Bengaluru: Karnataka Tech companies raised $4.6 billion in the first nine months of 2026, up 26% from $3.7 billion in the same period of 2025, according to the Karnataka Tech 9M 2026 Report released by Tracxn Technologies Limited.
However, the number of funding rounds declined 35% to 397 from 610 during the corresponding period.
The Karnataka Tech 9M 2026 Report covers funding, investors, exits, unicorns and city-level activity across Karnataka’s technology ecosystem between January 1, 2026 and September 30, 2026. All funding figures in the report refer to US dollar equity funding.
The funding growth was led by a small number of large deals, with CRED’s $540 million Series H round in June 2026 emerging as the largest funding round and accounting for 12% of the total funding raised during the period.
Karnataka Tech Funding Reaches $4.6B in 9M 2026
The Karnataka Tech 9M 2026 Report showed that technology companies in the state raised $4.6 billion across 397 funding rounds in 9M 2026, compared with $3.7 billion across 610 rounds in 9M 2025.
While total funding increased 26%, the number of funding rounds fell 35% year-on-year.
The three largest rounds during the period were CRED’s $540 million Series H round in June 2026, Sarvam’s $255 million Series B round in June 2026 and Rapido’s $240 million Series F round in May 2026.
Together, the three rounds accounted for approximately $1 billion of the total funding raised in 9M 2026, highlighting the contribution of large transactions to Karnataka’s technology funding activity.
Late Stage Funding Rises 32% to $2.7B
According to the Karnataka Tech 9M 2026 Report, Late Stage funding increased 32% to $2.7 billion in 9M 2026 from $2 billion in 9M 2025.
The segment accounted for 57% of total funding, with 36 rounds recorded during the period, compared with 44 rounds in the previous year.
Early Stage funding also increased, rising 35% to $1.7 billion from $1.2 billion in 9M 2025.
In contrast, Seed Stage funding declined 32% to $281 million from $412 million.
Seed Stage transactions accounted for 6% of total funding and were spread across 231 rounds, representing 58% of all funding rounds.
The number of Seed Stage rounds declined 47% from 434 in 9M 2025.
The Karnataka Tech 9M 2026 Report identified CRED’s $540 million Series H, Rapido’s $240 million Series F and KreditBee’s $220 million Series E as the largest Late Stage funding rounds.
Among Early Stage companies, Sarvam was the largest contributor, raising $255 million through its Series B round in June 2026, followed by another $90 million in August 2026.
FinTech and Enterprise Applications Lead Funding at $1.4B Each
FinTech and Enterprise Applications emerged as the top-funded sectors in Karnataka during 9M 2026, with each sector attracting $1.4 billion, according to the Karnataka Tech 9M 2026 Report.
FinTech funding increased 44% from $971 million in 9M 2025, while Enterprise Applications funding rose 37% from $1 billion during the same period.
Auto Tech ranked third, with funding reaching $896 million. This represented a 5.2x increase from the $172 million raised by the sector in 9M 2025.
Transportation and Logistics Tech also recorded significant growth, with funding reaching $887 million compared with $259 million in the previous year.
The Karnataka Tech 9M 2026 Report highlighted FinTech, Enterprise Applications and Auto Tech as the leading sectors for funding activity during the first nine months of 2026.
Bengaluru Dominates Karnataka Tech Funding
Bengaluru continued to dominate Karnataka’s technology funding landscape in the Karnataka Tech 9M 2026 Report, accounting for nearly all of the $4.6 billion raised across the state during 9M 2026.
Mysuru ranked second with $8 million in funding, compared with $165,000 in 9M 2025. Other cities collectively contributed less than 1% of Karnataka’s total funding during the period.
Karnataka Tech Acquisitions Fall 49% to 20
The Karnataka Tech 9M 2026 Report recorded 20 acquisitions during the first nine months of 2026, down 49% from 39 acquisitions in 9M 2025.
UpGrad’s $222 million acquisition of Unacademy in May 2026 was the largest disclosed acquisition.
It accounted for 80% of the $276 million reported across five acquisitions with disclosed deal values.
Other notable transactions included Marico’s $25 million acquisition of Cosmix and Meesho’s $21 million acquisition of Kirana Club.
Deal values for the remaining 15 acquisitions were undisclosed. No identified acquirer recorded more than one transaction during the period.
Public Listings Rise to Four
While acquisitions declined, Karnataka recorded four public listings in 9M 2026, up from three in 9M 2025, according to the Karnataka Tech 9M 2026 Report.
Amagi listed in January 2026 at an IPO market capitalization of $858 million, while Shadowfax listed during the same month at a market capitalization of $782 million.
Rentomojo listed in September 2026 at an IPO market capitalization of $438 million, while Aegeus Technologies listed in August 2026 at $9 million.
Three New Karnataka Tech Unicorns
The Karnataka Tech 9M 2026 Report also recorded three companies becoming unicorns during the first nine months of 2026. These were Emergent, Sarvam and KreditBee.
Emergent became a unicorn in July 2026, Sarvam reached unicorn status in June 2026 and KreditBee became a unicorn in April 2026.
A unicorn is a private company valued at $1 billion or more.
Karnataka recorded the same number of new unicorns in 9M 2026 as in 9M 2025, with three companies joining the unicorn club during each period.
Overall, the Karnataka Tech 9M 2026 Report showed that Karnataka’s technology ecosystem recorded higher funding despite a sharp decline in the number of funding rounds.
Late Stage and Early Stage funding increased, while Seed Stage funding declined.
FinTech and Enterprise Applications led sectoral funding, Auto Tech recorded a 5.2x increase, Bengaluru continued to account for nearly all funding, acquisitions fell nearly half, public listings increased to four and three new unicorns emerged during the first nine months of 2026.
