May witnessed a significant surge in investments for Indian startups, surpassing the $1.3 billion mark, the highest monthly funding in 2024 so far. This increase was driven by notable deals such as Google and Flipkart’s $350 million agreement, several rounds exceeding $100 million, and numerous growth-stage investments.

According to data from startup intelligence platform TheKredible, Indian startups raised $1.34 billion across 128 deals in May. This included 39 growth-stage deals amounting to $1.19 billion and 66 early-stage deals totaling $154 million. Additionally, there were 23 undisclosed rounds, mainly early-stage.

The last unicorn in the Indian startup ecosystem was produced in March with Perfios joining the exclusive club. So far this year, there have been two new unicorns, with Bhavish Aggarwal’s AI startup Krutrim being the first.

Month-on-Month and Year-on-Year Trends

May saw a nearly 29% increase in funding compared to April, which recorded a little over $1 billion. Year-on-year, May 2024 experienced a 32% rise from $1.01 billion in May 2023. Since January, Indian startups have raised over $5.1 billion, on track to potentially reach $12 billion by year-end. In 2023, total funding amounted to $11.3 billion.

Top Growth-Stage Deals

The top growth-stage deal in May was Flipkart’s $350 million equity funding from Google. This was followed by SaaS firm Atlan’s $105 million Series C round and healthtech startup NephroPlus’s $102 million Series F round. Other notable deals included D2C performance wear brand TechnoSport and fast fashion brand Libas, raising $21 million and $18 million, respectively, in their maiden fundraises. The top 10 also featured NBFC startup Annapurna Finance, B2B e-commerce unicorn Infra.Market, EV startups Battery Smart, GreenCell Mobility, and Ather Energy, edtech firm K12 Techno, and fintech company Propelld.

Top Early-Stage Deals

Among early-stage deals, agritech startup Superplum led with $15 million in Series A funding, followed by UnifyApps with $11 million in seed funding. Other significant early-stage deals included Soleos Solar Energy, Vegapay, Turno, DiFacto, Celcius Logistics, Flam, CoverSure, and Fyllo.

The robust funding in May, driven by several large deals, indicates growing investor confidence in the Indian startup market. This revival, despite potential delays from investors awaiting election outcomes, suggests a promising outlook for funding flows in the coming months.