What explains India's unicorn boom in 2021?
3 years ago

What explains India's unicorn boom in 2021?

Business Standard  

About a week ago, an Indian startup founder quipped on Twitter that the definition of a ‘Unicorn’ as used in the venture capital industry should now change to $1 billion of funding raised. In a blockbuster year for startup funding, India saw creation of 42 unicorns, a three times jump from 11 new unicorns in 2020 and nine in the previous year. While edtech industry leader Byju’s became a decacorn this year with $18 billion valuation, three of its rivals joined the unicorn club this year -- Eruditus, upGrad and Vedantu. The unprecedented funding boom is expected to spill over to the next year as well, helped by India’s rapid adoption of technology and innovative offerings from startups.

India Startup Unicorns Unicorn Funding Boom  2021  capital  indias  saw  venture  india  startups  term  startup  unicorns  explains  funding  boom  unicorn

History of this topic

Six more unicorns added in 2024
4 days, 16 hours ago

Six more unicorns added in 2024

Deccan Chronicle  

Chennai: As the funding winter receded in 2024, the year saw 6 startups turning unicorns against two in 2023. After the funding winter in 2023, the startup ecosystem saw some respite in 2024 as six startups became unicorns. Platform to build Generative AI applications Krutrim joined the Unicorn Club in January after raising a $50 million Series B funding round. …

VC funding in start-ups rises to $6.53 bn, PEs invest $4.69 bn in January-November
2 weeks, 6 days ago

VC funding in start-ups rises to $6.53 bn, PEs invest $4.69 bn in January-November

New Indian Express  

Meanwhile, private equity funding in start-ups stood at $4.69 billion in January-November 2024, compared to $4.59 billion in 2023 and $14.95 billion in 2022 during the same period. Zepto raised $665 million in June and in August, it raised $340 million, and these were the top two funding rounds in 2024 so far. Late-stage funding remains cautious, with constrained valuations.” …

2 Ningbo companies listed as unicorns
8 months, 2 weeks ago

2 Ningbo companies listed as unicorns

China Daily  

An electric car developed by Zeeker. Two additional companies based in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, have been recognized as unicorns, according to the Global Unicorn Index 2024 released by the Hurun Research Institute on April 9. The two companies, Zeeker and Rong Semiconductor, secured the 28th and 482nd positions on the list, with valuations reaching 92 billion yuan and 16 billion …

India Ranked Third With 67 Unicorns, More Indians Producing Offshore Startups: Hurun Report
8 months, 2 weeks ago

India Ranked Third With 67 Unicorns, More Indians Producing Offshore Startups: Hurun Report

News 18  

India currently has 67 unicorns, which is lower as compared with 68 such startups last year, according to the latest Hurun Global Unicorn Index 2024. “India’s start-up ecosystem has slowed, with the number of unicorns down for the first time since the launch of Hurun list,” according to the report. Hurun Report Chairman and Chief Researcher Rupert Hoogewerf said, “The …

Piyush Goyal Urges Unicorn Collaboration For Startup Capital Access
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Piyush Goyal Urges Unicorn Collaboration For Startup Capital Access

Deccan Chronicle  

New Delhi: Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday urged the unicorns to come together and set up a unicorn club or association that would come up with solutions for access to capital for start-ups in the country. His statement came after the recently held Start-up India Innovation Week and chaired a unicorn roundtable to celebrate the growth …

Art of a Good Unicorn | Startup founders, unlock golden opportunities through PE-VC investments
11 months ago

Art of a Good Unicorn | Startup founders, unlock golden opportunities through PE-VC investments

Hindustan Times  

In recent times, it feels like we're standing on a ledge combining innovation and risk. In H1 2023, India’s PE-VC investments were said to hit about $21 billion, compared to $40 billion during the corresponding period last year, according to a report by Bain and Company. Despite global slowdown, PE-VC investments continued to trend in India in 2023 But in …

Report proposes Fund of Funds to boost start-ups in Bengaluru
1 year, 3 months ago

Report proposes Fund of Funds to boost start-ups in Bengaluru

The Hindu  

The creation of a State-wise Fund of Funds has been proposed as one of the measures that could be adopted by the Government of Karnataka to further boost the thriving start-up ecosystem in the State. The report analyses several sectors, including agriculture, manufacture, technology, start-ups, tourism, health, and education among others, and suggests steps that could help put the State …

The Art Of A Good Unicorn| Unwrapping the prolonged funding winter
1 year, 4 months ago

