India's startup world copies China with similar types of startup entering the country. Not only that, the similarity can also be seen on the fund sizes, which are not far different from that of China.
While activities sluggish in China during the Chinese New Year, including in the startups business, India is gaining the opposite, according to Forbes. There is significantly more capital flooding the Indian startups in these past two weeks. Sequoia Capital India has raised a $920 million fund only a year after closing another fund of $720 million. A mega fund of $1.2 billion is also invested by Norwest Venture Partners, which invests not only in India, but also in Israel and the U.S.
The sorts of startups that have been developing in India are alike with those in China. India has also been successful in obtaining significant amount of fund. This can bring it to an important position in the developing markets, especially when Chinese economy is still slowing down.
India welcomes very well the startups that adjust their services to meet precisely with the Indian needs. Jungbo is one example of the startups that can take the role successfully. "It's a combined on-demand and transport booking service that relies on rickshaws for rides and deliveries."
Furthermore, India is creating startups with unicorn valuations. Indian e-trade startup Shopclues caught a series D round esteemed at $1.1 billion from GIC, Tiger Global and Nexus Venture Partners. The fund makes India the seventh startup to achieve this peak, still far behind China's 21, however, it's picking up.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal mentioned that on Monday, Indian e-commerce firm Snapdeal.com has locked $200 million from the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and others. This financing has raised the company to worth $6.5 billion. Before it, the company owned by Jasper Infotech Pvt. was valued $5 billion after a $500 million investment by the Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
Eventhough India startups keep attracting more investors, the fund is not as much as in 2014. In the last three months of 2015, India tech startups obtained $959 million, which was a third less than the $3.2 billion investment in the fourth quarter of 2014.
India's government has launched new regulation to support the startup ecosystem, as stated by ZD Net. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced various programs for this, including a $1.5 billion fund, and a series of tax reductions for investors and companies. Some examples are exception from income tax the first three years, exclusions from capital gains tax, less expensive and quicker patent applications, and 80 percent refunds on the expense of patents.
The startup group was happy to hear the statement, eventhough still need to wait for the details after the budget session. These steps are expected to boost the Indian startup world, besides the many investments they have received. With the same patterns as of in China, India is likely to set faster movements to be an important part of the world startup business.
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