Web3 Startups In India Raise $1.3 Billion In Two Years: NASSCOM-Hashed Emergent

India is now home to over 450 Web3 startups that have raised USD 1.3 billion, about Rs 10,700 crore, in last two years, a joint report of industry body NASSCOM with venture capital fund Hashed Emergent said on Wednesday.

According to the report, over 80 per cent of Indian Web3 startups are in tier I cities. However, the tier II/III ecosystem is growing rapidly with locations such as Jaipur, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Trivandrum, and Coimbatore evolving as emerging hubs for Web3 startups.

"In the last two years, Indian Web3 startups have grown to a over 450 community, with 4 unicorns, raising USD 1.3 billion of total investments, until April 2022. Between 2021-2022 alone, India registered over 170 new Web3 startups, yielding over 50 per cent CAGR growth since 2015," the report said.

Web3 (third generation of world wide web) has become a buzzword with technological concepts such as metaverse and NFTs gaining prominence.

With increasing confidence and interest from global investors, investments in Indian Web3 and Web 2.5 startups has also soared and new age incubators have pooled in over USD 587 million funding, as of third quarter of 2021, the report said.

"It is heartening to see that industry and government stakeholders in India are taking a very pragmatic approach towards blockchain tech with use-cases being explored in areas ranging from health & safety, finance, enterprise tech, and land registry, to education. 

"While we are only scratching the surface when it comes to emerging tech such as Web3, the Techade will be all about the technology making significant advances leading to innovative use-cases and magnified positive impact at a grassroots level," Nasscom President Debjani Ghosh said.

The report estimates that India is home to over 11 per cent of the global Web3 talent, making the country the 3rd largest Web3 talent pool globally.

"While the global demand for blockchain specialists and developers surges, India's existing and fastest growing digital talent pool has incumbent advantages when it comes to expertise development, quick reskilling, and bridging the Web3 demand-supply gap. Further, this talent pool is expected to grow by over 120 per cent in the next 1-2 years," the report said.