India In Sight #94
Weekly updates on Indian private markets. Featuring 'Global Venture Debt Report 2025' by Stride Ventures and GTRI's report on 'India a likely Beneficiary of U.S. Tariff Realignments'.
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Key reports in this edition:
Global Venture Debt Report 2025 by Stride Ventures
India a likely Beneficiary of U.S. Tariff Realignments by GTRI
Indian Tech Start up Funding Q1 2025 by Inc42
Indian Startup Report Q1 2025 by Entrackr
Unlocking AI’s Potential in India by BCG
Emerging trends in infrastructure and transport by KPMG
KEY DEALS
Equity
Aerem Solutions, a financing provider for solar projects, raised c.$12 million in its Series A funding round led by UTEC (University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners), a Japan-based venture firm. Other investors include BII, SE Ventures, Riverwalk Holdings, Blume Ventures, and Avaana Capital. (April 04, 2025)
Tonbo Imaging, a defense technology firm, raised c.$21 million in its Series D funding round from Florintree Advisors, Tenacity Ventures, and Export-Import Bank of India ahead of its planned IPO. (April 03, 2025)
Scapia, a travel fintech company, raised c.$40 million in its Series B round led by Peak XV Partners. Other investors include Elevation Capital, Z47, and 3State Ventures. (April 03, 2025)
Pratilipi, a digital storytelling platform, raised c.$20 million (at $100 million valuation, down from $265 million in previous round) in its Series E funding round led by Jungle Ventures. (April 03, 2025)
Infinity Fincorp, a non-bank lender, raised c.$40 million as part of its Series A funding round, led by Beams Fintech Fund, a growth-stage fintech focused PE fund. (April 02, 2025)
Spinny, a used car platform, raised c.$130 million led by Accel Leaders Fund in a mix of primary and secondary transaction, valued at c.$1.5 billion post-money. (March 31, 2025)
Credit
Piramal Finance raised c.$265 million through 3-year ECBs at c.9%. (April 03, 2025)
Chef Robotics, a creators of AI-enabled robotic systems for meal assembly, raised c.$43 million in its Series A funding round in a mix of equity ($21 million) and equipment financing debt ($22.5 million) led by Avataar Ventures. Other investor include Construct Capital, Bloomberg Beta, Promus Ventures, MFV Partners, Interwoven Ventures, HCVC, MaC Venture Capital, Red and Blue Ventures, Tau Partners, Alumni Ventures, Siddhi Capital, and BOLD Capital Partners. (April 01, 2025)
KEY FUNDS AND FUNDRAISES
InCred Alts, the asset management arm of the InCred Group, has secured c.$70 million for its maiden special situations fund from domestic and international limited partners. The fund has a target corpus of c.$120 million. (April 03, 2025)
MARKET INSIGHTS & RESEARCH
Reports
Stride Ventures’ ‘The Global Venture Debt report’ highlights rapid expansion of venture debt, with global deal value growing from $37.9B in 2018 to $83.4B in 2024 (14% CAGR, 20–30% of VC funding in developed markets). India’s market grew at a 58% CAGR to $1.2B, led by fintech, consumer, and cleantech sectors. Venture debt is emerging as a critical, non-dilutive financing tool complementing VC and PE, enabling startups to scale with agility and resilience.
GTRI’s report on ‘India a likely Beneficiary of U.S. Tariff Realignments’ highlights that India faces a moderate 26% tariff on most goods (25% on steel, aluminium, autos), but key sectors like pharma, semiconductors, and energy are exempt. Compared to China (54%) and Vietnam (46%), India stands to gain significantly—especially in textiles, electronics, and machinery—if it leverages this competitive edge through scale, domestic value addition, and policy reforms.
