2017 might be a better year for Indian start-ups

Qualcomm Ventures, the venture investment arm of US-based chip maker Qualcomm Inc which has a $150 million India-focused fund, expects 2017 to be a better year for the start-up ecosystem, especially early stage companies. “Year 2016 was the hardest year, and that is behind us. 2017 will be a better year. There was a crunch in investment dollars, especially Series-C and -D investments," Varsha Tagare, senior director, Qualcomm Ventures India, told PTI. “Funding in early stage has not gone down but there is more selective funding. What is needed is more welldefined companies after the early stage,” she said.