January 2016 sees 101.7% jump in deal numbers compared to same period last year

The consumer internet space in India has been flushed with cash since late-2014. The hyper-funding trend has spilled over to the first month of 2016 and 113 startups have raised over $493.2 million funding. If you compare the amount of funding raised this January with that raised in the same period in 2015, there is a growth of 16.2 percent.

Jan '15 | Number of Deals = 56 | Deal value = $424.4 Million

In January 2015, there were 56 deals and startups raised $424.4 million; of this 14 startups did not disclose the amount raised. Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai were the top cities that attracted the most investment. One startup each in Jaipur, Kochi, Vizag and Pune raised funding in the first month of last year.

Jan '16 | Number of Deals = 113 | Deal value = $493.2 Million

In January 2016, the number of deals have increased by 50%. In the first month of this year, 113 deals were announced and the invested amount stood at $493.2 million. 41 startups have not disclosed the amount they’ve raised. Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Hyderabad were the cities that received the most funding. The other cites that attracted funding were Ahmadabad and Pune—these cities saw two deals each—and Chennai, which had one deal.

ShopClues seems to prefer January, at least in the area of fund-raising. It was in January 2015 that they announced a $100 million funding round; they did a repeat this January 2016. This year they also entered the billion-dollar-valuation Unicorn club.

Top investments in January 2015

Top investments in January 2016

Notable early-stage deals in January 2015

Notable Early stage deals in January 2016

This January witnessed five foodtech fund-raises, whereas last year in the same period that number was zero. The foodtech companies that raised funding in January 2016: Smartcooky, WIMWI Foods, Lumiere, Bucker, TinMen, Swiggy and FreshMenu.

The online auto sector has seen a bit of activity. There were four investments—PitStop, CarTrade, Silvan and Meladath Auto. 21 mobile-focused startups and 19 e-commerce firms also raised funding.

There were seven investments in education and professional training--Career360, MyCity4Kids, CollegeDunia, Qriyo, MyChild App, Myly and Gyaanzone.

There were eight investments in healthcare and wellness sector—Obino, Remidio, Saral Designs, Gajty,  PlexusMD, Care24, JustDoc and PlanMyMedicalTrip.

When it comes to funding announcement, January has been a special month. Prime Minster Narendra Modi announced a $1.5 billion fund of funds in the high profile Startup India event. This is the first time Indian policy makers have tried to directly help Indian startups at this scale. The effects of this move remains to be seen.