New Delhi, Feb 23 (IANS): Within the first month of 2024, the Indian solar energy tech companies have witnessed $1 billion in funding, despite a 9 per cent dip in 2023, a new report showed on Friday.

According to the market intelligence platform Tracxn, this sector secured funding worth $1.55 billion in 2023, 9 per cent lower than the $1.7 billion raised in 2022.

The majority of the funding in this space comes from late-stage rounds. Sukhbir Agro Energy has raised $1 billion in its private equity round in January 2024.

According to the report, companies in this space attracted late-stage funding worth $1.3 billion in 2023, a 23 per cent decrease from the $1.7 billion raised in 2022.

Early-stage funding increased dramatically, rising sixfold to $252 million in 2023 from $39 million in 2022. Seed-stage funding in this industry raised a total of $11.5 million in 2023, a 58 per cent increase over the $7.26 million raised in 2022.

The solar energy sector in India has witnessed a total of 39 $100 million+ rounds to date, out of which 12 have taken place in the last two years. No unicorns have emerged from this sector so far, the report mentioned.

Delhi leads the cities in terms of total investment received thus far, followed by Gurugram and Mumbai. To date, Delhi-based solar energy startups have raised $3.1 billion, followed by Gurugram ($2.7 billion) and Mumbai ($2.3 billion).

There has been significant activity in terms of acquisitions and IPOs within the Indian solar energy sector.

To date, there have been 43 acquisitions, with 16 of them taking place in the last few years. In 2024, only one acquisition has been recorded so far. Additionally, 49 companies have gone public, with three IPOs occurring in 2023 and two in 2022.