth INR 1,000 Cr and an offer-for-sale (OFS) component of up to 2.40 Cr equity shares.
Founded in 2011 by Gaurav Singh Kushwaha and Vidya Nataraj, BlueStone offers more than 8,000 designs across rings, pendants, earrings and other products. It has raised nearly $220 Mn to date and counts Accel, Kalaari Capital, Deepinder Goyal, and Nikhil Kamath among its investors.
On the financial front, the jewellery brand’s net loss declined 15% YoY to INR 142.2 Cr in FY24. Operating revenue jumped 64% to INR 1,265.8 Cr during the year.
Drip Capital
Trade financing startup Drip Capital bagged $113 Mn in a mix of debt and equity in September 2024 from GMO Payment Gateway, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), International Financing Corporation (IFC) and East West Bank.
Founded in 2015 by Pushkar Mukewar and Neil Kothari, Drip Capital offers digitised trade financing solutions to small and medium businesses (SMBs) in India, the US, and Mexico. It claims to have collaborations with over 9,000 sellers and buyers across 100+ countries.
It has raised about $408 Mn to date and is backed by investors such as TI Platform, Accel, Peak XV Partners, Wing VC, Irongrey, among others.
Eruditus
Edtech unicorn Eruditus joined the mega deal club after it raised $150 Mn in its Series F round, led by TPG’s global impact investing platform The Rise Fund, in September 2024.
Founded in 2010 by Chaitanya Kalipatnapu and Ashwin Damera, Eruditus is an edtech platform that offers online courses in partnership with prestigious global business schools such as Columbia, MIT, London Business School, Harvard Business School, among others, in areas like artificial intelligence, data science and data coding.
In early 2024, it was reported that the Singapore-based edtech startup was considering reverse flipping to India with an aim to go public in the coming years.
Eruditus has raised over $1.3 Bn till date. It counts Softbank, Leeds Accel, CPP Investments, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, among others, as its investors.
Finova Capital
Joining the list of startups that scored a mega deal in 2024 was Finova Capital. The Jaipur-based NBFC secured $135 Mn in its Series E funding round from Avataar Venture Partners, Sofina and Madison India Capital, among others, in October 2024.
Founded in 2015 by the husband-wife duo of Mohit Sahney and Sunita Sahney, Finova Capital offers MSME business loans and home loans with a focus on semi-urban and rural areas. The NBFC claims to have assets under management (AUM) worth INR 3,000 Cr.
Finova Capital is backed by the likes of Peak XV Partners, Faering Capital, Maj Invest, Norwest Venture Partners, among others. The company has raised $276 Mn to date.
HealthKart
Another major startup that entered the mega deal club in 2024 was HealthKart. It secured $153 Mn in a round co-led by ChrysCapital and asset management platform Motilal Oswal Alternates.
Founded in 2011 by Sameer Maheshwari and Prashant Tandon as HealthKart Plus, the startup initially acted as an ecommerce platform selling health supplements as well as pharmaceutical drugs. Currently, it operates an omnichannel consumer nutrition platform and owns several digital-first brands.
HealthKart has raised more than $350 Mn to date and is backed by investors such as Neo Group, Temasek, A91 Partners, Kae Capital, among others.
The nutrition-focussed ecommerce marketplace turned profitable in FY24, posting a net profit of INR 38.33 Cr as against a loss of INR 164.73 Cr in FY23. Revenue surged 23% to INR 1,021.53 Cr in FY24 from INR 832.48 Cr in FY23.
iBUS
Digital infrastructure solutions company iBUS secured $200 Mn in a strategic funding round from the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) in April 2024. Following this, the startup also raked in around $34 Mn from the World Bank Group’s arm IFC in September 2024.
Founded in 2013 by Ram Sellaratnam, Subash Vasudevan, and Sunil Menon, iBUS builds digital infrastructure solutions and provides cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity at IT parks, airports, hospitals, among others.
The company has raised nearly $272 Mn so far and counts the likes of Japan-based financial services group Nomura, Morgan Stanley India Infrastructure, Enam’s Vallabh Bhanshali, TV Mohandas Pai, among others, as its investors.
