The Indian venture capital landscape is experiencing significant senior-level changes, with Gagan Goyal, a general partner at India Quotient, reportedly leaving the early-stage venture capital firm. This departure follows the recent closure of India Quotient's largest fund and the elevation of two new partners. Goyal's exit adds to a trend of senior-level changes observed across Indian VC firms, highlighting the ongoing restructuring within the startup investment ecosystem. The exits reflect broader challenges facing venture capital firms as they navigate changing market conditions and evolving investment strategies.
According to a Mint analysis of data on 139 VC- and PE-backed companies sourced from market intelligence platform Tracxn, only 77 companies have generated a liquidity event, including major unicorns like Swiggy and Zomato. The remaining 34 companies are pursuing liquidity through public listings, while 26 have no visible path to an exit and two have shut down. Companies were classified as having no visible path where there were no publicly disclosed IPO plans, strategic sale processes, secondary transactions or acquisition discussions as of June 2026. As per the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India's startup ecosystem has over 2.2 lakh startups recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), and more than 130 unicorns, highlighting the scale of the investment landscape.
India's startup ecosystem has historically offered fewer exit routes than developed markets, making liquidity harder to achieve. As reported by Mint, Rishi Aswani, managing director at Houlihan Lokey, noted that "India and Asia generally have a weaker track record on exits compared with the US because the avenues for liquidity are not as developed in parts." Of the 77 startups that saw a liquidity event, about 44 went public while acquisitions accounted for 29 liquidity events, including deals involving startups such as Unacademy and Rivigo. However, even successful exits face challenges, with investors often waiting years for distributions due to restricted allocations and lock-up periods. As reported by Mint, Piyush Gupta, founder and managing partner at Kenro Capital, explained that "Investors do not necessarily achieve full liquidity immediately after listing because of restricted allocations to sell in the IPO and lock-up periods."
Market volatility following the West Asia war has significantly slowed unicorn IPO plans. According to Prashant Singhal, partner and leader at EY India, "Companies are still preparing for IPOs behind the scenes. However, the pace has slowed from a few months ago when we would see multiple companies every week beginning IPO preparations." Singhal added that had the current geopolitical situation not emerged, "we would probably have seen seven or eight more unicorns get listed over the last few months." The volatility has created additional challenges for startup investors, with many facing extended holding periods and reduced exit opportunities.
Startup investing requires significant expertise and portfolio discipline, with experts recommending 7-10 years for meaningful capital realization. As reported by Mint, Shanti Mohan, Founder and CEO of LetsVenture, suggests investing in at least 20 companies over five years with minimum ₹10 lakh deployed annually. Shweta Rajani, Head of Mutual Funds at Anand Rathi Wealth, recommends that first-timers opt for angel networks, syndicates, or startup-focused funds over direct deals, noting that "startup investing carries high business failure rates, illiquidity, governance risks, and valuation uncertainties that are genuinely difficult to evaluate without experience." For experienced investors, Rajani suggests allocating 2-5% of the overall portfolio to startup investments, while Sunil Bharati, who has invested through Inflection Point Ventures with a portfolio of over 25 startups, recommends capping startup exposure to 10-15% of total savings.
The secondary ecosystem, remaining in the early stages, is picking up fast as investors seek alternative exit routes. According to Mint, Rohit Bhayana, co-chief executive and co-founder of Oister Global, noted that "We started with secondaries after seeing many PE and VC funds struggling with liquidity cycles, during our experience as a fund-of-funds investor." Many early investors also have to wait until the IPO, with earlier-stage investors often staying invested longer than previously expected due to limited liquidity options. The revised rules have also removed several restrictions, including minimum corpus and investment threshold for angel funds, though such funds must have at least five accredited investors before declaring their first close.
