Zomato is an Indian restaurant search, discovery, and online food delivery service. The food tech unicorn was founded by Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah in 2008. Zomato is well known throughout the country and has also managed to venture into many international markets over the years. It currently operates in 10,000 cities in 24 countries, including the USA, India, Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Singapore, the United States and in the Middle East Qatar.
Today, Zomato focuses on online food ordering, restaurant reservations, loyalty programs, consultant services, and a lot more. Zomato is also a food search engine that works the same as Google’s search engine but explores a wide range of food and restaurants. The company has grown from a home project to one of the world’s largest food aggregators. Zomato not only connects people to food in every context but also works closely with restaurants to enable a sustainable ecosystem.
With its unique and sustainable business and revenue model, as well as a well-defined organizational structure of Zomato, the company has managed to remain a top player in the market. Zomato has become successful because of factors such as affordability, easy accessibility, and assortment, which have built trust among people from the years of service. Zomato continues to work on finding innovative ways to serve its customers.
Zomato – History
Founders of Zomato – Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah
Zomato, which was earlier known as Foodiebay, was established in July 2008 by two IIT graduates, Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah. The idea first struck Deepinder when his colleagues consistently had a demand for paper menu leaflets from different restaurants to order food. That is when he thought of converting the restaurants’ paper menus to a digital app, which is far more accessible and easier to use.
In a matter of 9 months, the company grew to become the largest restaurant directory in Delhi and later expanded to other cities due to its success. By 2012, Zomato had started expanding internationally to countries like the UK, South Africa, Qatar, Sri Lanka, South Africa, New Zealand, Brazil, etc. During this course, the company had to change its name since its last four letters of ‘Foodiebay’ coincided with ‘eBay’; the company name was changed to Zomato in 2010 to avoid any legal issues.
In 2015, the company forayed into the food delivery business and went on to launch Gold in India, which was a subscription product under which subscribers would get access to complimentary food and drinks. Zomato also launched Hyperpure, which directly works with Farmers to improve the quality of food produce and supply fresh produce to restaurants. The company now views its business as a combination of three key large pillars: Delivery, Dining Out, and Sustainability.
How Zomato Works: A Simple Guide for Customers & Restaurants
How Zomato Works
Search Restaurants: Open the Zomato app or website, enter your location, and explore restaurants by cuisine, name, or deals nearby.
Check Details: Click on a restaurant to see its menu, prices, photos, reviews, hours, and delivery information, all in one place.
Place Your Order: Pick your favorite dishes, customize them to your liking, and add them to your cart.
Make Payment: Pay easily via card, net banking, wallet, or even cash on delivery (if available).
Track Delivery: Once the order’s confirmed, the restaurant prepares your food, and a Zomato delivery partner brings it right to your door. You can track the delivery in real-time.
Leave a Review: After your meal, rate the restaurant and share your feedback to help others.
Zomato also helps users discover new places and gives restaurant owners tools to manage their listings, menus, and reviews.
Zomato – Business Model
Zomato Business Model Canvas
During the initial phase of the company, Zomato used to scan the menu of the restaurants and keep it on the site, and the menu was received by people. It still follows the same formula but has also added other services to its operation. The business model of Zomato is quite different from that of other food delivery such as Swiggy and Foodpanda. The key partners of Zomato are Uber and London & Partners, which could launch Zomato in the UK within the expected timeline. The business plan of Zomato focuses on expanding its food delivery network, enhancing customer experience, and generating revenue through restaurant partnerships, advertisements, and subscription services.
While the company’s key resource is its large database of restaurants across 10,000 cities in 24 different countries, the business model is based on providing local restaurant search services, collecting data on food menu contacts, and providing relevant information to their customers. The main channels for Zomato are mobile applications and its website. The target audience of the company is the users who try to find local restaurants of various cuisines and restaurants who want their name to reach a large number of people. The Zomato working model is built around connecting customers with restaurants through online food ordering, delivery services, and real-time tracking.
Zomato also caters to customers who prefer home delivery; it helps out database and market research of companies. At the same time, the online service is built with a mandatory rating mechanism. Zomato’s business model has revolutionized the food industry by incorporating various restaurants and making it convenient for people to find restaurants, provide feedback, and food business industries by incorporating various listings and availability according to their choice of cuisine.
Zomato – Expansion & Impact
Zomato employs over 5,000 individuals, spanning diverse roles and compensation levels.
The monthly user base is 80 million users.
Zomato continually expands its platform, adding a new restaurant every 30 seconds.
Presence established in 24 countries.
Available in multiple languages, including Turkish, Portuguese, Indonesian, English, Hindi, and some regional Indian languages.
