India was not immune to the headwinds impacting global markets in 2022, with funding to Indian agrifoodtech startups dropping 33% year-over-year to $2.4 billion. The decline in the number of deals closed was even more pronounced. But there were bright spots upstream, in climate-related categories closer to the farm.

While funding to startups in downstream and midstream categories fell 37% and 65% respectively in 2022, investments rose 50% in upstream categories in India, which is expected to overtake China as the world’s most populous country this year. Furthermore, India became the second best-funded market for agrifoodtech startups in 2022, after the US and overtaking China.

However, investment in eGrocery still dominated despite big drops in other markets. Agribusiness Marketplaces & FinTech was the biggest upstream category.