InMobi
Cementing its position as a major player in the Indian SaaS space, adtech startup InMobi secured $100 Mn in debt funding from Mars Growth Capital in September 2024.
Founded in 2007 by Naveen Tewari, Piyush Shah, Mohit Saxena and Abhay Singhal, provides marketing and monetisation technology to app developers worldwide. InMobi has raised $320.1 Mn in funding till date and counts Sherpalo Ventures, SoftBank Vision Fund and Kleiner Perkins as its investors.
It plans to shift its base to the country in the coming months with an eye on listing on the Indian bourses next year. It is reportedly aiming at a valuation of $10 Bn during its proposed IPO.
M2P Fintech
M2P Fintech joined the coveted mega deal club in September 2024 after it announced the first close of its Series D funding round by raising INR 850 Cr ($101 Mn) through a combination of primary and secondary deals. The round, which was led by Helios Investment Partners, pegged the company at over $783 Mn.
Founded in 2014 by Muthukumar A, Prabhu R and Madhusudanan R, M2P offers fintech API solutions to companies like slice, CRED, Ola and Razorpay. It also offers a wide range of solutions across payments, lending and banking.
The B2B fintech startup has cumulatively raised over $216 Mn so far. It counts Insight Partners, Tiger Global, Flourish Ventures, Omidyar, among others, as its investors.
Mintifi
The last month of 2024 saw fintech startup Mintifi raising $180 Mn in its Series E funding round, in a mix of primary and secondary deal, co-led by Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG) and Prosus.
Founded in 2017 by Anup Agarwal, Ankit Mehta and Sanjoy Shome, Mintifi caters to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and offers financing, advanced receivables management suite as well as solutions like invoicing, collections and risk management.
Overall, Mintifi claims that it has raised over $1 Bn in equity and debt till date. The startup is backed by IFC, Lok Capital, Growth Catalyst Partners, among others.
On the financial front, the company turned profitable in FY23 and reported a net profit of INR 25 Cr as against a loss of INR 1 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Meanwhile, revenue surged to INR 227 Cr from INR 60 Cr in FY22.
Nazara Technologies
Listed gaming major Nazara Technologies raised INR 855 Cr via preferential issue from a host of investors, in November, to fuel strategic acquisitions and seize new growth opportunities. Of this, INR 220 Cr came from the coffers of SBI Mutual Fund.
Established in 2000 by Nitish Mittersain, Nazara Technologies is a mobile gaming company and claims to be the largest mobile entertainment platform in India, with over 100 Mn monthly active users.
The Mumbai-based company counts the likes of CaratLane founder Mithun Sacheti, Aamara Capital, Madhusudan Kela’s Cohesion MK Best Ideas Sub-Trust, Aamara Capital, Ratnabali Investment and Meenakshi Mercantiles among its investors.
Nazara Technologies has raised more than $334.7 Mn to date.
On the financial side, the company reported a consolidated net profit of INR 16.24 Cr in the September quarter (Q2) of the ongoing fiscal year 2024-25 (FY25), down 33% from INR 24.18 Cr in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. Operating revenues jumped to INR 318.94 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 297.24 in Q2 FY24.
OYO
Ritesh Agarwal-led hospitality giant OYO bagged INR 1,457 Cr (about $175 Mn) in a down round led by his Singapore-based entity Patient Capital in August 2024.
This followed OYO officially withdrawing its draft IPO papers in May 2024. Founded in 2012 by Agarwal, OYO is a hospitality service company that provides easy-to-book and affordable accommodation to customers around the world.
The company has so far raised more than $3.6 Bn since its inception. OYO counts the likes of SoftBank, InCred, Peak XV Partners and Microsoft as investors.
The company turned profitable in FY24, posting a net profit of INR 229.57 Cr against a net loss of INR 1,286.51 Cr in FY23. Operating revenue declined 1.3% to INR 5,388.78 Cr in FY24 from INR 5,463.94 Cr in the previous year.
