India’s auto tech funding slumps as capital crowds into a handful of late-stage deals

Indian auto tech companies raised $1.3bn in the first nine and a half months of 2026, down sharply from a year earlier, with 70 per cent of funding concentrated in just 10 large rounds.

Indian auto technology companies raised $1.3 billion across 97 funding rounds in the first 9.5 months of 2026, according to a report from data intelligence platform Tracxn Technologies, marking a steep drop from the $2.1 billion raised in 195 rounds over the same period in 2025.

The report said capital was heavily concentrated in a small number of large late-stage deals. Ten rounds of at least $34 million accounted for $900 million of the total, or about 70 per cent of all funding raised this year to date. The remaining 87 transactions brought in roughly $400 million.

Tracxn also found that Bengaluru remained the dominant hub, drawing nearly 70 per cent of the sector’s funding, or $894 million. Delhi and Mumbai each accounted for about $107 million. Later-stage activity led the market, with Series C and later rounds making up eight of the 10 biggest deals. No new unicorns emerged during the period, although several soonicorns , privately held start-ups widely viewed as potential future unicorns , did secure funding.

The report covered activity from 1 January to 15 October 2026 and also pointed to a slower market for listings. Just three auto tech companies went public in the period, compared with six in 2025, and those flotations had a combined market capitalisation of about $52 million. Even so, the broader sector appears to be attracting strategic capital, with another recent review showing auto tech accounted for 87 per cent of merger and acquisition value in the second quarter of 2026, as investors increasingly backed software, cybersecurity and connected mobility businesses. Mobility-as-a-Service, which bundles transport services through digital platforms, led sector deal value with $298 million.