内容来源：https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/27/india-startup-funding-hits-11b-in-2025-as-investors-grow-more-selective/

内容总结：

印度创投市场2025年回顾：资本趋于审慎，生态走向成熟

2025年，印度作为全球融资额第三大的初创企业市场，呈现出一条与美国“AI驱动资本高度集中”模式截然不同的发展路径。尽管全年融资总额仍高达约105亿美元，但市场整体氛围已转向高度选择性投资，交易活跃度显著降温。

融资收缩，阶段分化
数据显示，印度初创企业全年融资交易数仅为1518笔，同比锐减39%。资本更集中地投向被验证的领域。其中：

• 种子轮与后期轮次遇冷：种子轮融资额降至11亿美元，同比下滑30%，显示投资者减少了对实验性项目的押注。后期轮次融资也下降26%至55亿美元，规模、盈利与退出前景面临更严苛审视。
• 早期阶段显现韧性：早期阶段融资额逆势增长7%，达到39亿美元。Tracxn联合创始人尼哈·辛格指出，在资金趋紧的环境下，投资者更青睐那些能证明产品市场匹配度、收入可见性和单位经济效益的创始人团队。

AI投资：务实路径与美国分野
人工智能领域集中体现了这种调整。印度AI初创公司2025年融资6.43亿美元，同比微增4.1%，资金主要分布在早期及早期成长阶段。这与美国AI融资额激增141%、突破1210亿美元且由后期交易主导的局面形成鲜明对比。
投资者普遍认为，印度短期内缺乏打造基础大模型公司所需的科研深度、人才储备和长期资本，因此更现实的选择是聚焦应用驱动的AI业务及相邻的深科技领域。Accel合伙人普拉扬克·斯瓦鲁普坦言，印度尚未出现年收入达数亿美元的“AI优先”公司。

资本流向多元化，本土优势受关注
尽管AI吸引大量目光，但印度资本分布相比美国更为均衡，消费、制造、金融科技和深科技等领域仍获 substantial 资金支持。投资者正基于印度本土优势进行长线布局：

• 制造业与深科技因面临更少的全球资本竞争，且在人才、成本结构和市场准入方面具备优势，正获得越来越多风险投资。斯瓦鲁普指出，先进制造领域的初创公司数量在过去四五年增长近十倍，是印度一个明确的“制胜领域”。
• 消费领域同样活跃。Lightspeed合伙人拉胡尔·塔内贾表示，快速商务、家庭服务等迎合印度城市人口密度与消费行为的模式，比硅谷式的资本密集型模式更具增长潜力。

生态演变：参与者更集中，政府角色增强
市场选择性增强导致参与者大幅减少，全年活跃投资者数量下降53%至约3170名，其中近半为印度本土资本，显示在全球投资者转向谨慎之际，本土资本发挥了更重要的作用。
与此同时，印度政府更深度介入创投生态，通过设立百亿美元级的研发创新基金和“基金中的基金”等措施，旨在撬动私人资本投向能源转型、量子计算、人工智能等关键领域。政府的积极参与有助于稳定投资者长期担忧的政策监管不确定性，为发展周期较长的企业提供了更可预期的环境。

退出渠道改善，估值更趋理性
政策环境的改善已在退出市场有所体现。2025年印度共有42家科技公司上市，同比增长17%，并购交易也增长7%至136笔。更重要的是，上市需求主要来自国内机构和零售投资者，降低了对波动性较大的外国资本的过度依赖。新晋独角兽企业以更少的融资轮次和资本消耗达到十亿美元估值，显示出相比往年及全球同行更为理性的增长路径。

挑战与展望
展望2026年，印度创投生态仍面临挑战，核心在于如何在全球AI竞赛中找准定位，以及后期融资能否在不依赖巨额资本流入的情况下实现深化。
然而，2025年的变化清晰表明，印度初创生态正在走向成熟而非退缩：资本部署更具针对性，退出路径更加可预测，国内市场动态日益主导其增长逻辑。对投资者而言，印度正日益成为一个具有独特风险特征、发展节奏和机会的互补性市场，而非单纯替代其他发达市场。

