50 SaaS startups are getting founded in India each year. Here’s where they’re killing it

The global shift to mobile and cloud-based computing over the past few years has spawned a burgeoning SaaS (software-as-a-service) industry in India. There are now over 350 Indian companies offering SaaS products to a global user base of enterprises – big and small. More than 250 of them have sprung up in the last five years, with over 50 SaaS startups getting founded each year since 2012, according to data from venture capital analytics firm Tracxn.

Source: Tracxn data.

Funding in SaaS startups took off last year, with US$449 million invested in 61 deals. The previous year had almost the same number of deals, but the funding amount was a little more than one-third. That’s because a number of SaaS startups matured last year to raise series A or later rounds. These included FreshDesk, Capillary, Practo, Manthan, HackerRank, MindTickle, and Indix, which have become leading global players from India.

See: Why Google and Accel see hyper growth for Indian SaaS startups

Source: Tracxn data.

This year has seen US$49 million in funding across 20 deals, including series B rounds in KartRocket and Boomerang, which are both ecommerce enablers. There was also a series A round in SnapBizz, which provides tech to offline retailers.

Source: Tracxn data.

SaaS for SMB (small and medium businesses), ecommerce, and marketing saw the maximum funding activity over the last couple of years. The domains that have maximum number of companies are marketing and HR-related.

Source: Tracxn data.

The larger funding rounds were in business intelligence, healthcare, and customer service. Manthan, Practo, and Freshdesk led the way in these spaces with late-stage funding rounds followed by acquisitions to consolidate their position.

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