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Despite rise in unicorns, fewer startups get funding in H1
The Morning Standard
|June 26, 2026
INDIA’S technology startup ecosystem produced more unicorns and faster public listings in the first half of 2026, even as fewer new companies secured funding.
Technology startups raised $7.2 billion across 652 equity funding rounds between January and June 24, as per Tracxn. While funding rose 12% from a year ago, the number of deals fell 43%, showing that investors continued to back fewer companies with larger investments.
First-time funded startups fell 31% year-on-year to 218, while the number of companies added to the Soonicorn Club fell 47% to 54. Seed funding rounds declined to 420 from 938 in second half of 2023, and the number of institutional investors in India fell to 488 from 824 in H1 2024.
This story is from the June 26, 2026 edition of The Morning Standard.
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