As the third largest startup ecosystem in the world, India continues to add more of its startups into the unicorn club. Inching towards the end of Q4, 2022, the post-pandemic economy has about 77,000 DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade) recognized startups across 656 districts of the country.
With a valuation of $1 Billion and above, these Indian unicorn startups are the 23 private companies that have entered the unicorn club as of 23rd November 2022.
| Trade name | Company | Sub-Sector | Location | Last Valuation (₹ mn) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PhysicsWallah | Physicswallah Private Limited | Entrance Exam Preparation Services | Noida | 85,448 |
| Purplle | Manash Lifestyle Private Limited | Online Retail | Mumbai | 76,191 |
| XpressBees | Busybees Logistics Solutions Private Limited | Logistics | Pune | 82,998 |
| Yubi | Credavenue Private Limited | Lending Aggregator | Chennai | 92,885 |
| Tata 1mg | Tata 1Mg Technologies Private Limited | Online Pharmacy | New Delhi | 99,838 |
| Fractal Analytics | Fractal Analytics Private Limited | Big Data & Analytics Services | Mumbai | 97,945 |
| ElasticRun | Ntex Transportation Services Private Limited | Logistics SaaS | Pune | 112,605 |
| Amagi | Amagi Media Labs Private Limited | Content Management SaaS | Bengaluru | 109,286 |
| LeadSquared | Marketxpander Services Private Limited | Marketing SaaS | Bengaluru | 78,060 |
| OneCard | Fpl Technologies Private Limited | Loyalty Program Management Platform | Pune | 99,872 |
| Oxyzo | Oxyzo Financial Services Private Limited | Lending Platform | Gurgaon | 71,634 |
| Darwinbox | Darwinbox Digital Solutions Private Limited | HR SaaS | Hyderabad | 77,345 |
| Open | Open Financial Technologies Private Limited | Neobanks | Bengaluru | 76,470 |
| LivSpace | Home Interior Designs E-Commerce Private Limited | Interior & Workplace Design | Bengaluru | 89,520 |
| DealShare | Merabo Labs Private Limited | Online Retail | Jaipur | 12,7619 |
| Games 24 x 7 | Play Games24X7 Private Limited | Games & Entertainment | Mumbai | 189,000 |
| LEAD School | Leadership Boulevard Private Limited | Learning Management | Mumbai | 79,843 |
| Uniphore | Uniphore Software Systems Private Limited | Chatbot | Chennai | 188,000 |
| CommerceIQ | Boomerang Retail Commerce Technologies India Private Limited | Omni Channel SaaS | Bengaluru | N/A |
| Hasura | Hasura Technologies Private Limited | Developer Tools | Bengaluru | 337 |
| 5ire | 5Irechain Techno Private Limited | Application Development | Noida | N/A |
| boAT | Imagine Marketing Private Limited | Consumer Electronics | Mumbai | 19,100 |
| Shiprocket | Bigfoot Retail Solutions Private Limited | Logistics SaaS | New Delhi | 99,100 |
Highlights from the Indian unicorn historic hindsight
- Up until the fiscal year 2016-17, roughly one unicorn was added per year. Whooping 66% Year-on-Year increase in unicorns added each year, starting with 2017.
- Driven by widespread digitization, more than half of Indian firms achieved unicorn status within five years of their founding.
- With its first unicorn Inmobi in 2011 to 100+ in 2022, the Indian economy driving forward with a fast-paced & dynamic market.
- Startups spearheading innovative solutions and technologies along with large-scale employment.
- A new PwC report states that as we approach the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, 50+ more Indian firms have the potential to attain unicorn status.
While most of the unicorns are based out of Tier 1 cities, the steady growth of several startups across several districts in the country indicates tier 2, 3, & 4 regions gaining traction as well. Traditional sectors such as E-commerce, Fin-tech, E-commerce, Supply Chain & Logistics, Internet Software & Services seem to dominate a large chunk of startup sectors, however, a steady wave of unconventional sectors such as Content, Gaming, Hospitality, Data management & analytics, etc are making their place on the list as well.
Unicorn Investors
According to YourStory Report2, 891 funding deals were registered in H1 2022, accounting for 82.8% rise from the 541 deals made in H1 2021. Startups raised over $ 17 billion in investment, which is 1.8 times higher than the $ 9.4 billion, raised in the first half of 2021.
Sequoia Capital India has been the most active investor, followed by Tiger Global Management, Kunal Shah (Founder, CRED), Better Capital, Inflection Point Ventures, LetsVenture, Accel, Blume Ventures, 9Unicorns, and Alpha Wave Global.
FinTech, EdTech, E-commerce, Social Networks, FoodTech, Logistics, and Supply Chain, Media and Entertainment, D2C Brands, SaaS, and HealthTech are among the leading industries seeking funds. Among these, FinTech, EdTech, and E-commerce received 19.7%, 9.4%, and 6.2% of the total funds, respectively.
