seems like the second half of the year will be exciting!

Recruiter

Product Manager

Lots of new VC funds coming up + existing funds raising lots of capital

Lots of new VC funds coming up + existing funds raising lots of capital- Grapevine

Welcome to Indian Startups's Private Community

Been spending way too much time on Grapevine lately - absolutely loving it @Micheal_Scott!

Posted the Prosus report takeaways yday - lots of you DMed asking questions. Then I saw NewsAnchor break down the entire Prosus Annual Report - great stuff.

I was an Associate at one of the largest VC funds in India, so I enjoy going through new reports and summarising them - found my notes from Bain's India Venture Capital Report 2024. Thought of sharing the unedited summary that I shared with the Partners at the fund, have a bunch of these - can share more if of value to any of you here (ofc removing the confidential parts)

Notes:
1/ India's maintaining its gravitational pull despite the global funding crunch. Sure, overall funding nosedived 63% to $9.6B, but we're still the #2 destination in Asia-Pacific. Might not necessarily be a crash, it's a necessary course correction.
2/ Early-stage investing is showing remarkable resilience. Seed deals now comprise 70% of all deals, up from 60%, with average check sizes holding steady at $1.4M. Smart money is quietly positioning itself for the next wave of innovation.
3/ The tech-only playbook is being rewritten. While consumer tech, fintech, and SaaS still command 60% of funding, traditional sectors like BFSI are gaining ground, with average deal sizes jumping from $8M to $15M. We're witnessing the birth of tech-enabled, not just tech-centric, growth stories.
4/ The unicorn factory has hit pause, with only 2 new billion-dollar valuations vs. 23 in 2022. Mega-rounds ($100M+) plummeted from 48 to 15. This isn't a drought; it's a return to fundamentals. The era of grow-now-profit-later is firmly behind us.
5/ Generative AI isn't just hype; it's reshaping the landscape. Funding exploded from $15M to $250M, with 80% flowing to existing companies integrating AI. India's quickly becoming a laboratory for practical AI applications, not just speculative moonshots.
6/ Electric mobility is rewiring itself. While overall funding dipped slightly to $600M+, charging infrastructure investment surged 50%. The real opportunity isn't just in vehicles; it's in building out the entire EV ecosystem.
7/ Exits are defying gravity, leaping 1.7x to $6.6B. Public market sales led the charge at 55%, even as IPOs cooled. LPs are getting liquidity, and the secondary market is proving surprisingly robust. There's still appetite for quality assets.
8/ PE is no longer just watching from the sidelines. These players doubled their share to 25% of investments, going toe-to-toe with traditional VCs. The lines between growth equity and venture capital are blurring, and it's changing the game for late-stage rounds.
9/ We're watching natural selection in real-time. Yes, 35,000+ startups shuttered and 20,000+ layoffs hit the headlines. But companies like Groww and Indifi turned profitable. This isn't a bubble bursting; it's an ecosystem strengthening its foundations.
10/ Domestic VCs are coming of age. While overall fund-raising halved to $4B, homegrown VCs led 90%+ of raises. They're not just following; they're specializing, with thematic funds like Omnivore's $150M agritech vehicle. The ecosystem is bootstrapping its own future.
11/ Regulation isn't just tightening; it's evolving. Angel Tax expanded and lending norms got stricter, but we're also seeing innovative policies like UPI for foreign travelers. India's crafting a uniquely balanced approach to fostering innovation while maintaining stability.

Topics we can discuss during our standup:
1/ Can India produce global tech giants if it's primarily adopting rather than pioneering in areas like AI? How do we enable this?
2/ How will the shift towards profitability impact India's ability to foster truly disruptive innovations? Implications for us, how should we be evaluating deals differently?
3/ With domestic VCs leading the charge, how will this change India's startup narrative on the global stage?
4/ Is this maturation setting the stage for more resilient, globally competitive Indian startups, or are we risking our innovation edge? How do we look at thesis driven investing v/s fomo investing?

Link to Bain's report - https://www.bain.com/insights/india-venture-capital-report-2024/

P.S. Do note that this is 6+ months old - data points mostly look diff now but sharing it anyways. Will post more as and when I get time :)

My notes on Bain's 2024 VC report as a VC Associate

Investor

Even as Matrix was one of the most active startup investors, the VC firm halved its investments in 2022 from a year earlier, when the VC participated in 22 rounds, data by Tracxn Technologies showed. This year, the VC has not participated in a single deal yet

Matrix Partners expands India-focused fund to $525M amid funding winter

More capital with another top VC as we continue to go through a bear market, interesting

Investment Associate

Welcome to Fintech India's Private Community

Seeing the S&P500 witness a spectacular "short" rally before popping, and then it becoming decidedly clear that even if the rate hikes were unlikely it was still going to be a long time before rates come down. Becoming much more clearer that the impact on various asset classes and securities is going to be muted for the time to be.

Unless interest rates come down, I can't possibly imagine that the VC funding will pick up again, their LPs can't put in more money unless interest rates come down. Cheap capital fuels the VC ecosystem, if capital isn't cheap then allocation in VC Funds goes down to adjust to a newly adjusted risk appetite of investors.

[Opinion] How JPow's misadventure affects me and you...

Hello everyone,

I'm Varun, the co-founder of Mesa School of Business. We’re Asia’s first startup focused business school focused on fostering the next generation of startup leaders in India.

Prior to Mesa, I was a Sr. Product Manager at Amazon in Seattle, and did my MBA from Kellogg School of Management.

I'd love to chat with you folks about my journey in building Mesa, my thoughts on higher education, 0-to-1 building, amongst other things.

Ask me anything! :)
I'll be back at 5 pm and start answering.

I'm Varun, Co-Founder at Mesa School of Business. Ask me anything!

Founder

Welcome to Business Roles's Private Community

Hey everyone. 

Thought I could do an AMA. A bit about me - have 4 years of work experience and graduated from a non engineering college. Was at a startup before (from Series B to Series D) before becoming a VC

Personally look at consumer and B2B investments here 

Happy to answer any questions around life as a junior VC, startup ecosystem, career growth etc.

AMA: I work at a large VC Fund focusing on early stage investments

Looking to find startups that may not have even started operations. Theses that you guys find interesting. People you know who are building. Would be helpful to know 🙏🏻

Interesting early stage teams/startups?

I heard that even VCs like Sequoia and Matrix Venture Partners are laying off people 

Sequoia has laid off 3 Analysts, 1 VP and 1 associate and Matrix has laid off 5-6 people

Any thoughts? Is it true? 

#layoffs

Venture Capital layoffs

Venture Capital

There’s now a list of 4-6 startups that have shut down and announced closure in December. Why is this happening

Why are so many startups shutting shop in December?

Business Development Manager

As a business graduate, it's often humbling to see the tech salaries based on my YOE (4-7 bracket) with the people at the top end earning 50-60+ lpa. (Fixed)

Assuming i want to optimise for Money - What can I do as a business graduate to do well similar to tech folks? 

Would love to hear from all of you.

P.S. No IB/Consulting advice please. Not the type of work I've liked 😄

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