A year of reality checks for start-up valuations amid fall in funding

With a dramatic fall in venture capital and private equity funding, Indian start-ups are pulling up their socks, cutting losses, and trying to turn profitable

Sanjeev Bikhchandani, founder of Info Edge, predicts that 2023 will be the year “which will separate the wheat from the chaff” among start-ups.

Bikhchandani should know. The entrepreneur who founded naukri.com, and who now runs a venture capital (VC) firm that has invested in companies like Zomato and PolicyBazaar, points out that “the excess liquidity in the market with funds has now gone due to high interest rates globally and fears of inflation. The fear of missing out (FOMO) among VC investors in India, which pushed valuations to new highs, is now over. And we are being more careful, and