中文翻译：

2025年印度初创企业生态系统融资总额接近110亿美元，但投资者出手次数大幅减少，对风险投向的选择也更为审慎。这凸显出全球融资规模第三大的初创市场，正与美国由人工智能驱动的资本集中化趋势分道扬镳。

这种选择性在交易活动中最为明显。据Tracxn数据显示，印度初创企业融资轮次同比锐减近39%，全年仅完成1518笔交易。融资总额的降幅相对温和——同比下降17%以上，降至105亿美元。

资本收缩并非全面同步。随着投资者减少实验性押注，种子轮融资在2025年骤降至11亿美元，较2024年下跌30%。在规模扩张、盈利能力和退出前景面临更严格审视的背景下，后期阶段融资也降温至55亿美元，同比下滑26%。然而早期阶段融资展现出更强韧性，同比增长7%至39亿美元。

Tracxn联合创始人尼哈·辛格指出："资本配置正日益聚焦早期初创企业。"她表示，在融资环境趋紧的背景下，那些能展现更强产品市场契合度、收入能见度及单位经济效益的创始人正获得更多信心。

人工智能领域的探索

这种资本策略调整在人工智能领域尤为显著。根据Tracxn向TechCrunch提供的数据，2025年印度人工智能初创企业通过100笔交易仅融资6.43亿美元，同比微增4.1%。资金主要分布在早期及成长初期阶段：早期人工智能融资总计2.733亿美元，后期轮次融资2.6亿美元，反映出投资者更青睐应用导向型业务，而非资本密集型的模型开发。

这与美国形成鲜明对比——据Tracxn统计，2025年美国人工智能领域通过765轮融资吸金超1210亿美元，较2024年暴涨141%，且后期阶段交易占据绝对主导地位。

Accel合伙人普拉扬克·斯瓦鲁普坦言："印度尚未出现年收入达4000万至5000万美元（更不用说1亿美元）的人工智能领军企业，而这正在全球范围内成为现实。"

斯瓦鲁普向TechCrunch表示，印度缺乏大型基础模型公司，需要时间构建该层级竞争所需的研究深度、人才储备和耐心资本——这使得应用导向型人工智能及相邻的深度科技领域成为近期更现实的聚焦点。

这种务实主义塑造了投资者在核心人工智能之外进行长期布局的方向。风险资本正加速涌入制造业和深度科技领域。这些领域面临的全球资本竞争相对缓和，且印度在人才储备、成本结构和市场准入方面具有明显优势。

尽管人工智能吸引了大量投资者关注，但与美国相比，印度资本分布仍更为均衡，仍有大量资金持续流入消费、制造、金融科技和深度科技初创企业。斯瓦鲁普特别指出，先进制造业已成为长期机遇，此类初创企业数量在过去四五年间增长近十倍——鉴于全球资本竞争较低，他认为这是印度明确的"制胜领域"。

光速创投合伙人拉胡尔·塔内贾表示，2025年人工智能初创企业约占印度交易量的30%-40%，但同时指出面向消费者的企业正同步激增。印度城市人口行为模式的变化催生了从即时配送到家政服务等更快速、更按需的服务需求，这些领域更依赖印度的市场规模和人口密度，而非硅谷式的资本密集模式。

印度与美国的差异

PitchBook数据显示，2025年印度与美国的资本配置出现显著分化。截至12月23日的数据显示，仅第四季度美国风险投资就飙升至894亿美元，而同期印度初创企业融资额仅约42亿美元。

然而这个差距并非全貌。

光速创投的塔内贾警告不应简单对比印美市场，他强调人口密度、劳动力成本和消费者行为的差异决定了商业模式的规模化路径。即时配送和按需服务等品类在印度的渗透率远超美国，这反映的是本土经济特性，而非创始人或投资者缺乏雄心。

近期光速创投新募资90亿美元并重点聚焦人工智能，但塔内贾表示这并不意味着其印度战略全面转向。他指出美国基金面向不同的市场和成熟周期，而光速印度分部将继续支持消费类初创企业，同时选择性探索由本土需求（而非全球资本密度）驱动的人工智能机遇。

