Report on trends in funding to startups during the period 2014 to 2021 prepared by Centre for Innovation, Incubation & Enterprise, Savitribai Phule Pune University in association with Posiview Ventures. Authors: Dr Apurva Palkar, CA Vinit Deo, CA Prajakta Shetye-Deo

1. INVESTOR SENTIMENTS
AND EMERGENCE OF TIER II
CITY- PUNE AS STARTUP
DESTINATION
PREPARED BY
DR APOORVA PALKAR I CA VINIT DEO I CA PRAJAKTA SHETYE- DEO

2. CA VINIT DEO
CA PRAJAKTA DEO
From Posiview Ventures
DR APOORVA PALKAR
FROM CIIE (CENTRE FOR INNOVATION INCUBATION & ENTERPRISE)
We at Posiview Ventures are privileged to
partner with Center for Innovation, Incubation &
Linkages – Savitribai Phule Pune University to
research and publish this Report on trends in
the venture capital funding for startups in Pune.
The purpose of this Report is to take an
overview of the funding scenario and identify
sectors and stages of startups that have
attracted funding. We hope the report will
enable all stakeholders – Startups, Angel
Investors, VC Funds, Incubators etc. to take
better decisions for the future. We are Thankful
to Dr Apoorva Palkar for giving us the
opportunity to work on this Report in associatin
with CIIL-SPPU.
Startup funding that was confined to 3 big cities namely
Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi/NCR has spread to Big 8
cities that includes Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune Jaipur and
Ahmedabad . The city of Pune has its own share of
Unicorns namely Firstcry, Druva, Icertis and Mindtickle to
name a few . It is evident that India needs more than 3
cities to handle growth, income generation, employment
generation and urbanization . Newly added Tier II cities
offer a huge potential for growth and opportunity that is
untapped (Your Story-2021).
The year of pandemic saw the sentiments of the investors
at a high especially in the second half of the year. It is
interesting to study how emerging cities are able to gain
interest for seed and pre-series A/Series A round . The
focus of this report is to understand how Pune is emerging
as a startup destination with sustained interest of the
investors both from within the country and outside.

3. INTRODUCTION
Startups have seen a great deal of up-liftment both by way of
performance as also by way of interest from the investment
community. India’s performance in producing almost 42 unicorns in
last one year which is almost equal to the number of Unicorns in
last decade reflects the speed at which the startup culture is
shaping up in India. Now, India stands 3rd in the world's unicorn list
after US and China with 487 and 301 respectively.Startups have
raised $24.1 Billion funding which is 3X from last year and it is
important to note that 48% of tech startups are creating solutions
for India . In terms of share BSFI accounts for 13 startups and 25% of
investment in 2021. The Startup eco system witnessed 750+ active
investors in year 2021,#X more investors participated in Mega
rounds
Startup -India's
journey

4. The study is exploratory . Data for the study is collected from sources
namely Crunchbase , ENTRACKR, reporting in Economic times , Hindustan
times ,other information available on internet etc .
The study aims to determining the number of deals in Pune in
year 2014-21 and establish a relationship with impact of critical
factors on investment deals.
It would also study on the patterns of the deals across sectors
and emergence of futuristic investment focus areas
Objective
Methodology

5. Year Amt USD No. of Deals
Average of
Amt/No. of Deals
(USD Mn)
2014 $15.65Mn 2 7.83
2015 $75.74Mn 10 7.57
2016 $83.68Mn 13 6.44
2017 $85.89Mn 11 7.81
2018 $195.78Mn 17 11.52
2019 $303.54Mn 23 13.20
2020 $199.89Mn 17 11.76
2021 $547.71Mn 51 10.74
Total $1,507.88Mn 144 10.47
Overview of Startup Funding in Pune
Startups in Pune received a funding of USD 1,508 Mn in the 8 year period
of 2014 to 2021 over 144 deals. During this period, there were a total of
174 deals out of which the investment amounts of 30 were not announced.
Although the average deal size has moved up by just 1.5x from USD 7.83
Mn in 2014 to USD 10.75 Mn in 2021, the amount of investments have
gone up by 100x from USD 15.65 Mn in 2014 to USD 1507.88 Mn in 2021
and number of deals have gone up by 87x from 2 to 175.

