2024 Has Been an Interesting Year for India’s Startup Ecosystem – Indian Startup News 241 [Video]

Welcome to the Backstage with Millionaires weekly Indian startup news show, hosted by Caleb Friesen. This week there wasn’t a lot of Indian startup news to cover, so we looked back on 2024 to reflect on the changes India’s startup ecosystem has undergone over the last twelve months, focusing on India’s quick commerce industry, AI in India, the rise of India’s spacetech industry, and the fall of India’s edtech space too.

Notion database: https://meadow-pillow-7fa.notion.site/BwM-Startup-Funding-Database-303101b874824f4c91fae9fc8ce6d450

This week’s funding: https://meadow-pillow-7fa.notion.site/W13-Q3-FY25-16808566a36080c9983becc53723291d

Funding over time: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10-sWaL38VYz–CqQNMQEwsG9xRBAx3nwOLRKzRD4BkY/edit?gid=0#gid=0

00:00 Intro
00:20 Quick Commerce in India
01:59 AI in India
04:19 Spacetech in India
05:40 Edtech in India
07:16 Funding News
Quick Commerce in India

Quick commerce emerged as 2024’s biggest winner, growing 280% in two years to reach $3.34 billion in FY24, up from $500 million in FY22. Zepto led this transformation, raising $1.35 billion and achieving FY24 revenue of 4,454 crore rupees—surpassing Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart combined. Zepto’s success forced industry giants like Flipkart, Tata, and Amazon to enter quick commerce. Zepto’s expansion into quick food deliveries through Zepto Café prompted competitors Blinkit, Swiggy, and Ola to follow suit.
AI in India

Indian AI startups made significant strides in 2024. Sarvam AI raised $41 million in Series A funding, while Bhavish Aggarwal’s Krutrim AI secured $50 million. Krutrim AI developed an LLM understanding 22 Indian languages and responding in 10. Sarvam AI launched OpenHathi and Sarvam 2B, trained on 4 trillion tokens, outperforming GPT-4 in speed and accuracy. Sarvam AI also introduced Shuka 1.0, an audio-based language model. India’s GenAI ecosystem grew to 240 startups in 2024, a 3.6X increase from 2023.
Spacetech in India

Agnikul Cosmos achieved a successful rocket launch with Agnibaan-SOrTeD, following Skyroot’s historic 2022 launch. Pixxel secured a significant NASA contract worth $476 million for hyperspectral imaging satellites, joining seven other companies to monitor Earth’s climate. Pixxel’s technology offers detailed insights for agriculture, mining, disaster management, and defense. New startups like InspeCity are pushing boundaries with ambitious goals of building space cities.
Edtech in India

The edtech sector showed contrasting fortunes. While Byju’s faced challenges, Unacademy’s operating revenue dropped to 840 crore rupees in FY24, sparking acquisition rumors despite founder Gaurav Munjal’s denials. PhysicsWallah emerged stronger, raising over $200 million, expanding into schools, offline centers, and upskilling platforms. PhysicsWallah signed an agreement with Andhra Pradesh for a University of Innovation and converted to a public company, suggesting a potential 2025 IPO.
Funding News

Indian startups raised $110 million this week. LEAP India secured $63 million for storage and supply chain services. Mingrove Technologies raised $8 million for chip design. Proxgy obtained $3 million for smart protective wearables. SustVest raised $1.7 million for their renewable energy investment platform. Naxatra Labs, an EV parts manufacturer, received seed funding.