Inc42’s report on ‘Indian Tech Start up Funding’ highlights that in Q1 2025, Indian startups raised $3.1B+ across 232+ deals (up 41% YoY), though the median ticket size dropped 23% to $3M. While only six mega deals ($100M+) occurred—early-stage investments saw the highest YoY growth, with 104 seed deals totaling $188M. Fintech emerged as the top-funded sector. M&A activity up sharply with 73% YoY.
Entrackr’s report on ‘Indian Startup in Q1 2025’ outlines that Indian startups raised $3.7B (up 10% QoQ) across 277 deals, driven by large growth-stage fundraises and steady early-stage activity. M&A activity remained strong with 50 deals, led by HUL’s $350M acquisition of Minimalist. $3B was raised across 68 deals in growth/late stage. Strategic M&A and AI-driven momentum to shape the next wave.
BCG’s report on ‘Unlocking AI’s Potential in India’ highlights how AI can transform India's agriculture and healthcare. Global AI market to reach $400B by 2027, India is home to a 1.25M-strong AI talent pool. AI can address the 1:900 doctor-to-patient ratio, reduce diagnostic times by ~99%, and cut screening costs by 60%+. AI can boost productivity by 7–8% through precision farming and reduce resource use by ~28%.
KPMG’s report on ‘Emerging trends in infrastructure and transport’ outlines that with a c.$15T+ annual funding gap, governments are leaning toward asset privatization to unlock capital, following models like India’s NMP. Digital twins, AI, and IoT are now maturing to deliver real-time value, while the energy transition is shifting toward blended finance models to fund harder-to-abate sectors.
Articles
India's fixed-income market is undergoing a transformation driven by embedded finance and regulatory reforms that are making bonds more accessible to retail investors. This shift is enhancing financial inclusion and creating a more diversified funding ecosystem. Read more.
Venture debt investments in India grew just 2.5% YoY to $1.2B across 238 deals in 2024, plateauing after strong growth in previous years. Venture capital rebounded with a 20% rise to $12B. Despite the slowdown, venture debt has expanded 15x since 2018 and remains a vital tool for startups, for runway extension and pre-IPO financing. Read more.
Institutional investments in Indian real estate reached $1.3B in Q1 2025, marking a 31% YoY growth, with domestic investors leading the charge. Key segments attracting capital were office, industrial & warehousing, and residential. Major deals included Mindspace REIT in Hyderabad and Blackstone’s investment in Kolte Patil Developers. Read more.
The US's new tariffs on 60 countries may pose short-term risks to India and slightly impact GDP growth forecasts. However, experts see potential opportunities as global supply chains shift, and ongoing trade negotiations with US could help ease some of the tariff pressure. Read more. [Paywall]
Gen Z is reshaping the financial services landscape with a strong preference for digital-first yet human-assisted experiences. While 83% prefer digital platforms, they seek trust, personalization, rewards, and flexible credit solutions. Financial institutions must evolve rapidly—through personalized UX, ethical AI, and lifestyle-linked offerings. Read more.
Cyber attacks on supply chains and rising fraud underscore the importance of real-time fraud detection, collaborative intelligence, and robust compliance frameworks. Fintechs and payments participants must adopt a proactive, security-first approach to ensure trust and sustainability. Read more.
KPIs
India’s GDP growth may dip by up to 50 bps to c.6% due to the impact of US reciprocal tariffs, with EY and Standard Chartered projecting a 2–3% decline in exports to the US. However, experts believe the impact could be mitigated by boosting imports from the US, particularly in energy and advanced technology. Notably, several key sectors remain exempt from the increased tariffs.
The NPAs under Mudra loan have declined to 2.21% in FY25, including private banks, MFIs and NBFCs. Centre is looking to intensify Mudra lending for sectors such as agriculture and aquaculture in coastal areas, in light of trade challenges.
India’s services sector index declined to 58.5 in March from 59 in Feb, as a slowdown in external activity weighed on demand for Indian services.
Reciprocal tariffs could create a $37B opportunity for India as it gains competitive advantage over other countries.
WEEKLY MARKET UPDATE (w/c March 31, 2025)
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