Worst over, funding crunch eases for start-ups

There were fewer Series-B deals this year versus last, but more money was raised

Fundraising scenario could be easing for start-ups. If you leave out the year 2015, which was an aberration, fundraising could be returning to levels seen earlier, says Madhukar Sinha, partner, India Quotient, an early-stage venture capital (VC) firm. The data also supports this view.

Between April and May 2017, start-ups raised $538 million from 138 venture capital deals, marginally lower than the $565 million they raised from 200 deals during the same period in 2016. Money raised between April and May 2017 is almost similar to the money raised during the same period in 2014 ($536 million), and more than