Better times ahead for India’s venture capital market

The last 18-odd months, especially January onwards, haven’t been the best for India’s start-up market. As early stage investors consolidate existing portfolios, the lull in investments, particularly in the critical Series A stage, continues to hurt young start-ups. So far, according to data compiled by Chennai-based researcher Venture Intelligence, about $500 million has been clocked in venture capital investments across 127 deals. Last year, when the funding slowdown started to intensify, $1.5 billion was invested across 450 deals against more than $2 billion across 528 deals in the previous year. However, the past 18-odd months have also been eventful in terms of some broad shifts within the venture capital industry itself. A quick look at those shifts and what they may mean for the start-up market ahead.