Zomato – Revenue Model | How Zomato Earns Money
Zomato Financial Snapshot
Zomato Yearly Financials
Particulars
FY24
FY23
Total Revenue
12,961 crore
7,760.9 Cr
Revenue from operations
INR 12,114 crore
INR 7,079.4 crore
Other income
INR 847 crore
INR 681.5 crore
Profit/(Loss) before tax
INR 291 crore
(INR 1,014.6 crore)
Tax expense
(INR 60 crore)
(INR 43.6 crore)
Current tax
INR 1 crore
INR 0.4 crore
Deferred tax
(INR 61 crore)
(INR 44 crore)
Profit/(Loss) for the year
Profit of INR 351 crore
Loss of INR 917 crore
Zomato, in itself, does not offer the products to customers, but the revenue model of Zomato is massive. Zomato is not just a food business; it is also in the advertising business. Zomato turnover has seen significant growth over the years, reflecting the company’s expanding presence in the online food delivery market. Zomato’s business has two parts: one is the delivery business, and two is the advertising business. Today, Zomato has multiple revenue streams besides online ordering, which most consumers would be familiar with. Zomato’s profit for the year 2024 was INR 351 crore.
Zomato Expense Breakdown
Zomato Expense Breakdown
FY24
FY23
Total Expenses
INR 12,670 crore
INR 8,775.3 crore
Purchase of stock-in-trade
INR 2,887 crore
INR 1,438.2 crore
Changes in inventories
(INR 5 crore)
(INR 43 crore)
Employee benefit expense
INR 1,659 crore
INR 1,465 crore
Finance costs
INR 72 crore
INR 48.7 crore
Amortization & Depreciation
INR 526 crore
INR 436.9 crore
Other expenses
INR 7,531 crore
INR 5,429.5 crore
Zomato saw growth in FY24, with its operating revenue increasing by 70.8%, reaching INR 12,114 crore compared to INR 7,079.4 crore in FY23. The company also turned profitable, posting a profit of INR 351 crore in FY24, compared to a loss of INR 917 crore in FY23. However, total expenses increased by 44.4% to INR 12,670 crore in FY24, up from INR 8,775.3 crore in FY23.
Restaurant Listings and Advertising
Zomato first started as a restaurant search and rating service. This brought in the advertising revenues from restaurants who joined the platform. They further extended this feature to food delivery and restaurant reservations; for this, Zomato charges commissions from restaurants that want to be placed on the feed. Advertising is Zomato’s major source of revenue. The restaurants can promote their banner on the site in order to get better visibility and appeal to a large section of the audience via Zomato.
Food Delivery
Zomato Revenue Model – Food Delivery
Through the food delivery business, Zomato charges a commission to the restaurants based on orders. The company earns through restaurants that pay a commission for each delivery, which is then split among the delivery partners and the company. Zomato imposes a commission ranging from 20% to 25% on each order made at a specific restaurant, with potential variations in commission rates from 5% to 7% in certain regions. However, online food delivery only contributes a low percentage of income compared to other revenue streams because of the huge competition and the need to provide deep discounts.
Subscription Programs
The next major source of revenue for Zomato is a subscription fee. Restaurants pay a certain fee monthly; in return, Zomato offers them the analytical tools. Zomato has a huge number of databases that know what a customer wants to eat, where he/she wants to eat, and what the consumers are searching for, and itis given to restaurants, which helps them know about all this information through the cookies. It has a tool called Zomato Order which is given to restaurants, which tells them about consumers’ interests. The restaurants then use this tool to flash their discount offers on food.
Live Events
Zomato Revenue Model – Zomaland
Zomato has forayed into the events space by partnering with restaurants and creating limited events. By which they made a sale through the price of the tickets. Zomato recently introduced Zomaland and entered the live event market in 2019. Zomato charges users an entry fee to attend Zomaland, where, besides food, they can witness live musical performances and other acts. Zomato also organized an entertainment carnival in 2018 in Delhi, Pune and Bengaluru, where more than 100 thousand people showed up.
White Label Access
The next source of revenue is app development. Zomato launched a service called Zomato Whitelabel, under which they give offers to restaurants to develop customized food delivery apps. It also works with cloud kitchens and restaurants for consultancy services. Zomato works with selected restaurant operators to help in identifying locations for expansions at a minimal fixed cost but with increased options for the user. It provides the requisite licenses and operational enablement for such restaurant partners.
Zomato studies how people use its app and how restaurants perform. It shares this information with restaurants and others in the food business. This helps restaurants improve their menu, prices, and promotions. Zomato also uses the data to make its app better. It earns money by charging a fee for sharing this data.
Zomato Kitchens
Zomato also provides kitchen infrastructure services to select restaurant operators; it works with entrepreneurs to set up and operate Zomato kitchens under various other labels. This helps entrepreneurs fund restaurants in the right location with an investment of INR 35 lakhs. It also claims to offer returns in the range of INR 2 lakh to INR 4 lakh per month to investors and has so far completed more than 180 affiliated kitchens.