印度初创生态的细微变化

印度初创生态系统对女性主导企业的融资也在收紧。Tracxn报告显示，2025年女性创立的科技初创企业获投资金额相对稳定在10亿美元左右，同比微降3%。但这个总体数据掩盖了更深层的收缩：女性创立企业的融资轮次减少40%，首次获投企业数量下降36%。

随着选择性增强，投资者参与度显著收窄。根据Tracxn向TechCrunch提供的数据，今年印度融资轮次的参与者约3170家，较去年同期的约6800家骤降53%。其中近半数活跃投资者来自印度本土——约1500家国内基金和天使投资人参与交易，表明在全球投资者转向谨慎之际，本土资本正扮演更重要的角色。

交易活动也愈发集中于少数重复投资方。Tracxn数据显示，拐点创投以参与36轮融资成为最活跃投资者，Accel以34轮紧随其后。

2025年印度政府对初创生态的参与度显著提升。新德里在1月宣布设立11.5亿美元的母基金以扩大初创企业融资渠道，随后推出10万亿卢比（120亿美元）的研发创新计划，通过长期贷款、股权注入和深度科技基金拨款等方式，重点支持能源转型、量子计算、机器人、航天技术、生物技术和人工智能等领域。

这一推动已开始催化私人资本。政府日益深入的参与促使Accel、Blume Ventures和Celesta Capital等美印风投和私募机构承诺投入近20亿美元支持深度科技初创企业——这项计划还吸引了英伟达担任顾问并引入高通创投。此外，印度政府今年早些时候还联合领投了量子计算初创企业QpiAI的3200万美元融资，这种联邦层面的直接参与实属罕见。

政府参与度的提升有助于缓解投资者长期担忧的风险：监管不确定性。光速创投的塔内贾表示："监管变化带来的风险是投资者最不愿承担的隐患之一。"他补充说，随着政府机构对初创生态更熟悉，政策更可能与之协同演进，从而为投资长周期企业的投资者降低不确定性。

印度退出市场变化

不确定性的降低已在退出市场初步显现。据Tracxn统计，过去两年印度科技IPO持续活跃，2025年共有42家科技公司上市，较2024年的36家增长17%。这些上市需求主要来自国内机构和散户投资者，缓解了长期以来对印度初创企业退出过度依赖外资的担忧。并购活动亦同步升温，收购交易量同比增长7%至136笔。

Accel的斯瓦鲁普表示，投资者曾长期担忧印度公开市场主要依赖外资支撑，引发对全球衰退期退出可持续性的质疑。"今年情况已扭转这种认知。"他指出国内投资者在吸纳科技企业上市方面作用日益增强，这种转变使退出路径更具可预测性，降低了对波动性海外资金的依赖。

2025年印度独角兽培育路径也反映出这种审慎转向。虽然新晋独角兽数量同比持平，但印度初创企业以更少资本、更少融资轮次和更有限的机构投资者群体达成10亿美元估值，显示出相较往年及全球同行更为稳健的规模化路径。

随着印度步入2026年，挑战依然存在，特别是在全球人工智能竞赛中的定位，以及后期阶段融资能否在不依赖巨额资本流入的情况下实现深化。

尽管如此，2025年的转变标志着印度初创生态正走向成熟而非退缩——资本配置更趋审慎，退出机制更具可预测性，本土市场动态日益主导其成长轨迹。对投资者而言，印度正逐渐从发达市场的替代选项，演变为具有独特风险特征、时间周期和机遇的互补性舞台。

