India In Sight #97
Weekly updates on Indian private markets. Featuring the 'WAVES 2025: A studio called India' report by EY.
We are Ambassador Capital Partners, an investment firm with a focus on private credit and private equity.
In the spirit of making Indian private markets more accessible and transparent to global LPs and GPs, we have launched ‘India In Sight’ – consolidating and curating relevant information and insights from Indian private markets including trends, key deals, fundraises, KPIs, and top tier research
Search, screen, filter, and save - all reports at one spot! Subscribe to India In Sight Library
Subscribe to receive the newsletter every week in your inbox! Stay informed, stay ahead!
Key reports in this edition:
WAVES 2025: A studio called India by EY
Mapping India’s Creator Economy by BCG
Dealtracker April 2025 by Grant Thornton
Retail Level-up: The Entertainment edition by CBRE
Growth opportunities in India’s insurance sector by PWC
Financial health: Transcending from access to impact by PWC
Retrofitting Indian office spaces by CBRE
KEY DEALS
Equity
Farmley, a healthy snacking brand, raised c.$40 million in its Series C funding round led by L Catterton. Other investors include DSG Consumer Partners. (May 12, 2025)
Avammune Therapeutics raised c.$12 million in its Series A funding round co-led by Capital 2B, Shastra VC, and Kotak Lifesciences Fund. (May 12, 2025)
Sumitomo Mitsui acquired c.20% stake in Yes Bank for c.$1.6 billion. (May 10, 2025)
Oberoi Realty sold its c.22% stake in I-Ven Realty, its joint venture platform, to Alpha Wave Ventures for c.$150 million. (May 10, 2025)
Vetic, a pet care startup, raised c.$26 million in its Series C funding round led by Bessemer Ventures, LGF3, Acorn and JSW Ventures. (May 9, 2025)
Porter, an on-demand goods transport agency, raised c.$200 million in its Series F funding round led by Kedaara Capital and Wellington Management. Existing investors include Vitruvian Partners. (May 8, 2025)
Propelld, an education-focused lending platform, raised c.$30 million in its Series D funding round led by WestBridge Capital and Stellarisf. (May 8, 2025)
PB Health, a wholly-owned subsidiary of PB Fintech that plans to establish a network of hospitals, raised c.$218 million led by General Catalyst and PB Fintech. PB Fintech invested c.$62 million, General Catalyst invested c.$50 million, and the remaining c.$106 million was invested by institutional investors and HNIs. (May 8, 2025)
Routematic, an AI-powered corporate transport platform, raised c.$40 million in its Series C funding round led by Fullerton Carbon Action Fund and Shift4Good. (May 7, 2025)
Flipspaces, an interior design startup, raised c.$35 million in a funding round led by Iron Pillar. Other investors include Prudent Investment Managers and Synergy Capital Partners. (May 7, 2025)
ReNew Energy, a green energy company, secured c.$100 million from British International Investment (BII) for its solar manufacturing business in India. (May 6, 2025)
Celcius Logistics, a cold chain-focused 3P logistics company, raised c.$30 million in its Series B funding round co-led by Eurazeo and Omnivore. (May 6, 2025)
TPG Growth and Novo Holdings acquired c.35% stake in Schott Poonawalla, a JV between Serum Institute of India and Schott Pharma. The exact financial details were not disclosed. (May 6, 2025)
The Good Bug, a gut health startup, raised c.$12 million in its Series B funding round led by Susquehanna Asia VC. Other investors include Fireside and Sharrp Ventures. (May 6, 2025)
Celebal Technologies, an IT Service provider, to raise c.$15 million in its Series B funding round from InCred Growth and Norwest Venture Partners. (May 7, 2025)
[Expected] Danone, a French food group, looking to acquire additional c.30% stake in Epigamia, a homegrown Greek yoghurt and fruit-dessert maker, from Verlinvest, a Belgian PE firm. (May 12, 2025)
KEY FUNDS AND FUNDRAISES
Avendus PE marked the first close of its third private credit fund at c.$120 million. The fund has a target corpus of c.$235 million. (May 8, 2025)
Synergy Capital, a Dubai based PE fund, marked the first close of its Asia-focused private credit fund at c.$715 million. The fund has a target corpus of c.$1 billion. (May 6, 2025)
MARKET INSIGHTS & RESEARCH
Reports
EY’s report ‘A studio called India’ shares that India's media and entertainment (M&E) sector reached $29.4B in 2024 and is projected to grow at a 7% CAGR to till 2027. Digital media contributes 32% of M&E revenues, driven by huge base. India produces 200K+ hours of content p.a. and exports it to 100+ countries. The country’s AVP (animation, VFX, post-production) segment is growing at 13% CAGR, and the live events sector at 18% CAGR.
BCG’s report on ‘Mapping India’s Creator Economy’ outlines that ~2.5M creators influence over $350–400B in consumer spending, expected to cross $1T by 2030. Creator impact now spans beyond Gen Z and metros into Tier 2/3 cities, but only 8–10% monetise effectively. Brands plan to 2–3x influencer budgets despite ROI and authenticity concerns.