The Art Of A Good Unicorn| Unwrapping the prolonged funding winter

Hindustan Times  

Once dominated by unicorns, the Indian startup scene is now grappling with a prolonged funding winter, stricter diligence on fresh investments and down rounds if the latest deal data is anything to go by. Despite the significant dry powder earmarked for Indian start-ups, the ecosystem reported the lowest six-month funding trends in the last four years during H1 CY23 at …

Startups in India will increase by 10 times in next 4-5 years: Rajeev Chandrasekhar
1 year, 5 months ago

Startups in India will increase by 10 times in next 4-5 years: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

India TV News  

Startups in India: Startups and unicorns in India will witness substantial growth in the coming 4-5 years, and startups will increase by 10 times, Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said. In his address at the JIIF 6th Foundation Day and Investors/Startup Conclave in Hyderabad, he highlighted India's remarkable progress in building unicorns and startups, and …

Indian FinTech startups raise $1.2 billion in first quarter of 2023: report
1 year, 8 months ago

Indian FinTech startups raise $1.2 billion in first quarter of 2023: report

The Hindu  

FinTech startups in the country attracted investments worth $1.2 billion in during the first quarter of 2023, 55% lower than $2.6 billion raised in the first quarter of 2022. The sector recorded late-stage investments of $977 million in the first three months of 2023, a spike of 325% when compared to Q4 2022 but a drop of 44% from Q1 …

18% of India’s total unicorns are founded by women, with 20 potential unicorns in the pipeline: Study
1 year, 9 months ago

18% of India’s total unicorns are founded by women, with 20 potential unicorns in the pipeline: Study

Live Mint  

With 28,000 active digital start-ups, India has a thriving ecosystem, but tragically, only 18% of them are female founders or co-founders. According to a collaborative research by TiE Delhi-NCR, Zinnov, Google, NetApp, and Indian Angel Network titled "Creating 10X Women Founders in India," one of the primary aspects that prevent women from establishing startups are the traditional stereotypes and prejudices …

India adds 1,300 new startups, 23 unicorns
1 year, 10 months ago

India adds 1,300 new startups, 23 unicorns

Deccan Chronicle  

Chennai: Over 1,300 technology-focused start-ups were added in 2022, taking the total number of active tech start-ups to 25,000 – 27,000. India also added the second highest number of unicorns in the world — over 23 in 2022. The country also added the second highest number of unicorns in the world, with over 23 added in the calendar year 2022. …

Boost for female entrepreneurs; report says 18% Indian startups are women-led
1 year, 10 months ago

Boost for female entrepreneurs; report says 18% Indian startups are women-led

Hindustan Times  

According to a report published Wednesday by the National Association of Software and Services Companies in collaboration with Zinnov, 18 per cent of startups in India are led by at least one woman founder or co-founder. At least 36 unicorns and potential unicorns in India has at least one woman founder or a co-founder, as per the report. Indicating the …

Data | Indian startups founded in 2021 took only 28 months to go from seed stage to Series A funding: RBI paper
1 year, 10 months ago

Data | Indian startups founded in 2021 took only 28 months to go from seed stage to Series A funding: RBI paper

The Hindu  

A recent article titled ‘What drives startup fundraising in India?’ was published as a part of the January 2023 issue of the Reserve Bank of India’s monthly bulletin. The article also points out that the number of months taken by startups in India to climb up the funding ladder has drastically declined in recent years. Only those entities which work …

Indian startups see decline in funding activity, at two-year low levels: Report
2 years, 2 months ago

Indian startups see decline in funding activity, at two-year low levels: Report

Live Mint  

The global slowdown in funding continues with start-up funding in India in Q3 CY22 hitting a two-year low at $2.7 billion across 205 deals, as per the PwC India report titled - Startup Deals Tracker for the third quarter of the current year. Early stage deals contributed around 21% of the total funding by value in Q3 CY22 compared to …

India’s startup valuation race mustn’t be reckless
2 years, 3 months ago

India’s startup valuation race mustn’t be reckless

Live Mint  

There is a popular saying that a crisis is all you need to separate the strong from the weak. The economic crisis in the form of rising interest rates and shrinking systemic liquidity is taking its toll on tech startups which have been nourished on years of easy money and tidal waves of overseas investments in the form of private …

Start-up ecosystem: A goldmine of investment opportunities
2 years, 3 months ago

Start-up ecosystem: A goldmine of investment opportunities

Hindustan Times  

The word start-up was added to the layman's dictionary in January 2016 when the Government of India launched the Start-up India initiative. Economic survey 2022 highlighted that at least 14,000 start-ups were recognised by the department for promotion of industry and internal trade in India having at least one new start-up. The convergence of several factors is driving this investment …

