Venture Debt

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

The country's private debt market is gaining momentum, with venture debt deployments touching USD 1.3 billion and growth credit at USD 1.68 billion in 2025, signalling a structural shift in startup financing, according to a report released by Stride Ventures on Wednesday. Private debt is increasingly moving beyond its traditional role of runway extension to support expansion, acquisitions and capital structuring, it added. According toStride Ventures' Global Private Debt Report 2026, venture debt deployments reached about USD 1.3 billion across nearly 187 startups in 2025, reflecting growing institutional acceptance of non-dilutive capital. Activity remained concentrated in major startup hubs, with Delhi-NCR leading at USD 617 million across 64 deals, followed by Bengaluru at USD 333 million across 58 deals andMumbai at USD 115 million across 30 deals. Sector-wise, fintech accounted for the largest share of capital deployment at over USD 600 million, while consumer-focused startups

Stride Ventures partners with Saudi Arabia's PIF to deploy over $1 bn worldwide across venture and private credit, including $200 mn aimed at Saudi Arabia's entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem

PE/VC firms scale back as long-term needs clash with bankable returns

The firm said this milestone cements Stride Ventures' leadership as the first Indian fund in this segment to achieve this scale. It has also launched $300 mn Fund IV

Deployments exceeding Rs 100 crore include companies like BlueStone, Upstox, Moneyview, Ather, among others

The reason, four of the firm's partners said in a joint interview, is that market conditions have changed for the worse

Country is leader in Asia Pacific for private debt, says investment data company

Its Venture Debt Scheme has been significantly oversubscribed with a final close at Rs 1,550 crore

Indian startups cumulatively raised $1.2 billion in venture debt investments across around 175-190 deals last year, a 50 per cent rise from $800 million raised across 170-180 deals in 2022

The investment commitments are usually received in tranches from investors by the fund managers and are reflected in the total funds raised

Though demand for venture debt is rising, players are becoming more cautious. Many hope that 2024 will offer good opportunities

The Nifty Midcap 100 index has rallied 27 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index has rallied 30 per cent

Firm invests in startups that exhibit robust business models and strong unit economics

Funding round led by Utah-based Zions Venture Fund; CometChat offers a full-fledged messaging and communications platform within apps and websites to improve a brand's user engagement

For investors, making a loss is part of business strategy, but for venture debt players, default is a risky proposition, yet, players in venture debt segment are unperturbed so far

Company says it will 'aggressively expand' presence in US, Africa and West Asia

Company that provides debt capital says its assets under management have grown 55% YoY

Most investors are more cautious in deploying capital towards growth businesses, especially in late-stage startup investments, which are key drivers in a funding cycle

An Indian technology-enabled venture debt platform for early stage start-ups on Wednesday announced its expansion to the UK market. 8vdX said its aim is to offer cross-border venture debt, or a type of finance, to start-ups through local entities in the new geography. By 2024, 8vdX said it aims to fund 100 start-ups with assets under management (AUM) of USD 200 million and also has plans to expand to other countries such as Singapore and Australia. We are delighted to announce the expansion of our operations in key markets like Singapore, UK and Australia within just eight months of launching 8vdX, said Ravi Chachra, Co-Founder of 8vdX. We aim to offer a cross-border venture debt solution to the start-ups in these countries so that founders can spend more time on their businesses and less time on chasing small ticket investors. Start-ups do not require the flip' process in order to raise cash. "We are working to solve a significant problem that start-ups and rapidly expanding ...