6. SECTOR WISE ANALYSIS

7. Sector-wise number of Deals
(2014-21) & (2019-21)
Category
All Deals
(2014-21)
Percentage of
All Deals
(2014-21)
Recent Deals
(2019-21)
Percentage of
Recent Deals
(2019-21)
Fintech,
Financial
Services
28 16% 20 17.69%
Health 27 16% 21 18.58%
AgriTech 19 11% 11 9.73%
EdTech 19 11% 13 11.50%
Logistics 14 8% 6 5.31%
IoT Solution 11 6% 9 7.95%
D2C 9 5% 4 3.55%
HR Tech 7 4% 4 3.55%
SaaS 6 3% 4 3.55%
Analytics 5 3% 1 0.90%
E-Commerce 5 3% 3 2.65%
E-Vehicle 5 3% 2 1.76%
Food and
Beverage
5 3% 4 3.55%
Robotics 4 2% 3 2.66%
BioTech 2 1% 2 1.76%
DeepTech 2 1% 2 1.76%

8. Gaming 2 1% 2 1.76%
Technology and
others
2 1% 0 0%
Renewable
Energy
1 1% 1 0.90%
ServiceTech 1 1% 1 0.90%
Total 174 100% 113 100%
Fintech & BFSI, Health, Agritech, EdTech & Logistics have been
the most popular sectors for investment in Pune accounting for 174 deals i.e. 62% of the
total deals till date. However sectors such as Internet of Things (IOT), Direct to Consumer
(D2C) brands, SaaS, E-Commerce, Robotics, Food & Beverages are picking up with number
of deals in last 3 years more than the combined deals in previous 5 years. For example out
of the total 11 deals in IOT space, 9 took place in last 3 years. Similarly 3 out 4 deals in
Robotics and 4 out of 5 in Food & Beverage space took place in last 3 years indicating that
investors are open to exploring startups in new emerging sectors in Pune.

10. Category Amt USD 2021
BioTech $1.4Mn 2
DeepTech $1.2Mn 2
Gaming $7.2Mn 2
Renewable Energy $4.5Mn 1
ServiceTech $0.2Mn 1
Total $14.5Mn 8
Sectors with first-time investment
in 2021
It is interesting to note that 6 new sectors saw investments
for the first time in 2021, 5 of which were in high-end
technology space. Historically, Pune has a strong culture of
academia and research with several premium educational
and research institutions based here. Investments in
Deeptech Startups is a sign of a maturing startup ecosystem

11. Category
All Deals
Amt USD
(2014-21)
Recent Deals
Amt USD
(2019-21)
Percentage of
(2019-21)
D2C $413.15Mn $301.75Mn 28.70%
Fintech,
Financial
Services
$406.97Mn $352.63Mn 33.54%
Logistics $292.29Mn $127.22Mn 12.10%
AgriTech $131.62Mn $114.20Mn 10.89%
Health $73.53Mn $61.33Mn 5.83%
Analytics $67.30Mn $5.20Mn 0.50%
Robotics $27.30Mn $26.27Mn 2.50%
Technology and
others
$21.00Mn $0.00Mn 0.00%
IoT Solution $15.89Mn $11.89Mn 1.13%
SaaS $13.25Mn $12.15Mn 1.15%
Food and
Beverage
$11.40Mn $10.73Mn 1.03%
EdTech $9.63Mn $7.97Mn 0.75%
Sector-wise Investments
(2019-21) Part 1
Contd.

12. Gaming $7.50Mn $7.50Mn 0.71%
E-Vehicle $6.07Mn $2.00Mn 0.19%
Renewable
Energy
$4.50Mn $4.50Mn 0.42%
HR Tech $2.14Mn $2.07Mn 0.21%
E-Commerce $1.66Mn $0.93Mn 0.10%
BioTech $1.40Mn $1.40Mn 0.13%
DeepTech $1.20Mn $1.20Mn 0.11%
ServiceTech $0.20Mn $0.20Mn 0.01%
Total $1507.99Mn $1051.14Mn 100%
Sector-wise Investments (2019-21)
Part 2
In terms of amount of investment, 4 sectors attracted
investment of over USD 100 Mn in the year under review:
D2C (USD 413 Mn), Fintech (USD 406 Mn), Logistics (USD
292 Mn), Agritech (USD 132 Mn). This indicates that we can
see emergence of large companies in these sectors – and
possibly even Unicorns - in the coming years.