Furthermore, there has been a shift in the conventional means of fundraising, with companies increasingly considering other avenues such as crowdsourcing, revenue-based financing, venture debt, bank loans, and so on. Startups like Zerodha, who have been bootstrapping since their inception, are challenging unicorn financing conventions and fostering independence and income creation. Since the start of COVID-19, an unusual trend has been observed where several new unicorn club members gaining status without a billion-dollar investment.
Latest deals of the unicorns from the list
Physics Wallah – The Edtech platform raised $100 million in Series A funding from UK-based Westbridge and GSV Ventures, a global VC fund focused on digital education, at a valuation of $1.1 billion.
Purplle – Raised $33 million in a Series E round of funding from South Korean investment firm Paramark Ventures, apart from returning investors Premji Invest, Blume Ventures, and private equity fund Kedaara.
Xpressbees – Raised $300 million in a Series F funding round at a valuation of $1.2 billion. The round was led by private equity funds Blackstone Growth, TPG Growth, and ChrysCapital. Existing investors, Investcorp and Norwest Venture Partners also participated in the latest round.
Yubi – The debt marketplace for enterprises raised $137 million in a Series B round of funding, catapulting it to the famed startup unicorn club. The round, led by Insight Partners, B Capital Group, and Dragoneer Investment Group, valued the company at $1.3 billion post-money, a 3X jump from its $410-million valuation in September 2021.
Tata 1MG – The E-pharmacy platform crossed the coveted billion-dollar valuation mark after raising about $40 million in a round led by Tata Digital. Other investors participating in the round include MPOF Mauritius Ltd, HBM Healthcare, and KWE Beteiligung.
Fractal – The artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced analytics solutions provider raised $360 million from TPG Capital Asia, the Asia-focused private equity platform of global alternative asset firm TPG.
ElasticRun – The B2B E-commerce startup that supplies goods to kiranas, raised $300 million in its Series E funding round at a $1.5 billion valuation from investors such as SoftBank and Goldman Sachs. Existing investor Prosus Ventures also took part in the round.
Amagi – The cloud-based SaaS technology company raised $95 million in a funding round led by Accel with participation from existing investors Norwest Venture Partners and Avataar Ventures.
LeadSquared – The sales automation platform becomes the latest Indian startup to join the unicorn club after raising $153 million in a Series C round of funding from WestBridge Capital.
OneCard – FPL Technologies owned, a fintech startup that offers credit cards, raised $100 million in its latest Series D round.
Oxyzo – The tech-enabled smart financing solution provider announced its $200 million Series A fundraising led by Alpha Wave, and co-led by Tiger Global, Norwest Venture Partners, Matrix Partners, and Creation Investments.
Darwinbox – The HRtech startup raised $72 million in a funding round led by Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), along with participation from existing investors Salesforce Ventures, Sequoia India, Lightspeed India, Endiya Partners, 3One4Capital, JGDEV, and SCB 10X.
Open – The SME-focused neo banking platform raises $50 million in its Series D round from IIFL, along with existing investors Temasek Holdings, Tiger Global Management, and 3one4 Capital.
LivSpace – Raised $180 million in Series F round with KKR participating as the lead investor.
DealShare – Raised $165 million in the first close of its Series E round from Dragoneer Investments Group, Kora Capital, and Unilever Ventures. Existing investors Tiger Global and Alpha Wave Global (Falcon Edge) also participated in the round.
Games 24×7 – Raised $75 million in a recent funding round led by Malabar Investment. The round also saw participation from existing investors – Tiger Global and Raine Group.
LEAD School – Raised Series E funding of $100 million at a valuation of $1.1 billion. The first edtech unicorn of 2022 is also the first school edtech player to enter the coveted club.
Uniphore – The conversational automation startup raised $400 million in a Series E round of funding.
CommerceIQ – Raised $115 million in a round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Existing investors Insight Partners, Trinity Ventures, Shasta Ventures and Madrona Venture Group also participated in the Series D round.
Hasura – The GraphQL developer startup raised $100 million in a Series C funding round led by Greenoaks.
5ire – The Layer 1 blockchain project focusing on sustainability raised $100 million in Series A funding (at a valuation of $1.5 billion) from UK based conglomerate SRAM & MRAM.
boAT – Closes $60 million funding from Warburg and Malabar Investments.
Shiprocket – Raised ₹ 257.34 Cr in a new round of funding from returning investors.
Unicorn, and beyond
India has been witnessing unicorn numbers increase over the years, observing it as the new norm for a startup reliably solving user pain points, aiming at consistency for both direct and indirect users.
We also witness the start of a gradual transition from the age of unicorns to the age of decacorns. A decacorn is a company that has attained a valuation of more than $ 10 Bn.
Currently, India has the following decacorn startups, BYJU’s, Udaan, Dream11, GoMechanic, and Swiggy.