Funding winter’s coldest leg is yet to begin for Indian startups

There have been countless discussions on the startup funding winter, and everyone wants the script to change from bleak to bright. But the cold reality is that the real pain is yet to begin, for both unicorns and investors bankrolling them. 

In the funding boom of 2021, unicorns amassed cash across multiple rounds, expanding their teams and ambitions. That situation changed dramatically, and since the start of 2022, many have urgently slashed costs, measures that have included layoffs. 

The steps ensured that a number of high-burn unicorns have funds to survive the year. However, that’s not a long runway. Top venture-capital investors and entrepreneurs reckon that most of these companies will start hitting the market by early 2023. Will there be enough capital to go round?