Indian startups raise $3.9 billion in first half of 2019; financing boom likely to pick up further in second half of the year

Indian startups raised a whopping $3.9 billion from venture capitalists in the six months ended 30 June, registering a 44.4 percent jump from the $2.7 billion received by domestic startups in the first half of 2018, a media report said. The world’s biggest investors are doubling down on their bets in the country, a report in Mint said citing data from Venture Intelligence, a startup data tracker. The report said the funding came in as seed, or very early investments, to Series F deals in companies that are less than 10 years old. According to The Times of India, India’s startup ecosystem is witnessing a financing boom and it is likely to pick up further in the second half of the year. The report said the investors are backing startup in areas like urban mobility, social commerce, financial technology and software services. Startups in India are expecting the government to usher in a new set of reforms in the upcoming full Budget for the current fiscal and hope for tax relief, funding access, and further push to the digital economy. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will unveil the full budget 2019-20 on 5 July. [caption id=“attachment_4292949” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. News 18.[/caption] From companies building palm-sized satellites to those aiming to propel satellites into space using cleaner fuels, a new wave of space technology startups  is also mushrooming in India, catching the attention of investors keen to join the space race. In the past five years, some two dozen Indian startups have grown into unicorns—companies with over $1 billion valuations—most betting on India’s growing middle-class and the consumer boom at home. India’s space technology firms are part of a new breed of startups, and investors are paying attention, given the surging global interest in everything from space exploration to space vacations. Last month, President Ram Nath Kovind said the government will take steps to further improve the start-up ecosystem in the country with an aim of having 50,000 such enterprises by 2024. Addressing the joint sitting of Parliament, Kovind said India has joined the league of countries with the most number of start-ups in the world. “To improve the start-up ecosystem, the government is simplifying the rules. This campaign will be further expedited. Our goal is to establish 50,000 start-ups in the country by 2024,” he had said. Start-up India initiative of the government aims at fostering entrepreneurship and promoting innovation by creating an ecosystem that is conducive to the growth of budding entrepreneurs. So far, as many as 19,303 start-ups have been recognised by the department. Since last year, the commerce and industry ministry has started conducting a ranking exercise of states and union territories to encourage them to take proactive steps towards strengthening the ecosystems within their jurisdictions for budding entrepreneurs. With agency inputs