13. Category Seed/Angel Round
Health 18
EdTech 16
AgriTech 8
IoT Solution 8
HR Tech 7
Fintech, Financial Services 5
E-Vehicle 4
SaaS 4
D2C 3
E-Commerce 3
Total 76
Sector-wise Venture Capital rounds

14. Category Amt USD Percentage
Fintech, Financial
Services
$352.63Mn 34.36%
D2C $301.75Mn 29.40%
Logistics $127.22Mn 12.39%
AgriTech $114.20Mn 11.12%
Health $61.33Mn 5.97%
Robotics $26.27Mn 2.56%
SaaS $12.15Mn 1.18%
IoT Solution $11.89Mn 1.15%
Food and Beverage $10.73Mn 1.07%
EdTech $7.97Mn 0.80%
Total $1026.14Mn 100%
Top 10 sectors for Investment in recent
years (2019-21)
Two thirds of the investment of USD 1,507 Mn that came to Pune in last
years has come in last 3 years. It should be also noted that in the recent 3
years, new age sectors have started attracting significant amount of
investment: Robotics (USD 27 Mn), IOT Solutions (12 Mn), Analytics (USD 5
Mn), Gaming (USD 7Mn).

15. STAGES-WISE INVESTMENTS

16. Stages Amt USD
No. of
Deals
Percentage of
Amt USD
Average of
Amt/No. of
Deals
(USD Mn)
Venture
Capital
$129.98Mn 110 9% 1.18
Private
Equity
$1378.01Mn 64 91% 21.53
Total $1507.99Mn 174 100% 8.66
Stage-wise Funding Overview
Out of the total 174 deals in 2014-21, 110 deals (63%)were in the
early stage i.e. Venture Funding and 64 (37%) deals were in the
growth stage i.e. Private Equity. However when we consider amount
of investment, out of the total investment of USD 1,508 Mn only USD
130 Mn i.e. 9% was invested at the Venture stage. This is a sign of a
healthy ecosystem where venture funds are making larger number
of investors are making smaller amounts of investments.

17. Stages
Amt USD
(2014-21)
No. of Deals
Percentage
of No. of
Deals
Average of
Amt/No. of
Deals
(USD Mn)
Angel
Round
$77.69Mn 89 80.90% 0.87
Venture
Round
$52.29Mn 21 19.10% 2.49
Total $129.98Mn 110 100% 1.18
Stage-wise Venture Capital Funding
(2014-21)
Stage-wise Venture Capital Funding
(2019-21)
Stages Amt USD
No. of
Deals
Percentage
of Amt USD
Average of
Amt/No. of Deals
(USD Mn)
Angel/See
d Round
$60.25Mn 63 89% 0.96
Venture
Round
$7.57Mn 8 11% 0.95
Total $67.82Mn 71 100% 0.95
Out of the total early stage investments, 80% have been made at angel
stage indicating growing interest of High Net Worth investors to fund
founders at an early stage. This is an important development as majority
of the angels were so far confined to metro cities such as Mumbai,
Bengaluru, Hyderebad etc.

18. Stage-wise Private Equity Funding
(2014-21)
Stages Amt USD No. of Deals
Percentage of
No. of Deals
Average of
Amt/No. of
Deals
(USD Mn)
Series A $148.82Mn 29 45% 5.13
Series B $166.33Mn 13 20% 12.79
Series C $253.00Mn 7 11% 36.14
Series D $281.67Mn 7 11% 40.24
Series E $400.86Mn 4 6% 100.22
Corporate
Round
$104.00Mn 2 4% 52.00
Post-IPO $23.33Mn 2 3% 11.67
Total $1378.01Mn 64 100% 21.53
One of the most interesting developments in Pune’s startup ecosystem is the growing
number of Series A transactions. A Series A investment is considered to the validation of
the startup by a mid/large Private Equity fund and makes the company ready for larger
rounds. Pune recorded 29 series A transactions worth USD 149 Mn as also 35 Series B and
later transactions worth USD 1230 Mn in the last 8 years indicating the growing strength of
Pune’s startups.

19. Stage-wise Private Equity Funding
(2019-21)
Stages Amt USD No. of Deals
Percentage
of Amt USD
Average of
Amt/No. of
Deals
(USD Mn)
Series A $101.13Mn 19 10% 5.32
Series B $121.00Mn 9 12% 13.44
Series C $182.00Mn 5 19% 36.40
Series D $155.00Mn 3 16% 51.67
Series E $400.86Mn 4 41% 100.22
Post-IPO $23.33Mn 2 2% 11.67
Total $983.33Mn 42 100% 23.41

20. Company deals done several times
Deal Count No. of Deals
Percentage of No. of
Deals
1 - 3 Deals 66 82.5%
4 Deals 2 2.5%
5 Deals 3 3.75%
6 Deals 8 10%
7 Deals 1 1.25%
80 100%
For a startup ecosystem to thrive, it is important that the companies keep
receiving investments from early stage to growth stage. 43% of Pune’s
startups received more than 1 round of investment and more 30% i.e. 24
companies received more than 3 rounds. The growing number of
companies with multiple rounds indicates that Pune’s ecosystem has
sustainable and scalable startups. Also more than 3 rounds of investments
indicates that the companies have reached a mature stage and set to enter
the big league.

