New Delhi — India’s bioeconomy has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past five years, nearly doubling in size from
USD 86 billion in 2020 to USD 165.7 billion in 2024, according to a report jointly produced by Omnivore and Nucleate.
Now accounting for
4.25% of India’s GDP, this growth reflects a strategic national push to position biotechnology at the core of economic development, health security, and sustainability.
At the heart of this shift lies an expanding ecosystem of
biotech startups. According to the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), India is now home to more than
10,075 biotech startups, marking a
ten-fold increase in less than a decade. These startups, though small in number relative to the larger industry, play an outsized role in
driving innovation across agriculture, healthcare, manufacturing, and sustainable materials.
The Rise of the Startup Sector
Biotech startups have been instrumental in translating research into scalable, market-ready solutions. Often, these nimble enterprises are the first to identify new scientific applications—whether in
precision agriculture, gene therapies, or biodegradable materials—before their ideas are adopted and expanded by larger companies.
Despite this potential, the flow of
private capital into life sciences has been sluggish. For years, the sector relied heavily on
government support programs and public incubators, with
institutional investors showing hesitance due to perceived risks. However, recent data suggests that the tide may be turning.
Between 2020 and 2024,
life sciences startups in India raised a total of USD 1.9 billion across 465 deals, according to the report. While the annual investment volume fluctuated—
peaking at USD 749 million in 2022 before recalibrating in line with broader post-pandemic venture capital trends—
the sector has shown resilience and adaptability.
Investment Trends and Sectoral Shifts
A closer look at funding patterns reveals several important dynamics:
- Biopharma and Medical Biotechnology remained the dominant investment magnet, attracting 42% of total funding. The sector benefited from increased demand for diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines during the pandemic and continued investment in personalized medicine post-COVID.
- Sustainable and Novel Materials—a category encompassing biodegradable polymers, algae-based materials, and bioengineered textiles—has seen dramatic growth since 2022, as climate concerns have reshaped investor priorities.
- Metro cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Delhi continued to draw the lion’s share of funding, accounting for over 80% of investments. However, the emergence of specialized biotech hubs in tier-2 cities like Pune, Ahmedabad, and Bhubaneswar suggests a decentralizing trend supported by regional incubators and academic institutions.
