India, Aug. 15 -- We often celebrate capital flows in India's startup ecosystem like they're a signal of maturity. And on the surface, there's a reason to do so: According to Inc42's H1 Funding Report, $5.7 Bn was raised in just the first half of 2025. India minted 5 new unicorns, saw 11 mega deals over $100 Mn, and welcomed more than 1,100 investors into the fold. The headline numbers tell a story of momentum.

But the real story, I believe, lies beneath that surface and it's not just about how much capital is coming in, but how that capital behaves once it's here.

Because if we zoom in on where the money is going-and more importantly, how long it stays-the picture gets blurry. As shown in the graph above, AI and deeptech are top early-...