RTP Global’s 2024 plan offers another hint of a thaw in startup funding winter
Funding winter for startups likely to thaw this year As markets stabilised, some fledgling companies went bust while others changed their business models to attract funds and survive the downturn. "We started seeing many companies that had raised seed funding come back to us towards the end of last year," Garg said. “Today, the market is in very good shape as we have enough time to do our due diligence before giving a term sheet.
Founders have also become a lot more reasonable." According to Tracxn data, there have been 33 late-stage deals (series C and above) since the start of the year, compared to 36 during the same period last year. A total of $1.38 billion has been raised so far, compared to $2.24 billion in the same period last year. Garg said companies will take time to mature and become unicorns.
"While good companies were also funded in 2021, you can't build sustainable unicorns in just three to four years. Many companies today are building solid fundamentals and will take five to six years to hit a billion-dollar valuation. We'll see that cohort achieve unicorn status in 2026-27." Last month we reported that Indian unicorns are finding little love this year, as investors hitch their wagons to smaller startups.
There were 318 deals in companies valued below $1 billion this year, five in those valued at $1-2 billion, one in a startup valued at $2 billion, and none in those valued at more than $3 billion, according to Tracxn data. While tier-2 and tier-3 towns are generating significant revenue for startups, consumer-facing businesses are now also tapping quick commerce to grow in the metros, Garg said. "Two years ago, everybody in the ecosystem including us had written off on quick commerce as it required plenty
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