Delhi unicorns on hiring spree amid funding winter; over 50,000 join startups
2 years, 5 months ago

Delhi unicorns on hiring spree amid funding winter; over 50,000 join startups

Live Mint  

A surprising hiring trend was seen in India's startup ecosystem in the national capital Delhi despite the global funding winter. According to a report by PrivateCircle Research, the workforce in Delhi-based unicorns saw an increase of 52,420 employees between September 2022 and July 2023. However, the report also highlighted that 3.6 lakh employees left their jobs across the Indian unicorn …

Despite 'Funding Winter', Hurun Says 122 More Startups Can Become Unicorns in 4 Yrs
2 years, 5 months ago

Despite 'Funding Winter', Hurun Says 122 More Startups Can Become Unicorns in 4 Yrs

News 18  

Despite the ongoing ‘funding winter’ which can impact start-up valuations, the number of unicorns or startups valued at over USD 1 billion will grow by 122 to cross the 200 companies mark in the next four years, a report said on Wednesday. The number of unicorns stand at 84 right now as against 51 in the year-ago period, and there …

Indian cities rise in global start-up ranks, China’s ecosystems slip
2 years, 6 months ago

Indian cities rise in global start-up ranks, China’s ecosystems slip

Live Mint  

Several Indian ecosystems have risen in the global start-up ecosystem rankings, most notably Delhi, according to a report. Delhi is 11 places higher than in 2021, entering the top 30 for the first time at 26, says a report by Startup Genome, a policy advisory and research organization for public and private organizations. The performance of Chinese startup hubs is …

Indian startups continued to create wealth even during COVID: PM Modi
2 years, 6 months ago

Indian startups continued to create wealth even during COVID: PM Modi

The Hindu  

Noting that the number of unicorns in India has reached the 100-mark, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 29 said that even during the COVID pandemic, India's startups continued to create wealth and value. This means that even during the global pandemic our startups continued to create wealth and value," he said. Mr. Modi said the average annual growth rate …

Unicorns, Unicorns everywhere, but not one GovTech in sight | OPINION
2 years, 7 months ago

Unicorns, Unicorns everywhere, but not one GovTech in sight | OPINION

India Today  

It has been raining unicorns in India. These startups provide solutions either to the government or to citizens directly in order to improve their lives or the interactions of businesses with the government. Moreover, as the peer-reviewed published research of Centre for Digital Economy Policy Research shows, India can actually increase its GDP by five per cent if the government …

Total 100 Unicorn Start-Ups In India Now But Only 23 In Profit: Report; Know In Details
2 years, 7 months ago

Total 100 Unicorn Start-Ups In India Now But Only 23 In Profit: Report; Know In Details

News 18  

With the country getting its 100th unicorn last week, Open, after it raised USD 50 million at a valuation of USD 1 billion, start-ups have so far raised over USD 80 billion from investors to date, creating a total market value of more than USD 300 billion. The year 2021 experienced a huge surge in the number of unicorns, registering …

SoftBank-Backed Fintech Start-Up Open Becomes India's 100th Unicorn With Fresh Funding
2 years, 7 months ago

SoftBank-Backed Fintech Start-Up Open Becomes India's 100th Unicorn With Fresh Funding

ABP News  

New Delhi: Open, a neobanking fintech portal, became unicorn on Monday after it raised fresh capital which pushed up its value over a billion dollars. 🥳 But before that here's the #Unicorn🧵summarizing our journey so far👇 pic.twitter.com/FsfSOpK5Bp — Open Money May 2, 2022 According to news reports, in a Series D funding round, the five-year-old neobank raised $50 million from …

India's Unicorn Boom Continues in 2022: 13 Recorded So far, May Touch 100 This Year
2 years, 8 months ago

India's Unicorn Boom Continues in 2022: 13 Recorded So far, May Touch 100 This Year

News 18  

This week India found its 13th unicorn of 2022, marking one of the country’s quickest rates of unicorn formation to date. The rapid development of unicorns this year—roughly one per week—indicates that the investment boom in 2021 wasn’t a fluke and that foreign investors who flocked to India last year are still interested in the country’s prospects, despite the global …

Indian startups should build products for the world to sustain wave
2 years, 9 months ago

Indian startups should build products for the world to sustain wave

Live Mint  

Entrepreneurs driving India’s great tech wave should build products for the globe, as they might find it difficult to sustain the wave with only India as their market, feel tech investors and startup founders. “We may have to look at Indian companies actually building global platforms and global businesses as against just only focusing on India for a short- to …

