MUMBAI, India, July 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Investment in Indian startups fell by 8.3% in the most recent full year, making it the only market in the global ‘Big Five’ to record a year-on-year contraction, according to new research by Vestd India.

Early 2026 data suggests the trend is continuing, with India recording just 560 funding rounds in Q1, down from 668 in the same period last year, and 1,049 in Q1 of 2024.

The Global Investment Report, which analysed data from business intelligence platform Crunchbase, shows a marked shift in investor behaviour, with capital moving away from early-stage businesses and towards late-stage consolidation and liquidity events.

While India remains a top-five global investment hub, the number of funding rounds fell to 2,497 in 2025, trailing the UK, which recorded 3,331 deals.

The decline was driven primarily by a sharp contraction in early-stage funding activity. Seed investment fell by 31.8%, angel funding dropped by 25.3%, and pre-seed deals declined by 21.9%, suggesting a significantly higher bar for founders seeking early capital.

By contrast, late-stage and liquidity-focused investment activity grew strongly. Secondary market deals rose by 77.2%, post-IPO debt increased by 45.7% and Series C rounds grew by 27.6%, highlighting a clear pivot towards established businesses and investor exits.

Ifty Nasir OBE, founder and CEO of sharetech platform Vestd, said: “India’s investment market is evolving rapidly. What we’re seeing is a clear shift away from high-volume early-stage speculation towards a more disciplined, fundamentals-driven environment.

“The bar for early-stage funding has risen significantly. Investors are no longer backing ideas alone – they want evidence of traction, strong unit economics and a clear path to profitability.

“The latest figures suggest that investor caution remains firmly in place. Capital is still available, but investors are being far more selective and are increasingly backing businesses that can demonstrate resilience, profitability and long-term value creation.”

The data also shows a cooling trend across the year, with deal activity slipping 11.8% in the second half of the year compared to the first, reflecting increasing investor caution.

Globally, India continues to compete for capital against fast-growing markets such as Canada, which saw a 46.4% increase in investment activity, and China, which recorded growth of 31.9%.

However, India remains a major global startup hub, ranking third in the world for emerging unicorns – companies valued between $500m and $1bn – with 43 businesses in the category. This places it behind the US (239) and China (44), but ahead of the UK (27).

Despite this, India is the only top-three market to see its emerging unicorn pipeline contract, falling 6.5% year-on-year, suggesting early-stage funding constraints are beginning to impact future scale-ups.

The report also highlights a broader global shift in investor priorities, with capital increasingly concentrated in deep-tech sectors. Artificial intelligence saw a 41.7% rise in emerging unicorn formation, followed by data and analytics (+30.5%) and science and engineering (+28.4%).

Ifty added: “The global market is not just shifting geographically, it is shifting sectorally. The next wave of growth is being driven by deep-tech innovation, not consumer convenience models.

“For India to maintain its position as a leading global startups hub, it will need to align more closely with where capital is flowing – particularly in AI, data and advanced engineering.”

Vestd India

Vestd India is a sharetech platform that helps private companies manage cap tables, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), shareholder records, and governance through one connected platform.

Following the acquisition of Trica Equity, Vestd combines local expertise in the Indian startup ecosystem with the technology and experience of one of the UK’s leading sharetech platforms. Vestd supports founders, finance teams, HR leaders, investors, and company secretaries in managing ownership with greater clarity and confidence.

Learn more at vestd.com/en-in

Contact: Sparsh Johari, Marketing Lead, sparsh.johari@vestd.com

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OSLO, Norway, July 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Hexagon Agility, a subsidiary of Hexagon Composites, has received the largest single order for Mobile Pipeline® modules to date, from Certarus, the North American leader in mobile compressed natural gas (CNG) solutions.

The order represents an estimated value of USD 100 million (approx. NOK 1 billion), and includes an option to purchase additional modules valued at up to USD 25 million (approx. NOK 250 million) by 2028.

The Mobile Pipeline TITAN® 450 and newly launched TITAN® 510 modules will support Certarus’ growing fleet and serve newly awarded contracts, providing reliable CNG supply for hyperscale data center projects and increasing demand in numerous industrial markets. The TITAN 510 module represents the latest product innovation from Hexagon Agility, developed to meet emerging opportunities from large scale, energy-intensive applications such as data centers, offering a 13% volume increase compared to the TITAN 450.

“We’re proud to continue building on our more than decade-long collaboration with Certarus, developing technology to address critical infrastructure gaps in how energy is delivered,” said Philipp Schramm, CEO of Hexagon Composites. “It is very encouraging to see our long-term focus on innovation directly supporting emerging, energy-intensive applications such as data centers, while remaining fully mobile and redeployable as our customers’ requirements continue to evolve.”