PharmEasy
Online pharmacy major PharmEasy raised $216.2 Mn in a down round led by the family office of Manipal Group chairman Ranjan Pai in April this year, becoming the first healthtech startup to bag a mega deal in 2024.
The funds were raised as part of its rights issue at a 90% valuation cut from its peak valuation of $5.6 Bn in October 2021.
Founded in 2015 by Dharmil Sheth, Dhaval Shah, Harsh Parekh, Siddharth Shah and Hardik Dedhia, PharmEasy sells medicines online and also offers diagnostic tests to its customers through its other brand Thyrocare.
The company has cumulatively raised $1.8 Bn across various rounds to date and backed by Prosus, 360 One, Temasek, WSSS Investments, Goldman Sachs, Evolution Debt Capital, among others.
Its consolidated net loss halved to INR 2,531.1 Cr in FY24 from INR 5,202.5 Cr in FY23. Revenue from operations fell 14.75% to INR 5,664.2 Cr from INR 6,643.9 Cr in FY23.
Physics Wallah
In September, edtech unicorn Physics Wallah became the latest entrant to the 2024 mega deal club after it raised $210 Mn in its Series B round led by Hornbill Capital at a post-money valuation of $2.8 Bn.
Founded in 2020 by Alakh Pandey and Prateek Maheshwari, Physics Wallah operates tech-enabled offline and hybrid centres for K-12 students across 105 cities in the country. It also offers test preparation courses, skilling programmes, among others.
The startup has raised $310 Mn till date and is backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners, GSV and WestBridge.
The edtech startup has now set its eyes on listing on the stock exchanges next year. It has shortlisted Axis Capital, Kotak Mahindra Capital, Goldman Sachs, and JP Morgan as the bankers for the proposed IPO.
On the financial front, Physics Wallah posted a consolidated net loss of INR 1,131.2 Cr in FY24, up nearly 13.5X from a loss of INR 84.06 Cr in FY23. Meanwhile, operating revenue surged 2.6X to INR 1,940.4 Cr in FY24 from INR 744.3 Cr in the previous fiscal.
Pocket FM
Audio entertainment platform Pocket FM was one of two startups from the media and entertainment sector to clinch a mega deal in 2024. It raised $103 Mn in its Series D round led by Lightspeed in March 2024. The fundraise nearly doubled the startup’s valuation to $750 Mn.
Founded in 2018 by Rohan Nayak, Nishanth KS and Prateek Dixit, Pocket FM is an audio tech platform which offers content across multiple languages and genres such as romance, self-help, and motivation.
It has raised a total funding of $206.5 Mn till date. The startup is backed by Stepstone Group, Tencent, Times Internet, Tanglin Venture Partners, Goodwater Capital, among others.
Rapido
Nearly a decade after its inception, ride-hailing giant Rapido turned unicorn this year after raising $200 Mn in its Series E funding round led by existing investor WestBridge Capital.
Founded in 2015 by Rishikesh SR, Pavan Guntupalli, and Aravind Sanka, the startup primarily operates in the bike taxi and auto transportation segments. It also offers peer-to-peer delivery services via Rapido Local.
The mobility giant has raised nearly $626 Mn till date and is backed by Nexus Venture Partners, Think Investments, Swiggy, TVS Motor Company, Shell Ventures, Invus Opportunities, among others.
The Bengaluru-based ride-hailing giant trimmed its loss by more than 45% YoY to INR 370 Cr in FY24, while revenue jumped 1.5X to INR 648.1 Cr from INR 443 Cr in FY23.
Rebel Foods
Just as the year 2024 was about to come to close, cloud kitchen unicorn Rebel Foods secured $210 Mn in Series G funding led by Temasek. The round was a mix of primary and secondary transactions.
Founded in 2011 by Kallol Banerjee and Jaydeep Barman, Rebel Foods operates multiple quick-service restaurant (QSR) brands such as Behrouz Biryani, Ovenstory Pizza, The Good Bowl, SLAY Coffee, and Wendy’s. It operates over 450 kitchens across 80 cities in India. It is also present in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and the UK.
It is pertinent to note that the cloud kitchen brand is mulling to hit the exchanges within the next 12-18 months.
