In the first half of FY2025 (April-September 2024), India witnessed climate-tech investments totaling $ 564 million.

The April-June quarter saw $ 238 million in investments, while the July-September quarter saw it increase to $ 326 million, indicating a 37% growth in funding.

The contribution of early-stage deals (Seed and Series A cumulative) reduced from close to 44% in the April to June quarter to ~34% in July to September. On the other hand, Series B and Later Stage saw an upswing primarily driven by the Sustainable Mobility and Waste Management solutions, which have continued their momentum in investment flow. These two segments, cumulatively raised $ 216 million across Series B and Later Stages, a jump from the $ 119 million in the previous quarter. Interestingly, September 2024, recorded the lowest funding for the sector when compared to the previous two months. At $ 47 million, the month saw a reduction in high-ticket (>$ 10 million) deals, when compared to earlier months. This was mainly on account of major fundraises by the mobility players including Ather Energy, BluSmart and Matter in earlier months; a similar flow was not observed in September.

However, Sustainable Mobility emerged as the largest sector, receiving more than 70% of total climate-tech funding from April to September. Right from EV OEMs, to shared electric mobility and electric battery solutions, this space continues to raise funding across early innovations demonstrating the potential for scale and growth.

Apart from EV OEMs, another segment that is fast drawing investor attention is mobility-as-a-service. Everest Fleet - a fleet management company that partners with ride-hailing platforms, raised funding of $ 30 million to expand its fleet of clean-energy vehicles. Carrum, with its shared mobility services, received an undisclosed amount from CarDekho, to help drive its sustainable mobility portfolio. BluSmart raised $ 24 million in funding from responsAbility Investments, and other HNIs.

The EV infrastructure space which merits commensurate investments, has been attracting funding. ElectricPe, an EV marketplace and charging infrastructure provider, raised $ 3 million from Green Frontier Capital and Blume Ventures. Similarly, Ionage, a platform that aggregates charging stations, secured $ 1 million in funding from Nextwave Communications. Kazam, an EV charging station network, also made strides by raising $ 8 million in its Series A round, backed by prominent investors including Avaana Capital, Alteria Capital, and Chakra Growth Capital.

Leading the growth in the Waste Management & Circular Economy space, was Gruner Renewable Energy, which raised $ 60 million in later-stage funding to establish new compressed biogas (CBG) plants across India, turning waste into renewable energy. While waste-to-value segments have been attracting investments over the years, one segment which has picked up significant traction over the last 1-2 years is that of sustainable alternatives to regular consumer and commercial usage.

Dharaksha, a sustainable packaging startup, received a $ 3 million funding from Avaana Capital, while Xolopak, a producer of biodegradable and compostable packaging solutions, received undisclosed funding from multiple investors. Uppercase, an eco-friendly travel gear and luggage brand, raised $ 9 million in Series B funding from Accel, Sixth Sense Ventures, and Enam Holdings.

Despite growing interest in these sectors, the Energy sector and the Environment and Natural Resources sector remained muted in funding, relative to other segments — consistent with trends observed in previous quarters. The innovations funded in the space of clean energy saw unique technologies. Example: BiofuelCircle - a biomass and biofuel marketplace raised $ 5.3 million while Protonas, with its low-cost hydrogen cell technology, raised funding from Transition VC.

Water-tech startups which have seen consistent yet modest fundraises post 2021, continued the trend. Boon, which specialises in remote water purifying, monitoring and dispensing products, raised $ 5 million while Boson Whitewater, a water recycling startup, raised $ 1.18 million from Rainmatter.

Climate-smart Agriculture & Food sector has seen MittiLabs - a startup using satellite & AI technology to tackle methane emissions in rice farming - raise money.

India’s climate-tech investment landscape for the first half of FY2025 reflects strong growth, particularly in the Sustainable Mobility and Waste Management & Circular Economy sectors. With total funding increasing by 37% from Q1 to Q2, these sectors seem to be maintaining their momentum as investor confidence continues to grow and startups transition from early-stage funding to scaling their operations.