India’s Gifting Startups Secure $115.9M Over a Decade, Signalling Steady Sectoral Growth: Tracxn

Tracxn, a leading market intelligence platform, has released its Gifting Platforms Wrap Report, analysing funding trends, investor activity, and exits in the global and Indian gifting space between 2015 and 2025 YTD.

Funding activity in 2025 YTD remains muted, particularly in India, where Indigifts was the only startup to raise funding, securing $57.6K in an angel round. This marks a steep decline from 2024, which raised $1.3M. 2024 represents a 96% drop from the $32.7M raised in 2023, and a 98% fall from the $63.9M raised in 2022. Globally, gifting startups raised $66.2M across four funding rounds in 2025 YTD. In 2024, global funding stood at $99.8M, a 54% drop from the $218.0M raised in 2023, and a 16% decline compared to the $118.6M raised in 2022. The trend reflects a cautious investment climate, with investors remaining selective and prioritising profitability over scale. 

Over the past decade, India’s gifting startups have raised a total of $115.9M reflecting a consistent,  though modest, growth trajectory. Globally, gifting startups secured $1.7B between 2015 and 2025 YTD. These numbers speak to the evolution of the category from a largely offline, occasion-led segment to a more tech-enabled, experience-driven space. On an all-time basis, funding in India stands at $159.4M, while global gifting startups have collectively raised $2.52B.

The sector recorded its highest funding activity in 2022, as gifting behaviour shifted during the pandemic. That year, Indian startups secured $63.9M, their highest annual total and global startups raised $559M in 2021, which was the peak for global funding. This surge was driven by rising demand for digital gifting solutions, growth in festive and corporate gifting use cases, and increased adoption of D2C platforms offering curated, personalised experiences. However, the momentum slowed sharply in subsequent years as investors moved away from blitzscaling and began backing sustainable, capital-efficient businesses instead.

Commenting on the findings of their report, Neha Singh, Co-Founder, Tracxn, said, “The gifting and rewards sector has quietly evolved into a globally relevant, innovation-led category. Over the last decade, we’ve seen over $2.5B flow into gifting startups, not just to scale transactions, but to reimagine consumer experience, convenience, and loyalty. India, while still maturing, has built a strong base of resilient, founder-led businesses that are defining new benchmarks in digital-first branding and operational efficiency. As capital becomes more selective, this sector stands out for its ability to attract high-conviction investors, achieve strategic exits, and continue innovating for long-term value creation.”

In terms of investor activity, 2025 YTD has been highly selective. In India, Ritesh Agarwal and Vineeta Singh emerged as the most active investors, backing Indigifts. This reflects continued support from prominent founder-investors for early-stage consumer brands, especially in the D2C gifting space. Globally, Raise, the top-funded company this year, secured a $63M Series D round, attracting marquee investors such as Haun Ventures, GSR Ventures, and Web3 Foundation, along with niche funds like ANAGRAM, Paper Ventures, Selini Capital, and Pharsalus—signalling strong confidence. Other notable deals included Inkd Greetings, which raised $2.7M in a Series A round, and Giftagram, which secured $441.9K in seed funding.

India’s gifting and rewards sector is led by seasoned players that have secured substantial capital to scale innovation and customer engagement. Xoxoday tops the chart with $30.6 funding to date. Ferns N Petals has raised $26.1M. ZoomIn and Printo, with $21M and $17.7M funding respectively. Other notable players include Bakingo and FlowerAura, both with $16M in funding, and eYantra with $10.9M. 

These top players collectively indicate growing institutional interest in the personalisation, D2C gifting, and employee experience segments, making the sector ripe for further innovation and acquisition.

The global gifting and rewards space is led by high-growth digital-first companies, with Raise emerging as the top-funded player, having secured $220M to scale its online gift card marketplace. Floward, a Saudi based flower gifting platform stands at the second position with $190.2M funding. While Bloom & Wild, UK-Based $174.3M, is underscoring Europe’s shift toward experience-driven, recurring gifting models. Snappy ($130M) and Bouqs ($97.8M) in the U.S. highlight investor appetite for corporate gifting and sustainable flower delivery, respectively.

Exit momentum has been limited in India so far this year, with no acquisitions recorded. This follows a historical pattern of modest exit activity in the region, with only five known acquisitions to date, including players like Xoxoday (acquired by Gift in 2022) and ZoomIn (acquired by Sachin Katira in 2018). Globally, however, exit activity continues at a steady pace. There have been three acquisitions in 2025 YTD, led by the $32.2M acquisition of Funky Pigeon by Card Factory. Other notable deals include Floom being acquired by Promenade and Giftcloud by Recharge.com. These transactions signal ongoing consolidation in the international gifting tech space, particularly in Western markets.

On the IPO front, no new public listings in India have taken place in 2025 so far, continuing a slowdown like previous years. Globally, the last notable IPO was Vaziva’s listing on Euronext Growth in March 2024. Historically, IPOs in this space have been rare, with only 12 global listings ever recorded, dominated by Western markets and legacy players like Moonpig and FTD.

The lack of unicorns and minimal IPO activity reflects the early-stage nature of the sector, with most exits occurring through strategic acquisitions rather than public markets..

The 10-year trend reveals that this is not a high-volume funding sector, but one where select category leaders attract disproportionate capital. It’s a space defined by deep specialisation, strong consumer branding, and acquisition-led exits — not blitzscaling. This makes it fertile ground for long-term, patient capital, especially in enterprise gifting, personalisation tech, and niche D2C experiences.