𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 $𝟏𝐁𝐧+ 𝐢𝐧 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 💰🇮🇳

For the 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡, we saw $1 billion+ in funding within the Indian startup scene. October brought in around $𝟏.𝟐𝐁𝐧, a slight dip from 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫’𝐬 $𝟏.𝟔𝟐𝐁𝐧. While this 25% 𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒑 might seem significant, the big picture reveals something impressive—we’ve already 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑’𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟 $𝟏𝟏𝐁𝐧. Year-to-date (YTD) funding through October 2024 now stands at $𝟏𝟐.𝟐𝐁𝐧.

📊 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬
Growth-stage funding remains focused on 𝐄-𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞, 𝐄𝐝𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡 sectors, with similar trends in early-stage deals.

So, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐬? 🤔 That might be the first question that comes to mind.

After speaking with multiple startups over the past two months, I see 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐠𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐈 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦:

1️⃣ 𝐃𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧-𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐈 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐬: These startups are actively exploring and rolling out AI capabilities in specific sectors. There’s a substantial buzz here—think the evaluation of AI scope, tech stack reviews, ROI analysis, and MVP launches.

2️⃣ 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐬: Though fewer in number, these are the ones building the 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤. I’ve connected with startups doing incredible work in model fine-tuning, AI agents, data strategy, and more.

While it’s great to see steady funding flowing into Indian startups, I’d love to see more investments directed toward 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲-𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐬. These startups hold the key to keeping India competitive on the 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞.

If we want groundbreaking products to emerge from India, we need our best minds innovating in deep-tech areas.

I’ll be closely tracking this space in the coming months and will keep you posted on any shifts in funding trends. To all the young entrepreneurs out there—you’re in a 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 with immense opportunities ahead! 🌟