英文来源：

India’s startup ecosystem raised nearly $11 billion in 2025, but investors wrote far fewer checks and grew more selective about where they took risk, underscoring how the world’s third most-funded startup market is diverging from the AI-fueled capital concentration seen in the U.S.
The selective approach was most evident in deal-making. The number of startup funding rounds fell by nearly 39% from a year earlier, to 1,518 deals, according to Tracxn. Total funding slipped more modestly — down just over 17% to $10.5 billion.
That pullback was not uniform. Seed-stage funding fell sharply to $1.1 billion in 2025, down 30% from 2024, as investors cut back on more experimental bets. Late-stage funding also cooled, slipping to $5.5 billion, a 26% decline from last year, amid tougher scrutiny of scale, profitability, and exit prospects. However, early-stage funding proved more resilient, rising to $3.9 billion, up 7% year-over-year.
“The capital deployment focus has increased towards early-stage startups,” said Neha Singh, co-founder of Tracxn, pointing to growing confidence in founders who can demonstrate stronger product–market fit, revenue visibility and unit economics in a tighter funding environment.
The AI quest
Nowhere was that recalibration clearer than in AI, as AI startups in India raised just over $643 million across 100 deals in 2025, a modest 4.1% increase from a year earlier, per Tracxn data shared with TechCrunch. The capital was mainly spread across early and early-growth stages. Early-stage AI funding totaled $273.3 million, while late-stage rounds raised $260 million, reflecting investor preference for application-led businesses over capital-intensive model development.
This was in sharp contrast to the U.S., where AI funding in 2025 surged past $121 billion across 765 rounds, per Tracxn, a 141% jump from 2024, and was overwhelmingly dominated by late-stage deals.
“We don’t yet have an AI-first company in India, which is $40–$50 million of revenue, if not $100 million, in a year’s time frame, and that is globally happening,” said Prayank Swaroop, a partner at Accel.
Join the Disrupt 2026 Waitlist
Add yourself to the Disrupt 2026 waitlist to be first in line when Early Bird tickets drop. Past Disrupts have brought Google Cloud, Netflix, Microsoft, Box, Phia, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, and Vinod Khosla to the stages — part of 250+ industry leaders driving 200+ sessions built to fuel your growth and sharpen your edge. Plus, meet the hundreds of startups innovating across every sector.
Join the Disrupt 2026 Waitlist
Add yourself to the Disrupt 2026 waitlist to be first in line when Early Bird tickets drop. Past Disrupts have brought Google Cloud, Netflix, Microsoft, Box, Phia, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, and Vinod Khosla to the stages — part of 250+ industry leaders driving 200+ sessions built to fuel your growth and sharpen your edge. Plus, meet the hundreds of startups innovating across every sector.
India, Swaroop told TechCrunch, lacks large foundational model companies and will take time to build the research depth, talent pipeline, and patient capital needed to compete at that layer — making application-led AI and adjacent deep-tech areas a more realistic focus in the near term.
This pragmatism has shaped where investors are placing longer-term bets outside core AI. Venture capital is increasingly flowing into manufacturing and deep-tech sectors. These are some of the areas where India faces less global capital competition and has clear advantages in talent, cost structures, and customer access.
While AI now absorbs a significant share of investor attention, capital in India arguably remains more evenly distributed than in the U.S., with substantial funding still flowing into consumer, manufacturing, fintech, and deep-tech startups. Swaroop noted that advanced manufacturing in particular has emerged as a long-term opportunity, with the number of such startups increasing nearly tenfold over the past four to five years — an area he described as a clear “right to win” for India given lower global capital competition.
Rahul Taneja, a partner at Lightspeed, said AI startups accounted for roughly 30–40% of deals in India in 2025, but pointed to a parallel surge in consumer-facing companies as changing behaviour among India’s urban population creates demand for faster, more on-demand services — from quick commerce to household services — categories that play to India’s scale and density rather than Silicon Valley–style capital intensity.
India versus the U.S.
Data from PitchBook shows a stark divergence in capital deployment between India and the U.S. in 2025. U.S. venture funding surged to $89.4 billion in the fourth quarter alone, according to PitchBook data up to December 23, compared with about $4.2 billion raised by Indian startups over the same period.
However, that gap does not tell the whole story.
Lightspeed’s Taneja cautioned against drawing direct parallels between India and the U.S., arguing that differences in population density, labour costs, and consumer behaviour shape which business models can scale. Categories such as quick commerce and on-demand services have found far greater traction in India than in the U.S., reflecting local economics rather than any lack of ambition among founders or investors.
