Indian direct-to-consumer (D2C) companies have raised nearly $6 billion in equity funding across about 2000 equity rounds since January 2021, with capital continuing to flow into the sector even as deal sizes have moderated, said a Tracxn report.
According to the report, funding in the sector peaked at $1.6 billion in 2022 before recovering $898 million in 2025, up 9% year-on-year. Established consumer companies increasingly bought D2C brands during the period, with 105 acquisitions happening between 2021 and August 2026
The D2C sector also saw an exit window through public markets, with 15 IPOs recorded between 2021 and August 2026 in the space. While heavily funded brands such as Lenskart raised nearly $1 billion privately before listing, Credo Brands went public without institutional funding, suggesting that public markets are becoming an exit option for D2C companies with very different funding histories and scales.
In terms of the funding stages, the report captures investor interest shifting from large late stage bets towards a broader, earlier-stage funding base. Seed and early stage rounds accounted for 70% of funding value in 2025, compared with just 38% in 2021, as late-stage funding fell 69% to $271 million from its 2022 peak, suggesting that investors are still backing new consumer brands, but are committing smaller amounts and taking longer to fund companies through the later stages.