With venture capital firms in India having tightened their purse strings, the country’s angel investors seem to be coming to the rescue of startups, with new highs seen in their deal making this year. According to data provided by research firm Tracxn, the number of investments by individual angel investors in 2017 so far has already surpassed the annual totals seen in 2016, 2015 and 2014. While a total number of 148 deals were reported by individual angel investors in 2016 and 138 in 2015, the total in the first six months of 2017 has already crossed 162. The rise of individual angels in 2017 is also likely to help plug a gap in early-stage funding created by VC funds. According to the latest report by KPMG, the number of venture capital deals in the country has declined for the fifth quarter in the row in the April-June period, although the total amount invested is much higher owing to a large number of deals.

(DealStreet Asia)