As startup funding plunges, no new unicorn emerges in India
2022 funding winter sees 27k employees laid off by Indian startups
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More than 2.12 lakh employees -- from big tech firms to startups -- lost their jobs in the global tech sector in the first half of 2023, as layoffs continue amid the funding winter.
As per the data by layoffs tracking site Layoffs.fyi, 819 tech companies have shown the door to around 212,221 employees till June 30.In comparison, 1,046 tech companies laid off more than 1.61 lakh employees in 2022.In total, about 3.8 lakh tech employees have lost their jobs in 2022 and till June this year.
As more and more big tech companies continue to sack employees, the reasons listed are varied - over-hiring, uncertain global macroeconomic conditions, strong tailwinds from Covid-19, among others.
The situation remains grim in the Indian tech ecosystem too.
More than 11,000 Indian startup employees have been laid off this year to date, nearly 40 per cent more than last year in the same period.India now accounts for about five per cent of layoffs at startups globally.
Since the funding winter settled in 2022, more than 27,000 employees have been laid off by 102 Indian startups to date, according to data by Inc42.
Around 22 edtech startups, including five of the seven edtech unicorns, have sacked nearly 10,000 employees so far.
Moreover, there was no new unicorn in India in the first half of 2023 as startup funding plunged more than 70 per cent in the January-June period from a year ago, signalling that the funding winter is here to stay as several top unicorns continue to face economic downturn.
The first six months witnessed Indian startups raise just $5.48 billion, from $19.5 billion they raised during the same period last year, according to data by market intelligence firm Tracxn.
