Happy New Year from the Ankur family!
Another year has passed! At the close of 2023, a year that had seen a big fall in capital flow into the startup ecosystem, we used the term "resilience" to describe how many companies were struggling to stay afloat. Looking back, the past year perhaps better reflects the idea of "getting on with it." There was no return to the boom times—just the harsh reality that money isn’t easy to come by, and the focus shifted to simply building and sustaining businesses. While the ecosystem didn't see any dramatic shifts, there was a notable increase in later-stage funding, as investors started backing companies that had grown and proven their ability to navigate a tighter funding environment.
Public Markets stole the show
Last year marked the year of public listings—India’s stock exchanges were at the top of global charts with over 300 listings, raising almost $20 billion in capital. The strong share price performance of listed tech companies like Zomato and PB Fintech and solid demand for IPOs of for tech companies like Swiggy, First Cry and Ola Electric, is generating excitement in private markets. At Ankur, we observed many of our entrepreneurs discussing their plans to tap into the public markets. Captain Fresh and Big Haat both grew their revenue while improving their profitability, positioning themselves for potential public listings in the next year or so. Both companies are key players in global B2B supply chains. Captain Fresh solidified its position as a leading tech-enabled, multi-species, multi-origin global seafood player with its acquisition of Poland-based Koral, a major player in the $34 billion global salmon market. Meanwhile, Big Haat expanded its digital presence and significantly broadened its offerings to address the rising demand for quality and food safety in food supply chains. Historically, profitable companies have performed better at IPO’s in India and we expect that in the upcoming year these two companies should benefit from their strong financials.
From India to the World: Capital Efficiency at Its Best
Those who know us are aware of our strong interest in the deep science sector. Last year, we hosted one of India’s largest Deep Science Tech events, which became one of the most highly subscribed in the country—a clear sign that a sector once considered unthinkable for early stage investment is now gaining significant traction. Over 800 people registered for the event, and over 1400 people downloaded our ecosystem report!
You are perhaps wondering what this has to do with capital efficiency! We've often wondered whether India is truly the right place for deep science innovation. When we see startups in other regions raising mind-boggling sums of capital, does a company that raises $5-$10M of capital in India have the right to win? As capital continued to drain from the system, it became crystal clear why India holds a distinct edge—and it's not just a few lucky exceptions. India offers remarkable capital efficiency, not only due to its lower cost base but also because its fragmented market structure lets young companies move fast, starting with smaller customers. Targeting large customers early, on the other hand, requires adding years of negotiation and building much larger manufacturing capacities, driving up timescales and burn rates.
Both StringBio ,OffGrid and Niramai have masterfully derisked their technologies with impressive frugality. Last year, StringBio took a major leap by commissioning its 25,000L fermentation facility in Tumkur and kicked off sales in the market. Meanwhile, OffGrid nailed successful pilots in energy storage at a Shell petrol station and a Tata microgrid facility, while also testing low-power mobility solutions. They’ve now secured capital, identified a site, and lined up the talent to launch a 10MW factory in the UK, setting the stage to service the numerous tenders that have come in. Niramai’s patent protected, FDA-approved breast cancer screening technology has revolutionized testing for over 250,000 women across hospitals, clinics, and outreach programs worldwide. Recently a study published in Nature showed the power of their tools to discover malignancies. Last year, through Piatrika, our in-silico seed company investment, we witnessed next-gen tech platforms becoming the preferred solution for industry leaders. With 10 customers already on board, Piatrika is revolutionizing seed design, enabling faster and more cost-effective development of seeds with precise traits like never before.
Sure, there are challenges in the capital stack and a lack of established playbooks, but these are being ironed out as we speak. For us, 2024 made it crystal clear—this isn’t just an opportunity for 2025, but for the next decade
Acronym Power: India’s Digital Infrastructure on the Rise
UPI, ONDC, OCEN, NHDM, and many more in the works - one of the successes in the Indian infrastructure roll-out has been on digital public infrastructure – a backbone for enabling transactions moving online. This continued to grow beyond payments as stacks in health, agriculture, commerce etc. continued to grow. For us in 2024 we continued to see this be the bedrock and the fuel for many of the bets we made into the heart of India – its small fragmented customers and producers.
As a fund, we continued to witness technology's growing impact on B2B supply chains. While some digitally enabled agri-supply chain startups faced significant setbacks—often due to mismanagement or their inability to scale responsibly—we still saw ongoing innovation and economic growth in this space. Vegrow, fresh off raising $46M at the start of the year, leveraged its deep market insights to launch a game-changing fruit exchange platform—disrupting multiple layers of the supply chain with remarkable success. Meanwhile, Agrizy expanded rapidly, extending its services to value-added agri-processing businesses in new product categories and geographies. In addition, they broadened their offerings to include advisory and financial services. Agrizy also successfully closed a $10M capital raise during the year.
We also saw new products built on digital data make their mark. Rupifi gained strong traction with its open credit line product, Infini, built on digital transaction data for MSMEs, wrapping up a year in which they disbursed over ₹2,000 Cr and engaged 50,000 businesses. Josh Talks, with its massive 29 million-strong subscriber base, moved closer to profitability while launching fresh initiatives to turbocharge revenue growth. Meanwhile, Superfone closed a $2M funding round to scale its neo-telco solution for small and medium businesses. IBISA NETWORK which uses satellite weather data to create “sachet” weather parametric insurance spread its wings across India, SE Asia and Africa. In addition to its Heat Index product it launched a new product 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗵+ along with Vision Fund international.
Some silver linings in a tight capital market
Despite a tight capital market we hit two milestones – we reached first close of our third fund Ankur Capital Fund III to double down on the opportunity we see in India and beyond. We can’t wait to announce the deals later this month that are being inked! Our existing portfolio continued to grow – our capital leveraged rose to over 10X and we were also able to get some liquidity for our investors.
Next Stop: 2025—What’s In Store for Us?
Last year, the buzzwords were clear: AI, climate, and the ever-present theme of digital transformation. We’re confident that these three pillars will evolve into even meatier opportunities in 2025.
And yes, we’ve managed to sidestep the word AI—deliberately. The opportunity landscape in India, and globally, has never been about those headline-grabbing, sky-high capital expenditures. Let’s face it, that’s not the kind of capital stack India is built on. But now that the initial rush of model training has slowed and applications are starting to gain traction, we’re genuinely excited by the fresh wave of opportunities coming our way. From automation and biotech to chips, all leveraging more capital-efficient playbooks, these are the innovations that are currently occupying our minds.
With the 2024 elections now behind us, we’ve seen physical infrastructure unlocked at an unprecedented pace—roads, rails, and electrification are being rolled out across the country. Looking ahead, we believe 2025 and beyond will be the years when the synergies between digital and physical infrastructures come into sharp focus, driving a new wave of growth.
And last but certainly not least: climate. While the geopolitics around 2025 may hint at a "rollback" year, we see it as the time to go all in. Buzzwords often breed froth, and in this case, greenwashing. But the real opportunity lies in cost parity, cost efficiency, and performance-driven solutions—whether at the enterprise level or driven by regulatory reforms and the geopolitics of self-sufficiency. From bioplastics to supply chain innovations, carbon removal, energy solutions, and beyond, we’re seeing a wave of game-changing innovations coming in through our doors. The momentum is undeniable, and we believe the time to invest is now.
Let’s bring on 2025! Happy New Year
