MoneyX Dialogues In Delhi Convenes 40+ VCs Navigating A New Investing Playbook

India’s venture capital landscape is undergoing a meaningful reset. After a prolonged period of correction, the ecosystem is steadily transitioning into a more disciplined, fundamentals-first phase — one defined by sharper capital allocation, cleaner governance, and a renewed emphasis on profitability. The environment may no longer reward speed at any cost, but it is increasingly favourable to companies that demonstrate operational resilience and clear paths to value creation.

Against this backdrop, Inc42 hosted the second edition of MoneyX Dialogues — Venture Capital Unplugged, powered by Avalara, on November 26 in Delhi NCR, bringing together more than 40 leading startup investors for a candid exchange on what’s next for India’s capital markets.

The conversations reflected a clear shift underway in the ecosystem: capital today is being deployed with sharper focus, deeper diligence, and stronger conviction. Investors discussed how the era of blitzscaling has firmly given way to disciplined, insight-first decision-making. Themes like profitability, governance, and capital efficiency dominated the room, signalling that India’s maturing ecosystem now values sustainability as highly as speed.

Some of the country’s top VCs and leaders joined the event, including Abhishek Gupta, Partner, Trifecta Capital; Anjali Malhotra, Venture Partner, SenseAI; Ashish Kumar, Cofounder and General Partner, The Fundamentum Partnership; Hemendra Mathur, Venture Partner, Bharat Innovation Fund; Niyaz Laiq, Partner, Lumikai Fund; Pearl Agarwal, Founder & Managing Director, Eximius Ventures; Tarun Mehta, Partner, Aavishkaar Capital; Yash Dholakia, Partner, sauce.vc, along with other prominent names in India’s investor ecosystem.

Inc42 also caught up with Anil Paranjape, the GM-India Operations at Avalara, who underscored the real complexity Indian companies face when expanding globally. 

The Changing Rules Of Venture Capital

There is a shift in the behaviour of investors today, who are approaching opportunities with greater conviction and deeper category insight. The return of deal momentum isn’t driven by exuberance but by a more measured confidence in India’s long-term growth fundamentals. And the numbers tell the story: According to a report by EY–IVCA, PE/VC investments in India in Q3 2025 reached $11.7 Bn across 369 deals, up 20% year-on-year from $9.7 Bn in Q3 2024. 

Investors noted that founders are increasingly seeking long-term, outcome-driven partners and not just cheque-writers. As a result, funds across the spectrum are adopting hybrid approaches, deeper category expertise, and multi-stage strategies to stay relevant.

This convergence is reshaping how capital collaborates with companies, from governance frameworks to public-market readiness and is likely to define the next decade of Indian innovation.

At the same time, for investors,  global expansion into markets like the U.S. brings important considerations that go beyond growth. Tax and regulatory frameworks shift quickly, and early-stage companies can face compliance gaps that influence valuation confidence, operational stability, and future fundraising. In recent discussions, Avalara’s leadership shared their perspective on emerging trends that both founders and investors should be mindful of as they scale into the U.S., particularly around staying ahead of compliance requirements so that growth is not disrupted later.

“As part of the venture ecosystem, it’s important for investors to understand the operational and compliance considerations their portfolio companies face when entering markets like the U.S. With close to 100,000 tax rule changes each year, obligations begin as soon as a company starts selling,” said Paranjape

What set MoneyX Dialogues apart was its format — intimate, insight-driven, and built for honest conversations rather than surface-level networking. The Delhi edition reaffirmed what the platform set out to enable: a space where India’s investment leaders can challenge assumptions, share frameworks, and collectively shape how capital flows in an ecosystem entering its next phase of maturity.

As India’s innovation economy accelerates, one message resonated across the room — the next decade will be shaped by capital that is patient, informed, and conviction-led. From AI to governance to domestic LP participation, investors at MoneyX Dialogues agreed that India is entering a phase in which collaboration among capital providers will matter as much as the capital itself.

With two successful editions, MoneyX Dialogues has established itself as a strategic platform for investors to decode the structural shifts shaping India’s venture landscape. And if the energy in the room was any indication, the conversations are only just beginning. Stay tuned for the next edition.