In the corresponding period of 2025, startups raised $10.2 billion in equity funding through 1,982 rounds, compared with $10.4 billion across the first 10 months of 2024.
According to Tracxn data, the average equity funding per round rose to $8.6 million in 2026, from $5.1 million in the year-ago period. The higher average, despite the sharp decline in the number of rounds, points to a greater concentration of capital in fewer startups.
VCs have increasingly favoured a select group of startups, with a large share of investment concentrated in a handful of companies. Several of the top 10 startups by funds raised, including generative artificial intelligence (AI) startup Sarvam AI, clean energy developer Inox Clean Energy, and life sciences company Emergent BioSolutions, secured funding in two separate rounds during the period.
Sarvam, for instance, raised $255.1 million in a Series B round in January, followed by another $90.4 million in August.
The top 10 startups by total funds raised between January and October accounted for nearly 36 per cent of all VC equity funding during the period, securing a combined $3.92 billion.
Valuations also rose. Among the top 10 startups, publicly available data for seven showed their combined valuations climbing to $10.3 billion in 2026, from $9.3 billion in 2025.
Explaining the near-stagnation in VC investment, Anjan Ray, investment partner at Navam Capital, which invests in deeptech companies, said, “We hypothesise that VC funding has been relatively flat because their sources of funds — namely family offices, financial institutions, and high networth individuals who have invested in the stock market — are staying out as the market remains subdued. Also, less VC money is going towards consumertech and finance startups, and more towards deeptech, where one needs a longer horizon, perhaps as much as a decade, before an exit. Investors are therefore proceeding cautiously as they learn about deeptech, its ecosystem, and the potential risks and disruptions.”
The largest deal during the period was undertaken by Nxtra Data, the data centre business of Bharti Airtel. It raised $1 billion in a round led by Alpha Wave Global.
Mumbai-based Neysa, which helps companies integrate AI into their operations, raised $600 million in a Series B round led by Blackstone. The funding lifted its valuation from $800 million to $1.4 billion.
Sarvam, one of the companies supported by the IndiaAI Mission, raised a total of $345 million across two rounds from prominent investors, including Nvidia Corporation and HCLTech. The funding helped it attain unicorn status in June, with a valuation of $1.5 billion.