India tech deals jump 43% to $3.9B

India’s technology sector posted 68 deals worth $3.9 billion in the first quarter of 2026, the highest quarterly value since Q3 2022. (businesstoday.in) That total was up 43% from the previous quarter even though deal volumes fell 8% sequentially, according to Grant Thornton Bharat’s Technology Dealtracker cited by Business Today. Excluding public-market activity, the sector recorded 66 deals worth $3.4 billion. (businesstoday.in) Mergers and acquisitions carried the quarter. The segment logged 21 transactions worth $2.6 billion, more than three times the previous quarter’s M&A value. (businesstoday.in) One deal did most of the lifting: Coforge’s $2.4 billion acquisition of Encora Inc. That pushed average M&A deal size to $122.3 million from $38.1 million in the prior quarter. (businesstoday.in) Outbound transactions dominated the value mix. They contributed about $2.5 billion, or nearly 97% of total M&A value, while domestic deals accounted for most of the count but only around 2% of value. (businesstoday.in) Private equity and venture capital were much quieter. The quarter saw 45 such deals worth $848 million, a 49% drop in value from the previous quarter. (businesstoday.in) Grant Thornton Bharat said the pattern points to fewer, larger bets rather than broad-based funding. Raja Lahiri, the firm’s partner and technology industry leader, said capital is concentrating in “high-conviction opportunities,” with artificial intelligence shaping valuations and strategy. (businesstoday.in) The shift lines up with the wider Indian deal market, where overall Q1 2026 volumes rose to 710 deals worth $20 billion, but total values fell 57% quarter on quarter because large-ticket transactions were scarce. In that broader market, information technology and IT-enabled services led by value with a 22% share. (grantthornton.in) The backdrop is a tech industry that Nasscom expects to reach $300 billion in revenue in fiscal 2026, after crossing $282.6 billion in FY2025E. Nasscom said artificial intelligence adoption, digital engineering and global capability centers are driving that expansion. (businesstoday.in) For now, India’s tech deal market looks less like a funding rebound and more like a consolidation cycle. Bigger buyers are writing bigger checks, especially for overseas capabilities in AI, cloud and digital engineering. (businesstoday.in)