Why the Indian unicorn growth story is being led mostly by male founders
2 years, 9 months ago

Why the Indian unicorn growth story is being led mostly by male founders

Live Mint  

Mumbai: India’s startups will continue to be headed by men over the next few years since women entrepreneurs still face many challenges, including lack of mentors, talent, and infrastructure, and limited access to capital and technology coupled with lower societal acceptance, as per a new report by Sheatwork, a hub for women entrepreneurs, and research, and tech consultancy firm Techarc. …

India has Created a Unicorn Every Five Days in 2022 So Far, Says Piyush Goyal
2 years, 10 months ago

India has Created a Unicorn Every Five Days in 2022 So Far, Says Piyush Goyal

News 18  

Starting 2022 on a high, 8 new Indian startups have made it to the list of Unicorns in the first 40 days of the year. Making the announcement on Twitter, Minister of Commerce, and Industry, Piyush Goyal revealed that India has created a unicorn every five days in 2022 so far. https://twitter.com/PiyushGoyal/status/1492377133209223169?s=20&t=_R1JER_Se3-eGa847O9vvw Earlier last month, Goyal, while speaking at the …

India has 83 unicorns with a total valuation of $277.77 bn: Economic Survey
2 years, 10 months ago

India has 83 unicorns with a total valuation of $277.77 bn: Economic Survey

The Hindu  

India had 83 ‘unicorns’ with a total valuation of $277.77 billion, as on January 14, 2022, according to the Economic Survey 2021-22 released by the Ministry of Finance on Monday. The year 2021-22 had so far been ‘an exceptional year’ for the primary markets with a boom in fundraising via initial public offerings by many new-age companies and technology start-ups, …

Indian startups raised record USD 24.1 billion in 2021, reports Nasscom
2 years, 11 months ago

Indian startups raised record USD 24.1 billion in 2021, reports Nasscom

New Indian Express  

NEW DELHI: Indian startups raised a record $24.1 billion in 2021, a two-fold increase over pre-Covid levels, while $6 billion were raised via public markets with 11 startup IPOs, a new Nasscom report said on Friday.The Indian tech startup base continues to witness steady growth, adding over 2250 startups in 2021, which is 600 more than 2020. India, accounting for …

Central Govt Announces First-Ever Startup India 'Innovation Week'
2 years, 11 months ago

Central Govt Announces First-Ever Startup India 'Innovation Week'

News 18  

The Centre will organise the first-ever Startup India “Innovation Week” from Monday to bring together the country’s key startups, entrepreneurs, investors, incubators, funding entities, banks, policymakers, etc under one platform to celebrate entrepreneurship and promote innovation, and to showcase the spread and depth of entrepreneurship across India, an official statement said. According to the Commerce and Industry Ministry statement, the …

Over-valued unicorns in a distressed economy
3 years, 1 month ago

Over-valued unicorns in a distressed economy

The Hindu  

Early this month, the biggest-ever initial public offering in India fell flat on its face on the first day of its listing in the stock exchange, with shares being traded at prices less than 27% of the IPO price. An ecosystem which combines thriving digital payments, a growing smartphone user base and digital-first business models adopted by many start-ups has …

Global venture capital funds flock to India as China's appeal dims: Report
3 years, 1 month ago

Global venture capital funds flock to India as China's appeal dims: Report

Hindustan Times  

India is receiving investment from venture capital firms from around the world, suggesting a breakout moment for the country's startups, Nikkei Asia reported on Sunday. Citing the overall data from Tracxn, Nikkei Asia said that 597 venture capital firms have made 2,284 deals so far this year. Talking about the situation in China, the report said that Beijing's regulatory crackdown …

It's Raining Unicorns in India: 30 Startups that Entered $1-Billion Club in 2021
3 years, 2 months ago

It's Raining Unicorns in India: 30 Startups that Entered $1-Billion Club in 2021

News 18  

It’s raining unicorns in India this year. India has added three ‘unicorns’ per month in 2021 to nearly double the overall number of startups valued at over $1 billion to 51 as of end-August, as per a report by the Hurun India. Here is the list of other Indian startups that marked their spots in the unicorn club this year …

No more a myth: 30 startups join the unicorn club in 2021
3 years, 2 months ago

No more a myth: 30 startups join the unicorn club in 2021

Hindustan Times  

A decade since the birth of its first unicorn—InMobi, a provider of advertising services for mobile phones—India has proved that these capital-fuelled creatures aren’t so rare, minting 30 of them in 2021 so far. By 2025, the country is expected to host as many as 62,000 startups, including 100 unicorns, according to an October 2020 report prepared by TiE- Delhi, …

