Venture capital (VC) funding into Indian startups touched a new low in October, with a decline of 66% against October of last year.
When compared with the VC funding raised in September 2025, the drop was 49%.
The total VC funding in October came in at just $581 million as compared with $1.6 billion in October 2025, according to YourStory Research. In the month of September 2026, the funding amount was $1.1 billion.
October saw 107 VC deals. In contrast, the September month saw 100 deals but the amount was higher. The same was the case in October 2025, where the number of deals was 99.
This steep drop in VC funding in October was primarily due to the complete absence of large value deals for the entire period. The highest funded deal for the month was from Even Healthcare at $50 million.
The last such decline was seen in May when the total reached $651 million.
These developments highlight the challenges faced by the startup ecosystem while raising capital. Global investors, particularly in the US, are pouring capital into AI, while India still lacks a significant number of viable AI startups.
Few AI firms in India that have managed to pull funding include Sarvam, Emergent or Neysa. This shows India has a long way to go to establish AI startups that gain investor interest.
4 billion, putting the ecosystem on pace to match or surpass the $12 billion total recorded in 2025.
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