According to a report by consulting firm HexGn, Indian startups are estimated to have received USD 10.14 billion in funding across more than 1,200 deals in 2020 despite the COVID crisis. Although total investment received in 2020 is lower than that of 2019 (USD 14.5 billion), the number of deals was higher by 20 percent, the report said. Globally, startups raised over USD 308 billion in funding, with the US garnering USD 165 billion. This is the third year in a row that India has kept its number four position globally after the US, China, and the UK. Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, and Mumbai accounted for 90 percent of the startup investments in the country, signaling the concentration of angel investors and appetite in these regions. Bengaluru led with USD 4.3 billion in startup investments, followed by Delhi NCR (USD 3 billion) and Mumbai (USD 2 billion).
Startups that attracted maximum funding in 2020 include Zomato (USD 1.02 billion), Byju’s (USD 922 million), PhonePe (USD 807 million), Unacademy (USD 260 million), and Ecom Express (USD 250 million). In terms of sectors, e-commerce attracted the highest investment with USD 3 billion, followed by FinTech at USD 2.37 billion and EdTech at USD 1.52 billion. The biggest gainer has been the EdTech segment that grew four times this year from USD 380 million in 2019. However, sectors like transportation and logistics, and travel and tourism saw more than 90 percent drop in investments in 2020 as compared to 2019. The report noted that seed-stage investment deals grew by 50 percent from USD 353 million over 420 deals in 2019 to USD 372 million over 672 deals in 2020.
