Indian technology companies raised $10.3 billion in the first nine months of 2026, up 7 per cent from $9.7 billion a year earlier, per Tracxn's India Tech 9M 2026 report, which covers January 1 to September 21. Yet the number of funding rounds fell 38 per cent to 1,134 from 1,838.

The squeeze hit the earliest stage hardest. Seed funding dropped 37 per cent to $698 million, and the number of first-time funded companies fell 30 per cent to 338. Early-stage funding rose 27 per cent to $4.2 billion, while late-stage funding stayed broadly flat at $5.4 billion.

Investors clearly preferred large bets. There were 18 rounds of $100 million or more, led by Nxtra's $1 billion private-equity round, Neysa's $600 million Series B and CRED's $540 million Series H, per the report. India added six new unicorns, startups valued above $1 billion, up from four a year earlier, and they got there faster, in 4.9 years on average.

AI Infrastructure was the most-funded segment at $1.2 billion. A total of 29 IPOs closed, while acquisitions fell 31 per cent to 91.