Private equity and venture capital (PE/VC) funding to Indian startups fell 79 percent to $3.3 billion in the January-May period from $15.7 billion a year ago, according to data shared by Venture Intelligence. Startups secured 247 funding rounds in this period against 613 in the first five months of 2022, the data shows.In May, investors participated in about 53 funding rounds and invested about $948 million, against $1.68 billion invested across 108 funding rounds in the year-ago period. While the funding amount plunged about 44 percent year on year, there was a sharper decline in the number of deals, which more than halved in May 2023 from the same month in the previous year.

The funding amount did see an uptick month on month, from a low base of $342 million in about 46 deals in April, it is still below the 2022 levels. Stage-wise funding Growth and late-stage investments also remained under pressure. In the first five months of 2023, startups in this stage secured $2.75 billion in funding across 105 deals against five-month average of $8.9 billion across 189 late and growth-stage deals in 2022