Recently, Lightspeed raised $9 billion in fresh capital with a strong focus on AI, but Taneja said the move does not signal a wholesale shift in the firm’s India strategy. The U.S. fund, he noted, is geared toward a different market and maturity cycle, while Lightspeed’s India arm will continue backing consumer startups alongside selectively exploring AI opportunities shaped by local demand rather than global capital intensity.
Nuances in India’s startup ecosystem
India’s startup ecosystem also saw funding for women-led startups tighten. Capital invested in women-founded tech startups held relatively steady at about $1 billion in 2025, down 3% from a year earlier, according to Tracxn’s report. Still, that headline figure masked a sharper pullback beneath the surface. The number of funding rounds in women-founded startups fell by 40%, while their first-time funded counterparts declined by 36%.
Overall, investor participation narrowed sharply as selectivity increased, with about 3,170 investors taking part in funding rounds in India this year, a 53% drop from roughly 6,800 a year earlier, according to Tracxn data shared with TechCrunch. India-based investors accounted for nearly half of that activity, with around 1,500 domestic funds and angels participating — a sign that local capital played a more prominent role as global investors turned cautious.
Activity also became more concentrated among a smaller group of repeat backers. Inflection Point Ventures emerged as the most active investor, participating in 36 funding rounds, followed by Accel with 34, Tracxn data shows.
The Indian government’s participation in the startup ecosystem became more visible in 2025. New Delhi announced a $1.15 billion Fund of Funds in January to expand capital access for startups, followed by a ₹1 trillion ($12 billion) Research, Development, and Innovation scheme aimed at areas such as energy transition, quantum computing, robotics, space technology, biotech, and AI, using a mix of long-term loans, equity infusions and allocations to deep-tech funds.
That push has begun to catalyze private capital as well. The government’s growing involvement helped spur a nearly $2 billion commitment from U.S. and Indian venture capital and private equity firms, including Accel, Blume Ventures, and Celesta Capital, to back deep-tech startups — an effort that also brought Nvidia on board as an adviser and drew Qualcomm Ventures. Furthermore, the Indian government also co-led a $32 million funding for quantum computing startup QpiAI earlier this year — a rare federal move.
This growing state involvement has helped ease a risk long flagged by investors: regulatory uncertainty. “One of the biggest risks you don’t want to underwrite is what happens if regulation changes,” said Taneja of Lightspeed.
As government entities become more familiar with the startup ecosystem, Taneja added, policy is more likely to evolve alongside it — reducing uncertainty for investors backing companies with longer development cycles.
Exits in India
The reduced uncertainty has already started to show up in exit markets to some extent. India saw a steady pipeline of technology IPOs over the past two years, with 42 tech companies going public in 2025, up 17% from 36 in 2024, per Tracxn. Much of the demand for those listings has come from domestic institutional and retail investors, easing long-standing concerns that Indian startup exits depend too heavily on foreign capital. M&A activity also picked up, with acquisitions rising 7% year-over-year to 136 deals, Tracxn data shows.
Swaroop of Accel said investors had long worried that India’s public markets were mainly sustained by foreign capital, raising questions about exit durability during global downturns. “This year has disproven that,” he said, pointing to the growing role of domestic investors in absorbing technology listings — a shift that has made exits more predictable and reduced reliance on volatile overseas flows.
India’s unicorn pipeline in 2025 also reflected that shift toward restraint. While the number of new unicorns remained flat year over year, Indian startups reached $1 billion valuations with less capital, fewer funding rounds, and a smaller pool of institutional investors, pointing to a more measured path to scale compared with both previous years and global peers.
Challenges remain as India heads into 2026, particularly around how it positions itself in the global race for AI and whether late-stage funding can deepen without relying on outsized capital inflows.
Even so, the shifts seen in 2025 point to a startup ecosystem that is maturing rather than retreating — one where capital is being deployed more deliberately, exits are becoming more predictable, and domestic market dynamics increasingly shape its growth. For investors, India is emerging less as a substitute for developed markets and more as a complementary arena with its own risk profile, timelines, and opportunities.