21. ANNEXURES

22. Row
Labels
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Grand
Total
AgriTech 0.65 5.00 0.75 10.00 1.02 34.20 2.00 78.00 131.62
Analytics 0.00 0.00 0.00 57.10 5.00 0.00 5.20 0.00 67.30
BioTech 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.40 1.40
D2C 15.00 36.00 60.40 0.00 0.00 149.75 150.00 2.00 413.15
DeepTech 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.20 1.20
E-
Commerce
0.00 0.46 0.00 0.27 0.00 0.47 0.47 0.00 1.66
EdTech 0.00 0.10 0.23 0.59 0.73 0.91 1.70 5.37 9.63
E-Vehicle 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4.07 0.00 0.00 2.00 6.07
Fintech,
Financial
Services
0.00 1.50 2.67 8.00 42.17 42.30 20.00 290.33 406.97
Food and
Beverage
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.67 0.00 2.40 8.33 11.40
Gaming 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 7.50 7.50
Health 0.00 6.68 1.17 2.00 2.35 23.32 5.09 32.92 73.53
HR Tech 0.00 0.00 0.07 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.57 0.50 2.14
IoT
Solution
0.00 0.00 4.00 0.00 0.00 7.00 0.00 4.89 15.89
Logistics 0.00 5.00 14.40 7.00 138.67 40.00 11.46 75.76 292.29
Renewable
Energy
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4.50 4.50
Robotics 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.03 0.00 5.61 0.00 20.66 27.30
Saas 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.10 0.00 0.00 12.15 13.25
ServiceTec
h
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.20 0.20
Technolog
y and
others
0.00 21.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 21.00
Grand
Total
15.65 75.74 83.68 85.99 195.78 303.54 199.89 547.71 1507.99
Category-wise Amt USD

23. Row
Labels
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Grand
Total
AgriTech 1 2 1 1 3 7 1 3 19
Analytics 0 0 1 2 1 0 1 0 5
BioTech 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2
D2C 1 1 3 0 0 2 1 1 9
DeepTech 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2
E-
Commerce
0 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 5
EdTech 0 1 2 2 1 2 4 7 19
E-Vehicle 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 2 5
Fintech,
Financial
Services
0 1 1 2 4 7 2 11 28
Food and
Beverage
0 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 5
Gaming 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2
Health 0 1 2 1 2 9 4 8 27
HR Tech 0 1 1 1 0 1 2 1 7
IoT
Solution
1 0 1 0 0 1 0 8 11
Logistics 0 1 2 2 3 2 2 2 14
Renewable
Energy
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
Robotics 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 4
Saas 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 4 6
ServiceTec
h
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
Technolog
y and
others
0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Grand
Total
3 11 15 13 19 33 19 61 174
Category-wise Deals

24. Row
Labels
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Grand
Total
Angel
Round
0.00 0.10 0.23 0.00 0.16 1.00 0.00 2.54 4.03
Corporate
Round
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 104.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 104.00
Post-IPO 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 23.33 0.00 0.00 23.33
Seed
Round
0.65 7.96 3.64 0.59 4.12 8.94 13.23 34.54 73.66
Series A 0.00 11.68 19.07 11.00 5.94 20.00 10.00 71.13 148.82
Series B 0.00 0.00 0.00 10.00 35.33 27.80 5.20 88.00 166.33
Series C 15.00 0.00 0.00 56.00 0.00 67.00 10.00 105.00 253.00
Series D 0.00 36.00 60.00 0.00 30.67 0.00 10.00 145.00 281.67
Series E 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 149.40 151.46 100.00 400.86
Venture
Round
0.00 20.00 0.75 8.40 15.57 6.07 0.00 1.50 52.29
Grand
Total
15.65 75.74 83.68 85.99 195.78 303.54 199.89 547.71 1507.99
Stage-wise Amt USD

25. Row
Labels
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Grand
Total
Angel
Round
0 1 3 0 2 2 0 3 11
Corporate
Round
0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2
Post-IPO 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2
Seed
Round
2 5 5 3 5 9 13 36 78
Series A 0 3 3 2 2 6 1 12 29
Series B 0 0 0 1 3 4 1 4 13
Series C 1 0 0 1 0 2 1 2 7
Series D 0 1 2 0 1 0 1 2 7
Series E 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 4
Venture
Round
0 1 2 6 4 7 0 1 21
Grand
Total
3 11 15 13 19 33 19 61 174
Stage-wise Deals