India overtakes Germany, France to become world’s 3rd-largest tech startup hub: Tracxn

India has emerged as the world’s third-largest technology startup hub, surpassing Germany and France, with startups raising $7.7 billion in the first nine months of 2025, according to a report by market intelligence platform Tracxn.

The period saw 10 mega funding rounds above $100 million, led by Erisha E Mobility’s $1 billion Series D, GreenLine’s $275 million Series A, and Infra.Market’s $222 million Series F. Others included Access Healthcare and Groww. The median round size nearly doubled to $1.5 million from $683,000 in the same period last year.

However, total funding declined 23% from $10.1 billion in the first nine months of 2024 and 6% from $8.3 billion in 2023. Seed stage funding fell the most, at $727 million—down 39% year-on-year. Early-stage funding totaled $2.7 billion, 10% lower than 2024 but flat versus 2023, while late-stage funding dropped 27% year-on-year to $4.3 billion.

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Despite the funding slowdown, the report highlighted India’s growing maturity. “India climbing to the 3rd rank globally reflects the resilience and adaptability of our startup ecosystem,” said Neha Singh, Co-Founder of Tracxn. “Rising acquisitions, steady IPO activity, and continued unicorn creation are providing balanced exit pathways for founders and investors.”

Enterprise Applications, Retail, and Transportation & Logistics Tech were the top-performing sectors. Enterprise Applications drew $2.3 billion (down 6% YoY), Retail $2 billion (down 18% YoY but up 15% vs 2023), and Transportation & Logistics Tech $1.79 billion (up 17% YoY).

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The ecosystem also saw 110 acquisitions in 9M 2025, a 15% rise from 2024, though slightly below 2023 levels. The largest was Resulticks’ $2 billion acquisition by Diginex, followed by Magma General Insurance’s $516 million acquisition by DS Group and Patanjali Ayurved. Bengaluru led city-level dealmaking with 35 acquisitions, ahead of Mumbai (19), Gurugram (11), and Delhi (9).

India also added four new unicorns during the period, taking the total count to 122. Of these, 22 have already exited through IPOs or acquisitions, reflecting the ecosystem’s increasing depth. Bengaluru continues to dominate the unicorn landscape with 53 unicorns, followed by Gurugram (20) and Mumbai (18).

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