India, Dec. 30 -- 2025 was the transition year. 2026 will be the rebalancing year. That's Inc42's thesis for the upcoming year, where we expect a greater degree of maturity when it comes to fundraising, public markets and key sectors such as deeptech, AI, consumer services, ecommerce and fintech.

The Indian startup ecosystem has already absorbed the correction of the past two years and the biggest testament to this was the fact that 2025 was a record-breaking year for startup listings.

More than 18 startups went public in 2025, and the cumulative market cap of listed new age tech companies is now close to $150 Bn. The next 12 months will build on these structural changes of 2025.

Broadly speaking, we will see selective capital deployme...