Startup Exodus: 20 Startup CEOs Who Called it Quit This Year

-These departures highlight the ongoing challenges faced by startups in India.

-Several startups promoted their CEOs to new roles within the organization, including boAt, DataTrained, and SkinQ.

-India’s tech startup ecosystem raised a total of $11.3 billion funding in 2024.

In 2024, around 20 CEOs of Indian startups have stepped down from their positions, a significantly higher number compared to previous years. This trend has been attributed to challenges such as the ongoing funding winter and increasing regulatory concerns. 

Here are some notable instances:

1. 1. Arjun Mohan - CEO of edtech company upGrad, resigned in January after nearly three years, later joining Byju's to lead its international business.
2. 2. Prashant Jhaveri - CEO of Flipkart Health+, left after over a year at the company.
3. 3. Deepu Sebin - CEO of DailyRounds, and Siddharth Mehta - CEO of FreeCharge, both resigned in March after serving for several years.
4. 4. In May, all three co-founders, including the CEO of ZestMoney (BNPL startup), resigned.
5. 5. Anand Vemuri, CEO of co-working space provider 91Springboard, was replaced by Anshu Sarin.
6. 6. Pranav Goel, CEO of logistics startup Porter, was promoted to Executive Vice Chairman.

On the other hand, several startups promoted their CEOs to new roles within the organization, including boAt, DataTrained, and SkinQ.

Additionally, several startups faced significant restructuring or layoffs:

1. Cuemath laid off 100 employees and reappointed Manan Khurma as CEO after Vivek Sunder served for two years.

2. GoMechanic laid off 70% of its workforce after financial lapses were acknowledged by co-founder Amit Bhasin.

3. After its acquisition by Servizzy, a consortium led by the Lifelong Group, all cofounders of the company, including the CEO, left.

These departures highlight the ongoing challenges faced by startups in India, marked by a mix of internal restructuring, leadership changes, and external financial pressures.

Moreover, India’s tech startup ecosystem raised a total of $11.3 billion funding in 2024, marking a 6% increase from the previous year, where the ecosystem secured $10.7 billion in 2023.

In the second half of 2024 (H2), tech startups raised $5.32 billion across 540 funding rounds, reflecting an 8% growth from H2 2023, which saw $4.92 billion raised across 890 rounds, per Tracxn data. 

While the number of funding rounds declined, the size of individual rounds appears to have increased, indicating a trend towards larger, more strategic investments.

Source: This piece has been partly compiled from a report done by Fintrackr.