Chennai: Private equity and venture capital (PE-VC) investments in India crossed the $20 billion mark during January-July 2026 (CY2026). However, they were nearly 6% lower than the $21.5 billion recorded during the corresponding seven-month period in CY2025.July 2026 recorded investments of $3 billion, broadly flat compared with $3.2 billion in the same month last year, according to data released by research firm Venture Intelligence. Global investment firm Brookfield’s renewable energy platform, Lumara, led PE-VC investments in July with a deal worth about $600 million. This took cumulative investments this year to $20.3 billion across 756 deals. The figures exclude investments in the real estate sector.Arun Natarajan, founder of Venture Intelligence, said the investments underscored the continued long-term confidence of global and domestic investors in India’s private markets, despite geopolitical uncertainties and volatile public markets weighing on IPO activity.“Healthy exits notched up by investors in recent months—including through the Meta-CRED deal and public market sales—offer a strong reason for optimism,” he told TOI.In recent months, PE investors have increasingly focused on sectors such as infrastructure (particularly renewable energy), manufacturing (especially automobiles and auto components), and data centres, as well as traditional sectors such as NBFCs and healthcare.“VC investors are doubling down on B2B software startups, with particular emphasis on AI-enabled companies such as Sarvam AI and Emergent Labs,” he added.Natarajan said India’s private markets demonstrated impressive resilience during the first half of 2026. “As long as global macroeconomic conditions remain relatively stable, total PE-VC investments this year are expected to be broadly in line with 2025,” he said.
