Kerala-based startups witness 40% surge in seed-stage funding in 2023: Report

livemint.com:

Cash-strapped Dunzo promises to pay former staff by March-end Overall, the Kerala-based startups raised $33.2 million in 2023, an uptick of 15% increase from $28.9 million raised in 2022. However, the early-stage funding dropped 32% to $7 million in 2023 from $10.3 million in 2022. The Kerala startup ecosystem has not recorded any late-stage funding in the last five years.

Edtechs have a reality check moment. Will they survive it? Among the sectors, the Food & Agriculture Tech-related startups saw a 266% spike in funding to $7.4 million in 2023 from $2 million in 2022. The Retail sector secured total funding of $3.9 million in 2023.

Fundings in the ed-tech sector in Kerala-based startups declined to $3.47 million in 2023 from $7.2 million in 2022. Among the cities, Kochi took the lead in funding, accounting for 87% of the total funds raised in the state. Kochi-based startups raised $29 million, followed by those based in Alappuzha and Thiruvananthapuram raised $4 million and $709K respectively.

Layoffs continue to roil software industry with 32,000 jobs cut Further, the Kerala tech startup ecosystem witnessed six acquisitions in 2023, a slight improvement from two during the previous year. Physics Wallah acquired Xylem Learning for $61 million. Radiant Cash Management acquired Kochi's Acemoney, VRIZE acquired Thirubanthpuram's Perfomatix, CareStack acquired Waybeo, and Gharienin Group acquired Kozhikode-based Bentlon last year, respectively.