India's auto-tech sector raised US$ 1.3 billion in equity funding across 97 rounds between January 1st and October 15th, 2026, compared with US$ 2.1 billion across 195 rounds in 2025, according to a research report released by a market research firm. The figures exclude debt, grants and post-IPO funding.

In 2021, auto-tech companies raised US$ 3.1 billion across 253 rounds. Funding subsequently declined to US$ 2.6 billion in 2022, US$ 2 billion in 2023 and US$ 1.6 billion in 2024 before increasing to US$ 2.1 billion in 2025. The number of funding rounds also decreased from 260 in 2024 to 195 in 2025 and 97 between January 1st and October 15th, 2026.

Funding during the period was concentrated in a small number of large transactions. The 10 largest rounds, each worth at least US$ 34 million, raised a combined US$ 900 million, accounting for approximately 70% of the total. The remaining 87 rounds contributed around US$ 400 million.

Bike-taxi platform Rapido raised US$ 240 million in a Series F round in May 2026. Electric two-wheeler manufacturer Simple Energy raised US$ 180 million in a Series C round in September, while Rideriver raised US$ 102 million in a Series C round in August. Bengaluru-based Rapido has raised US$ 798 million to date. Its latest funding round involved eight investors, including WestBridge Capital, Prosus and Invus.

Series C and subsequent funding rounds raised US$ 810 million across eight transactions, representing approximately 60% of the total capital raised during the period. Eight of the 10 largest transactions were Series C or later-stage rounds. The other two transactions among the 10 largest were Ecofy's US$ 55 million Series B round in March and Yuma Energy's US$ 35 million Series A round in September. Series A, B and C refer to different stages of start-up fundraising, with later rounds generally associated with companies expanding their operations.

Other large transactions during the period covered by the report included Erisha E Mobility's US$ 1 billion Series D round in March 2025, Rapido's US$ 240 million Series F round in 2026 and Simple Energy's US$ 180 million Series C round in 2026. Ultraviolette and Yulu raised US$ 85 million and US$ 63 million, respectively.

The median funding round sizes between 2021 and 2026 were US$ 418,000 for seed-stage companies, US$ 5.1 million for Series A, US$ 13.2 million for Series B and US$ 39 million for late-stage rounds.

Bengaluru accounts for the largest share of auto-tech funding

Bengaluru received US$ 894 million in auto-tech investment between January 1st and October 15th, 2026, accounting for nearly 70% of the funding raised during the period. Rapido, Simple Energy and Rideriver were among the companies that raised funding in the city. Delhi and Mumbai each attracted US$ 107 million, while companies based in Gurugram received US$ 63 million.

In terms of cumulative auto-tech funding, Bengaluru accounts for 50.5% of the total, followed by Gurugram at 18.1%, Mumbai at 9.5% and Delhi at 8.2%. Chennai accounts for 4.7%, Pune for 2.9% and Hyderabad for 1.2%.

Bengaluru has recorded 832 funding rounds, compared with 310 in Gurugram, 237 in Mumbai and 184 in Delhi. Ola Cabs, Ola Electric and Rapido are among the companies based in Bengaluru that have received substantial funding, while Cars24 and Spinny are among the funded companies based in Gurugram.

Fewer companies progress to later funding stages

The research firm tracks 8,775 auto-tech companies in India, of which 1,111 have received equity funding. These companies have raised a cumulative US$ 20.2 billion, including US$ 3.6 billion over the past two years. The sector has also recorded 78 acquisitions and 28 initial public offerings (IPOs).

Of the 1,111 equity-funded companies, 198, or 18%, have reached Series A or a later stage. A total of 103 have reached Series B, 57 have reached Series C and 32 have progressed to Series D or beyond. The average time taken to progress from the first funding round to Series A is 2.7 years. This increases to 3.6 years for Series B and 5.7 years for Series C.

Acquisition and IPO activity

The auto-tech sector recorded four mergers and acquisitions between January 1st and October 15th, 2026, compared with five in 2025. Used-vehicle retailer Cars24 completed two acquisitions during the period, purchasing Carinfo for US$ 44.4 million in January 2026 and acquiring Vehicleinfo in March.

Three auto-tech companies went public between January 1st and October 15th, 2026, compared with six in 2025. Sotefin, Victory EV India and AutoFurnish recorded a combined IPO market capitalisation of US$ 52 million.