[Weekly funding roundup April 19-25] VC inflow continues to remain subdued

Venture capital (VC) inflow into Indian startups continues to be subdued. Given the uncertain global economic situation, there is no appreciable upward movement in the fund inflow.

The total VC funding for the period between April 19 and 25 touched $112 million across 21 transactions which was an increase when compared to the immediate previous week but gains were notional given the total amount raised.

Venture capital funding into Indian startups since March 15 on a weekly basis has hovered in the range of $100-200 million. This does not augur well for the ecosystem as it brings down the overall momentum.

This week also saw no large deal transactions and these are expected lines given the uncertain macroeconomic environment. The tension due to the ongoing tariff war between the US and China continues to affect the global economy, and this, in turn, has a direct bearing on the VC fund inflow.

It is likely that such an environment is likely to persist and startups would continue to face challenges in raising capital.

On the other hand, the Indian startup ecosystem continues to see interesting developments. Despite the slowness in VC inflow, there is no stopping new fundraising by the firms. This week saw A91 Partners closing its third fund with a size of $665 million. PixelSky launched a Rs 400 crore investment vehicle and Blue Ocean Games debuted a $30 million fund to back gamers in the country.

The most heartening thing this week is the IPO announcement by EV company Ather. This may probably revive the IPO engine of Indian startups, which has completely slowed down since the start of the year.

Overall, it has been a mixed bag for the Indian startup ecosystem and hope lies that there will be an early revival in the VC inflow.