India’s startup boom has lost its spark. Venture capital funding in the first half of 2025 dropped to just $3.6 billion—the lowest since 2016. Fresh ideas are scarce, and investors are stuck with fewer bets to make.

So who’s still getting the money? Familiar founders. Even those with messy track records. Pharmeasy’s co-founders, whose healthtech giant crashed from $5.6 billion to $460 million, raised fresh funds for All Home. Whitehat Jr’s Karan Bajaj, criticized for misleading ads, secured $16 million for his new venture.

Why are VCs are backing baggage over breakthroughs?

Tune in.

Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

One channel. Every show. No more switching feeds.

Follow The Ken on Apple Podcasts or tune in on The Ken app.