Family offices, corporate venture capitals clinch a bigger deal slice

India’s funding landscape saw a broadening investor base in 2024, with a fifth of the 1,270 total deals undertaken by family offices and corporate venture capital (CVC), where firms set up their own VC funds.

 

This shift reflects the democratisation of funding beyond top VC firms. Their share in 2023 was 15 per cent of the 880 total deals.

 

These two segments, however, focused on deals under $10 million, which accounted for 60–70 per cent of total deals in 2024. This conclusion is part of the India Venture Capital Report 2025, conducted by the Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA) and Bain & Company, which was released on Monday.

 

But it’s not just about volume. 

 

Fifty per cent of $100 million-plus deals were undertaken or co-led by emerging VC funds, family offices, and CVCs in 2024. Prominent examples include the $665 million round in Zepto, led by StepStone and Glade Brook Capital Partners, the $216 million raised by PharmEasy from the MEMG Family Office, and the $210 million secured by Physics Wallah from Hornbill Capital.

 

The share of leading private equity (PE) and VC funds in 2024 fell to 35 per cent of the total deal value of $13.7 billion, down from 50 per cent in 2023. 

 

Consequently, the share of emerging players — family offices, emerging VCs, and CVCs — rose to 65 per cent in 2024.

 

Leading VC funds are defined as firms with a total deal value exceeding $1 billion across 35-plus deals or those with $500 million in 50-plus deals between 2020 and 2024. These include Tiger Global, SoftBank, Accel, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, and Blume Venture Advisors, among others. All the others are defined as emerging funds.

 

According to the report, family offices were involved in at least six deals exceeding $100 million, adding up to $1.2 billion in investments. CVCs undertook $100 million-plus deals in four companies, amounting to $696 million. 

 

Of course, major investors continued to play a key role, executing more deals — many of them exceeding $100 million — in 2024 compared to the previous year. Lightspeed increased its total deal count from 19 in 2023 to 22 in 2024, with its share of $100 million-plus deals rising from 11 per cent to 18 per cent over the same period.

 

Nexus Venture Partners increased its number of deals from 16 to 17, while its share of $100 million-plus deals doubled from 6 per cent to 12 per cent. However, Norwest, Blume, and Elevation Capital saw a decline in their $100 million-plus deal share in 2024 compared to 2023.

 

The other positive takeaway is that VC funding recovered in 2024, reaching $13.7 billion — a 1.4x increase from $9.6 billion in 2023 — while the average deal value remained stable at $11 million.

 

Consumer technology was the flavour of the year, with total deal value doubling to $5.4 billion in 2024. However, fundraising activity declined 35 per cent to $2.7 billion, as ample dry powder remained available. Even so, 65 per cent of the funds raised came from domestic sources.

 

Top 10 startups command 25% of India’s 2024 investments

 

The top 10 most-funded companies in India accounted for 25 per cent of total investments in 2024, with nine of them in consumer-facing businesses, according to the IVCA-Bain & Company report.

 

The fresh fundraise has collectively pushed their valuation to $23.56 billion (excluding Rebel Foods, whose valuation was undisclosed). In total, these companies raised $3.1 billion in 2024. Zepto led the pack, securing $1.4 billion, lifting its valuation past $5 billion. The second-largest deal was $275 million raised by Meesho, led by PE investors, including Prosus.

 

The report also spotlights the rapid rise of quick commerce, which now accounts for 70–75 per cent of all online grocery orders — up from 35 per cent in 2022. It is already challenging traditional ecommerce, with an estimated 10 per cent of total ecommerce gross merchandise value expected to shift to quick commerce by 2024-25. The report estimates that in 2024, India had 200 million active quick commerce shoppers annually, with 70 million-plus orders placed each month.