VC investments fall 25% in Q2 2017 making it worst quarter in past 3 yrs

Activity level was 7% lower compared to the preceding quarter

Venture capital (VC) investment flow in the country reported a 25 per cent dip during the second quarter of 2017, making it the worst quarter for VC investments in the past three years.

According to Venture Intelligence data, the total number of deals reported during the period was 78, with a cumulative worth of $275 million, compared to 104 deals worth $309 million during the same period last year.

The activity level was seven per cent lower compared to the preceding quarter, which witnessed 84 deals worth $349 million.

The largest VC investment during the second quarter of 2017 was Sequoia Capital’s $20-million commitment to shared office space provider Awfis.

Information technology and information technology-enabled services companies attracted 54 investments worth $180 million (69 per cent of the activity pie), down 33 per cent compared to the same period in 2016.

The larger sized tech investments during the period were in firms like e-commerce search software company Unbxd ($12.5 million led by Eight Roads Ventures), insurance marketplace Coverfox ($11 million led by US insurer Transamerica, with participation from existing investors), logistics tech company Fortigo ($10 million from Accel India and Nandan Nilekani), and education-technology company Unacademy (from Sequoia Capital and SAIF Partners). Financial services firms, led by OneAssist ($18 million) and Ummeed Housing Finance ($5.5 million), attracted four investments worth $25 million.