Bengaluru Tops Karnataka's USD 1.7 Bn Tech Funding in H1 2025: Report Fintech and enterprise applications led sectoral funding, attracting the highest capital. Among investors, Accel topped with the most deals, followed by active participation from Angel List, LetsVenture, and Premji Invest.
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Karnataka's tech sector recorded a total funding of USD 1.7 billion in the first half of 2025, marking a significant decline from previous periods, as per the latest semi-annual report.
The report, which assesses the state's tech funding activity across stages, sectors, and investor trends, highlights a continued slowdown in investment momentum. However, despite this downturn, some areas such as fintech and enterprise applications showed resilience. Bengaluru remained the dominant contributor to the funding activity, reinforcing its position as the core hub of Karnataka's tech landscape.
Tracxn, which released the Karnataka Tech H1 2025 Funding Report, noted that the overall capital raised dropped by 30% compared to the second half of 2024 and 44% compared to the first half of 2024. The report attributes this contraction to reduced activity across most funding stages, with the exception of early-stage rounds, which showed a slight improvement.
Seed-stage funding amounted to USD 141 million, registering a sharp fall of 39% from USD 233 million in the previous half and 41% from USD 239 million in the same period last year. Early-stage investments reached USD 611 million, reflecting a modest 15% increase from H2 2024, although still down 3% year-on-year. Late-stage deals dropped significantly, totaling USD 930 million in H1 2025, down from USD 1.6 billion in the previous half and USD 2.1 billion in H1 2024.
Fintech emerged as the leading sector, attracting USD 701 million, more than triple the USD 197 million raised in H2 2024. This also marked a 57% growth from H1 2024. Enterprise Applications followed with USD 619 million, representing steady growth. Retail saw USD 542 million in funding, which, although up 27% from the previous half, was down substantially from the USD 1 billion raised in H1 2024.
Only two companies managed to raise over USD 100 million this half, a drop from five such rounds in the same period last year. Groww raised USD 202 million in its Series F round, while Jumbotail secured USD 120 million through a Series D fundraise. These large rounds were predominantly seen in the fintech and retail sectors.
On the public markets front, Ather Energy was the sole company to go public in H1 2025. Meanwhile, the state saw the creation of two unicorns, up from one in H2 2024 but fewer than the three seen in H1 2024.
In terms of mergers and acquisitions, there were 26 deals in H1 2025. This marked a slight dip from 27 in the previous half but was an improvement over the 21 recorded in H1 2024. The acquisition of Fisdom by Groww for USD 150 million stood out as the largest deal in this period. The second-highest was the USD 26 million acquisition of Fintellix by ICRA.
Bengaluru-based companies continued to dominate, accounting for a majority of the deals and total capital raised across the state. The city's role as the nerve center of Karnataka's tech investment activity remained unchanged.
Among investors, Accel led with the most number of investments at 34 rounds. Angel List and LetsVenture were also active across stages. In the seed-stage category, Antler, 100X.VC and Rainmatter stood out. Accel, Alteria Capital and Peak XV Partners were the most prominent in early-stage deals, while Premji Invest, SoftBank Vision Fund and Creaegis took the lead in late-stage rounds. India-based Z47 added three new startups to its portfolio during this period.
The funding landscape in Karnataka has undoubtedly cooled in the first half of 2025. However, activity in sectors like fintech and enterprise applications suggests that investor interest remains strong in targeted verticals. While overall deal volumes and mega-rounds declined, the emergence of new unicorns and sustained early-stage funding reflect underlying resilience in the state's innovation ecosystem.
