There’s No Funding Winter Right Now: Peak XV Partners’ Rajan Anandan

Speaking at the inaugural session of Inc42’s MoneyX, India’s largest invite-only conclave for startup investors,  the managing director of Peak XV Partners, Rajan Anandan, said that the funding winter is gone and the investment firm has more dry powder than ever.

“The funding winter is gone. The Indian startup funding is back to normal, and Peak XV has INR 20,000 Cr to invest in,” Anandan said, addressing early stage investors at the conclave.

He added that, as an early stage investor, one should be focussed on the founding team and market opportunity rather than valuations, which should be the last thing to worry about.

Anandan’s comments come at a time when Indian startups have been reeling under the ongoing funding winter since its onset in 2022. It is pertinent to note that Indian startups could secure only $5.4 Bn in funding in the first half of 2023 (H1 2023) in 462 deals.

According to an Inc42 report, Indian startups witnessed a 10% and 25% decline in funding amount and deals, respectively, in H1 2023 against $6 Bn raise in 617 deals in the second half of 2022.

On a year-on-year basis, startup funding saw a substantial 72% drop in H1 2023 compared to H1 2022 when Indian startups had raised $19 Bn across 900 funding deals.

Notable, the startup funding has largely returned to 2020 levels. In H1 2020, Indian startups managed to raise $5.2 Bn, which is a mere $200 Mn less than the $5.4 Bn raised in H1 2023.

Presented in partnership with Peak XV Partners, supported by Venture Catalysts, JSA, Samsung, IVCA Associates, Indian Angel Network, JIIF and Marwari Catalysts, MoneyX is aimed at bringing the driving forces of the Indian startup ecosystem under a single roof.