Indian startups raise $1.3 billion in venture debt in 2025: Report

India's venture debt market rose to $1.3 billion in 2025, with deal count increasing to 187, reflecting growing acceptance of non-dilutive capital among startups

India’s venture debt market has grown from $0.08 billion in 2018 to $1.3 billion in 2025, according to a recent report. The deal count has also risen from 56 in 2018 to 187 in the previous year. In 2024, venture debt in the country stood at $1.23 billion.

 

According to the report titled Global Private Debt Report 2026: A Venture & Growth Credit Lens, launched by venture debt firm Stride Ventures, private debt is increasingly moving beyond runway extension and working capital to support platform expansion, acquisitions, and capital structure optimisation.

 

The report added that venture debt currently accounts for nearly 9 per cent of annual VC capital deployed, up from around 2-3 per cent historically, indicating increasing founder acceptance of non-dilutive capital.

  Venture Debt Snapshot 2025  

Total VD Raised	$1.3 Bn
Startups That Raised VC	187
Average Ticket Size	$3.5 Mn
Stage Concentration	Series A & B
Maximum Investment	Fintech sector
Maximum Deals	Consumer sector

  Venture Debt in India  

Year	VD Amount ($ Bn)	Deal Count
2018	0.08	56
2019	0.2	61
2020	0.2	49
2021	0.5	71
2022	0.8	175
2023	1.2	185
2024	1.23	238
2025	1.3	187

  Venture Debt: Stage-Wise Distribution  

Stage	VD Amount ($ Mn)	Deal Count
Pre-Series A	9.6	29
Series A	303.6	68
Series B	356.4	45
Series C	211.4	22
Series D & Above	423.4	23

  Venture Debt: Top 3 Sectors  

Sector	VD Amount ($ Mn)	Deal Count
Fintech	600	49
Consumer	188	60
B2B	64	12

  Venture Debt: Top 3 Cities  

City	VD Amount ($ Mn)	Deal Count
Delhi-NCR	617	64
Bengaluru	333	58
Mumbai	115	30