Rebel Foods has raised $773 Mn so far and counts investors such as Evolvence, Coatue Management, Lightbox and Peak XV, among others, as its backers.
On the financial front, it managed to narrow its net loss by 42% to INR 378.2 Cr in FY24 from INR 656.5 Cr in the previous year. Operating revenue jumped 19% to INR 1,420.2 Cr from INR 1,195.2 Cr in FY23.
Shadowfax
Logistics services startup Shadowfax was one of the earliest startups to notch a mega deal in 2024 after it bagged $100 Mn in its Series E funding round led by TPG NewQuest in February.
Founded in 2015 by Vaibhav Khandelwal and Abhishek Bansal, Shadowfax provides hyperlocal and on-demand deliveries to businesses.
Shadowfax is backed by Mirae Asset Venture Investments (India), Flipkart, Eight Roads Ventures, International Finance Corporation, Nokia Growth Partners, Qualcomm, Trifecta Capital, among others. It has raised over $210 Mn till date.
In terms of financial performance, the logistics startup slashed its net loss by nearly 92% to INR 11.8 Cr in FY24 from INR 142.6 Cr in FY23. Operating revenue jumped 33.19% to INR 1,884.8 Cr during the fiscal year under review from INR 1,415.1 Cr in FY23.
Whatfix
B2B SaaS startup Whatfix secured $125 Mn (around INR 1,045 Cr) in its Series E funding round, led by Warburg Pincus in September 2024, which was a mix of primary and secondary transactions.
The mega deal catapulted the startup’s valuation close to $900 Mn, up 50% from $600 Mn during its last fundraise.
Founded in 2013 by Khadim Batti and Vara Kumar, Whatfix offers solutions for onboarding new customers, effective training and support for businesses.
Whatfix has raised over $260 Mn across multiple funding rounds and is backed by investors such as SoftBank, Eight Roads Ventures, F-Prime Capital, Cisco Investments, among others.
The Bengaluru-based startup reported a 49% increase in its revenue from operations to INR 425 Cr in FY24 from INR 285 Cr in the previous fiscal year. It also managed to reduce its net loss by 20% to INR 263 Cr from INR 328.3 Cr in FY23.
Zepto
Zepto topped the funding charts this year with multiple fundraises. The quick commerce major raised three big rounds of funding this year, totalling to $1.35 Bn.
While it raised $665 Mn from its existing investors at a valuation of $3.6 Bn in June, more than double from its last valuation of $1.4 Bn, it bagged another $340 Mn in a ‘follow-on financing’ round, led by General Catalyst in August at $5 Bn valuation.
In November, the unicorn raised another $350 Mn in a round led by Motilal Oswal’s private wealth division.
Founded in 2021 by Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, Zepto claims to offer 10-minute deliveries of groceries and other items.
It counts the likes of Glade Brook, Nexus, StepStone, Goodwater, Lachy Groom, Avenir Growth, Lightspeed, among others, as its investors. Zepto has raised $2.3 Bn since its inception.
Zepto is also eyeing an IPO in the next couple of years and is in the process of shifting its base to India.
Its consolidated revenue more than doubled YoY to INR 4,454.52 Cr in FY24. It also managed to reduce its loss by 2% to INR 1,248.64 Cr during the year under review from INR 1,271.84 Cr in FY23.
Zomato
Deepinder Goyal-led Zomato made headlines for different reasons throughout the year and raking up a mega deal was one of them. The foodtech giant raised the single biggest round in 2024 with its INR 8,500 Cr qualified institutional placement (QIP).
Founded in 2008 by Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah, Zomato has raised $4.59 Bn across funding rounds. The company went public in July 2021.
It is pertinent to note that Info Edge is one of its earliest investors and still holds over 13% stake in the foodtech giant.
Zomato’s consolidated net profit jumped 389% to INR 176 Cr in Q2 FY25 from INR 36 Cr in the year-ago period. Operating revenue jumped 68.5% to INR 4,799 Cr from INR 2,848 Cr in Q2 FY24.
[Edited by Vinaykumar Rai]