India becomes third largest Unicorn ecosystem in the world: Report
3 years, 3 months ago

India becomes third largest Unicorn ecosystem in the world: Report

Op India  

Hurun India released the Hurun India Future Unicorn List 2021 on September 2, 2021 which ranks start-ups founded in 2000s, with a worth of at least US$200mn, or INR 1,500 crores. This is a lost opportunity for India and it is important that these start-ups are incentivized to stay back in the country.” Source: Hurun Research Institute Anas Rahman Junaid, …

Indian unicorns double in 2021; regulatory scene forcing some startups to leave: Report
3 years, 3 months ago

Indian unicorns double in 2021; regulatory scene forcing some startups to leave: Report

The Hindu  

India added three 'unicorns' per month in 2021 to nearly double the overall number of startups valued at over $1 billion to 51 as of August-end, a report said on Thursday. Even as cumbersome regulations are forcing startups to leave India and settle in other countries where they enjoy better treatment, as per the Hurun India, which prepared the list. …

EXPLAINED: What Are Unicorns, And Why RBI Says They Are Bringing In A 'New Era' For India
3 years, 4 months ago

EXPLAINED: What Are Unicorns, And Why RBI Says They Are Bringing In A 'New Era' For India

News 18  

In its latest outlook on the ‘State of the Economy’, the Reserve Bank of India has noted that “debut offerings by Indian unicorns” show that a “new era has clearly begun” that could make 2021 “India’s year of the initial public offering”. Swiss-based investment bank Credit Suisse said that “against 336 listed companies with a ~$1 billion market capitalisation, there …

India’s first women-led unicorn readies its IPO
3 years, 4 months ago

India’s first women-led unicorn readies its IPO

Al Jazeera  

Nykaa, India’s top e-commerce site for beauty products, has filed documents for an IPO that could value it at $4bn. Nykaa, her brainchild, has grown into India’s top e-commerce site for beauty products, with the endorsement of Bollywood stars and a fervent following among twenty-somethings. “At social and work gatherings, very senior, ultra-successful men were quizzing me about skin and …

This fast-growing part of India’s IT sector will require 5 lakh professionals
3 years, 5 months ago

This fast-growing part of India’s IT sector will require 5 lakh professionals

Live Mint  

India’s software-as-a-service industry could reach $1 trillion in value and create nearly half million new jobs by 2030 as businesses around the world accelerate digitization and automation, according to a new study. There are more than a thousand funded startups and 10 unicorns in the country’s SaaS sector, generating as much as $3 billion in annual subscription revenues, according to …

2021 appears set to be the best year for unicorns
3 years, 7 months ago

2021 appears set to be the best year for unicorns

Hindustan Times  

Unicorn companies are described as privately held startups with a valuation of over $1 billion. Paytm is India’s highest value Unicorn, 7 more were added to the unicorn list in 2021 In India, the top three unicorn companies are One97 Communications, the ed-tech based Byju’s, and travel-based OYO Rooms. CB Insights data shows that United States is the world’s best …

2021 could be the best year for Unicorns
3 years, 7 months ago

2021 could be the best year for Unicorns

Hindustan Times  

Unicorn companies are described as a privately held startup company with a valuation of over $1 billion. Paytm is India’s highest value Unicorn, seven more were added to the Unicorn list in 2021 In India, the top three Unicorn companies are One97 Communications, the ed-tech based Byjus, and travel-based Oyo rooms. The US has more Unicorns than India and China …

21 Indian Startups are 'Unicorns' Valued over $1 Billion, Just a Tenth of China's: Study
4 years, 4 months ago

21 Indian Startups are 'Unicorns' Valued over $1 Billion, Just a Tenth of China's: Study

News 18  

India is home to 21 unicorns, or startups with over USD 1 billion in valuation each, and 40 more of such companies have been founded overseas by people of Indian origin, a report said on Tuesday. With the 21 unicorns collectively valued at USD 73.2 billion, India is the fourth biggest in terms of unicorns, behind the US, China and …

Will Not Hesitate to Take More Action to Fuel Growth: RBI Guv Assures India Inc
4 years, 4 months ago

Will Not Hesitate to Take More Action to Fuel Growth: RBI Guv Assures India Inc

News 18  

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Monday assured the industry that the central bank was closely monitoring the economic situation and will not hesitate to take appropriate action, as he underlined the need for stepping up investment in the infrastructure sector to reignite growth hit by the COVID-19 crisis. Reflecting on some other dynamic shifts underway in the Indian economy, Das …

Discover Related