Indian Ad Startups Pivot to AI Amidst 828 Shutdowns, Funding Decline

• India's advertising industry is reorienting business models around AI due to rapid technological advancements from giants like OpenAI, Google, and Meta.
• Between 2023-2025, 828 ad and media startups shut down, while over 2,300 new ventures emerged, indicating significant churn and adaptation.
• The sector raised $5.57 billion since 2020, but funding declined sharply from $2.24 billion in 2022 to $176 million in 2025.
• Ad firms are investing in proprietary AI tools and deeper platform partnerships to maintain relevance, shifting focus from optimization to creative intelligence.
• Industry experts emphasize that human strategy and judgment, combined with intelligent AI systems, will be crucial for agencies' survival and differentiation.

Why It Matters: Indian ad startups are embracing AI for survival and differentiation amidst significant industry churn and funding shifts.