Grant Thornton’s Dealtracker April 2025 highlights 208 deals worth $4.4B—a 53% drop in value despite stable volumes. M&A activity hit a low with 69 deals worth $1.4B, while PE deals stayed strong at 139, totalling $3B. BFSI and consumer sector topped volumes while pharma and IT sectors saw major slowdowns. Early-stage funding dominated, signalling investor caution.
CBRE’s report ‘The Entertainment Edition’ shares that India’s entertainment retail sector is booming, with indoor family entertainment centres now occupying 13–15% of mall space. 73% of survey respondents prefer active experiences like bowling and amusement parks, with 90%+ willing to spend up to ₹4,000/month on such outings. Gen Z and Millennials are driving this shift, favouring malls and immersive entertainment.
PWC’s report on ‘Growth opportunities in India’s insurance sector’ outlines that the sector remains underpenetrated at just 3.7% of GDP. Health insurance is outpacing motor, growing at 12.8% CAGR (2024–28) vs life insurance at 10% p.a. Tier 2/3 cities are emerging as key markets, with just 30% coverage currently. Regulatory reforms, digitization, and tailored product offerings are expected to drive growth.
PWC’s report/survey on ‘Financial health’ highlights that 65% of India's population remains vulnerable, requiring a shift from access to financial health impact. With rising retail investments in mutual funds and alternative assets, financial service providers must leverage AI, behavioral insights, and personalized solutions to enhance financial stability, resilience, and wealth-building opportunities.
CBRE’s report on ‘Retrofitting Indian Office Spaces’ highlights the urgent need to retrofit India’s ageing office stock to meet evolving occupier expectations. Over 60% of India’s office space is more than a decade old, and ~75% of occupiers are now prioritising tech-enabled, sustainable, and employee-centric upgrades. Retrofitting can increase rental yields by 15–20% and boost tenant retention.
Articles
World Bank emphasises the need for developing countries to focus on logistics, regulatory reforms, and skilling to drive growth amid global tariff disruptions. Private sector-led investments in infrastructure and healthcare could boost job creation. Read more.
Indian benchmark 10-year yield climbed to 6.43%, driven by escalating tensions and rising US yields. The broader market also reacted negatively, with declines seen in the rupee, equities, and bonds. Read more.
Indian insurers have requested regulatory relief on counterparty exposure limits in the newly launched bond forwards market, suggesting alignment with the tenor of each trade. Most insurers await board approvals and are still setting up systems to participate in this new risk-hedging avenue. Read more.
India’s structural strengths are attracting robust capital flows, with $2–3B in HNI positions cleared recently, driving a buy-on-dip trend. Growing global interest in Indian sectors like pharma is evident. Markets have remained resilient, and India stands to benefit from increased allocations to emerging markets. Read more.
KPIs
CRISIL forecasts FY25 GDP growth at 6.5%, highlighting India’s fragile export outlook amid global tariff uncertainty, with merchandise exports flat at ~$437B in FY25, while services exports grew 13.1%. Inflation hit a multi-year low of 3.3% in March, prompting RBI to adopt an accommodative stance with 25 bps rate cuts.
India is emerging as a global leader in manufacturing and services, with the highest PMI readings globally. The Manufacturing PMI stands at 58.2 and Services PMI at 58.7, both ahead of China.
Morningstar has upgraded India’s sovereign rating to 'BBB' from 'BBB (low)', citing strong structural reforms, fiscal discipline, and consistent high growth. The upgrade reflects confidence in India’s infrastructure push, digital advancements, and resilient banking system.
RBI has doubled its gold holdings over the past four years, with gold now accounting for 11.7% of total forex reserves as of March-end. The central bank holds ~880MT of gold, with a notable rise in domestic stock.
WEEKLY MARKET UPDATE (w/c May 05, 2025)
Check out India In Sight Library, a live repository focused on Indian private markets and alternative assets. It features a collection of 1,000+ research reports and articles from 250+ sources across 5 categories and 50+ sub-categories. Get your access now!
Thank you for reading India In Sight!
Read our other editions here.
Disclaimer:
The content provided on this platform contains references and links to external sources, including articles, reports, websites, images, or videos. We do not own or claim copyright over the content found in these external sources. The ownership and rights of the content belong to the original creators.
This post and the information presented are intended for informational purposes only. The views expressed herein are the author’s alone and do not constitute an offer to sell, or a recommendation to purchase, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security, nor a recommendation for any investment product or service. While certain information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, neither the author nor any of his employers or their affiliates have independently verified this information, and its accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. Accordingly, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made as to, and no reliance should be placed on, the fairness, accuracy, timeliness or completeness of this information. The author and affiliated persons and companies assume no liability for this information and no obligation to update the information or analysis contained herein in the future.