The Indian startup landscape has faced significant challenges over the past few years, marked by layoffs, a prolonged funding winter, and some unfortunate closures. However, amid these adversities, a positive transformation is taking place. Founders are increasingly prioritizing sustainable growth and profitability over the pursuit of rapid but unsustainable expansion. This shift in mindset reflects a broader focus on long-term success rather than quick victories.
Despite the downturn in late-stage and growth funding, seed funding has shown encouraging signs of recovery. This uptick suggests that innovation remains robust at the grassroots level, with entrepreneurs dedicated to creating groundbreaking solutions.
The innovation landscape spans diverse sectors, and in this 51st installment of Inc42’s flagship series, “30 Startups to Watch,” powered by Google Cloud, we highlight some of the most promising emerging companies across fields such as deeptech, SaaS, semiconductors, direct-to-consumer (D2C), space technology, artificial intelligence (AI), fintech, and healthtech. These startups are redefining boundaries and addressing pressing real-world challenges.
As India’s startup ecosystem gears up to achieve a cumulative funding target of $170 billion by 2025, the top three hubs—Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, and Mumbai—account for a substantial 88% of total funding and 80% of all deals. Notably, 60% of the startups featured in this edition are based in Bengaluru, followed by those from Delhi NCR.
Among the startups highlighted, only six have secured more than $2 million in funding, while most are either bootstrapped or have raised under $1 million. This trend underscores the capacity of Indian startups to thrive with limited resources.
In celebration of the resilience and creativity of Indian founders who continue to drive innovation forward, we present the 30 startups that have captured our attention this September.