About the market

The structural demand for virtual pipeline solutions continues to grow within several industries, including utilities, mining, renewable natural gas, and data centers. Data centers are among the fastest-growing sources of energy demand in the United States, driven by continued growth in cloud computing and artificial intelligence workloads. At the same time, energy infrastructure development continues to lag demand, with grid interconnection timelines frequently exceeding four years in many U.S. regions. This increasing gap between rapid data center deployment and infrastructure availability is driving demand for flexible, interim energy solutions to support start-up power and maintain critical systems.

Hexagon Agility’s Mobile Pipeline solutions have the largest gas transport capacity in North America and are the most efficient solution to address grid infrastructure gaps worldwide, by enabling the delivery of large volumes of energy without the need for fixed pipelines.

Timing

Deliveries under the order are expected to commence in the third quarter of 2026, with the majority completed over the following 12 months and final deliveries by 2028.

This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. This stock exchange release was published by Emily Cherry, Communications Manager, Hexagon Composites ASA at the time and date provided.

For more information:

Berit-Cathrin Høyvik, Senior Director, Communications, Hexagon Composites
Telephone: +47 988 92 161 | berit-cathrin.hoyvik@hexagongroup.com

Eirik Løhre, CFO, Hexagon Composites
Telephone: +1 704 777 5171 (US eastern time zone) | eirik.lohre@hexagongroup.com

About Certarus

Certarus, the CNG division of Superior Plus Corp. (TSX: SPB), is the mobile gas solutions leader providing safe and reliable delivery of CNG, RNG, and hydrogen across North America when pipeline service is unavailable or time constrained. Serving industrials, utilities, oil and gas, mining, data centers, and energy infrastructure, Certarus employs North America’s largest network of portable compression, logistics, mobile storage, and on-site gas systems to help customers maximize uptime and reduce operating costs. Learn more at certarus.com

About Hexagon Agility

Hexagon Agility, a business of Hexagon Composites, is a leading global provider of clean fuel solutions for commercial vehicles and bulk gas transportation. Its product offerings include (renewable) natural gas bulk distribution systems of compressed gases, lightweight Type 4 composite natural gas cylinders, and (renewable) natural gas fuel systems. These products transport clean gaseous fuels and enable vehicles to reduce emissions while lowering operating costs. Learn more at hexagonagility.com and follow @HexagonAgility on LinkedIn.

About Hexagon Composites ASA

Hexagon delivers safe and innovative solutions for a cleaner energy future. Our solutions enable storage, transportation and conversion to clean energy in a wide range of mobility and industrial applications. Learn more at hexagongroup.com and follow @HexagonASA on LinkedIn.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

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SOURCE Hexagon Composites ASA

SEOUL, South Korea, July 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Hanon Systems (KS:018880), a leading global automotive thermal management solutions provider and a member of Hankook & Company Group, has published a white paper highlighting the company’s next-generation PFAS-free natural refrigerant technologies.

The paper highlights the environmental limitations of conventional fluorinated refrigerants and outlines a roadmap toward natural refrigerant technologies as a sustainable alternative. It comes at a time when the automotive industry is increasingly focused on long-term environmental sustainability. Widely used refrigerants like R1234yf can transform into trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a long-lasting environmental contaminant, driving the need for viable long-term solutions.

To address these challenges, Hanon Systems presents its progress in developing natural refrigerant technologies based on carbon dioxide (R744) and propane (R290). Building on the successful introduction to the market of its R744-based technology – including electric compressors, refrigerant valves, accumulator/internal heat exchangers and gas coolers – already deployed in more than one million vehicles, the company is also advancing R290-based solutions as a PFAS-free alternative for future mobility.

“The publication of this white paper reflects Hanon Systems’ strong technological capacities and its commitment to proactively addressing evolving global regulations,” said Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hanon Systems, Soo Il Lee. “Natural refrigerant technologies offer effective solutions to the PFAS related and environmental challenges facing our industry. We will continue to collaborate closely with global automakers to advance sustainable mobility solutions.”

The document is available for download on hanonsystems.com.

About Hanon Systems

Hanon Systems, founded in 1986, is a global leader in thermal management solutions. In January 2025, it became a subsidiary of Hankook & Company Group. Its offering includes a wide range of solutions in the areas of heating, ventilation and air conditioning, powertrain cooling, compressor, fluid transport, and electronics and fluid pressure. The company currently operates 50 manufacturing sites and three regional innovation centers and employs more than 20,000 people across 21 countries. To learn more, visit hanonsystems.com.

Follow Hanon Systems:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hanonsystems

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6bSZ7NMg7LPhXDyTOMwebQ/feed

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