Zomato Gold
Zomato Revenue Model – Zomato Gold
Zomato Gold is a premium subscription service offered by Zomato, providing members with exclusive dining benefits. Subscribers enjoy complimentary dishes or drinks at partner restaurants, making dining out a more rewarding experience. The service aims to enhance the dining lifestyle by offering special privileges and discounts at a wide range of top-rated eateries. Zomato Gold caters to food enthusiasts seeking unique culinary experiences while enjoying cost-effective perks. It has become a popular choice for those who appreciate both quality dining and savings.
The total revenue generated by Zomato in FY 22 was INR 4192 crore whereas its turnover in FY 2023 was INR 7079 crore.
The business model of Zomato offers a variety of value to its customers, while Zomato’s revenue model focus has been on creating something new and extra that the customers cannot get anywhere else. Zomato is a one-stop shop for dinners and offers a way for restaurants to differentiate themselves. Restaurants have an option to create differentiation by keeping the listing updated, responding to criticism positively, and also by being accountable for their action.
Zomato’s business plan believes in creating value for its customers to sustain its business operations. The company endeavors to bridge the gap between customers and restaurants by providing efficient technology applications, which, as outlined in the business plan, has played a crucial role in reducing delivery times and enhancing overall service quality. Zomato business plan focuses on food delivery, restaurant listings, and data insights to create a profitable and scalable model in the food tech industry.
FAQs
What is Zomato?
Zomato is an online platform that offers food delivery and helps users discover restaurants with various dining options available.
What is Zomato Business Model?
Business model of Zomato is a commission-based model, charging restaurants a percentage fee for orders through its platform. Revenue is generated via subscription services, including Zomato Gold, which grants exclusive dining benefits.
How Zomato works?
Zomato connects users with restaurants by allowing them to browse menus, read reviews, and order food for delivery or pickup. It also offers table reservations and subscription services like Zomato Pro for discounts. Restaurants can list their services and manage orders through the platform.
What is the revenue of Zomato?
Zomato’s revenue is ₹12,961 crore (2024).
How to contact Zomato for business?
You can contact Zomato through email to start a business with them.
What is Zomato for business apps?
The Zomato for Business app is for business owners. It is an interface with powerful features to get the most out of your Zomato listing.
Zomato operates in how many countries?
Zomato operates in 10,000 cities in 24 countries, including the USA, India, Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Singapore, the United States, and in the Middle East Qatar.
What is Zomato revenue model?
Zomato’s revenue model is based on several key sources. It earns a commission from restaurants for each food delivery order placed through its platform. Additionally, Zomato generates income from advertising by allowing restaurants to pay for premium listings and visibility. The subscription service Zomato Pro brings in revenue from users who access discounts and exclusive deals. Zomato also makes money through Hyperpure, which supplies quality ingredients to restaurants. These revenue streams help Zomato sustain and grow its business.
What are Zomato products and services?
Products and services offered by zomato include food delivery, restaurant discovery, and table reservations. It allows users to explore local dining options, read reviews, and place orders online. Zomato Pro offers members discounts at partner restaurants, while Hyperpure supplies fresh ingredients to restaurants. These services help Zomato connect customers with restaurants and enhance the dining experience.
Approximately 64 percent of adults around the world need corrective lenses to see clearly, according to recent studies. Envisioning a society where selecting the ideal eyewear is both a vital must and a truly enjoyable activity. This ambition has come true thanks to Lenskart, an industry pioneer.
Both customers’ perception of eyeglasses and their shopping habits have been revolutionized by Lenskart’s groundbreaking business model, which combines cost, convenience, and style. Its business model is what makes the company different from others, as it bridges the gap between different touchpoints, i.e. it gives the customer an Omni Channel Experience where a customer can order either from the store or from an online medium.
Lenskart is one of theeCommerce companies that operate in both online and offline distribution channels. Customers can order their products over the online portal or from Lenskart’s uniquely designed offline store. Lenskart also becomes a unicorn company in the year 2019.
Lenskart is the fastest-growing retail chain with 500+ profitable stores across 120+ cities and 50 Lac happy customers across India. Valyoo Technologies is the parent company under which it is registered. Lenskart app is the No.1 shopping app for eyewear as it has the widest collection of specs, sunglasses, goggles, frames, anti-glare, contact lenses, reading glasses, computer glasses, try glasses at home, prescription sunglasses, and eye accessories.
Lenskart is a novel business strategy that combines technology with fashion, and we urge you to explore this intriguing world with us in this post.
The founder and CEO of Valyoo Technologies (the parent company of Lenskart) is Peyush Bansal. He pursued his Bachelor in Electrical Engineering – IT, Control & Automation from McGill University, Canada in 2006. Before he returned to India to pursue a PG in Management from IIM, Bangalore, Peyush worked as a Program Manager with Microsoft for a year.
Peyush launched his company Valyoo Technologies with SearchMyCampus as the first business portal in 2007. It was a classified site for students that provided options for accommodation, books, part-time jobs, carpool facilities, and internship opportunities. When that became a big hit, Peyush wanted to explore the eCommerce world. While exploring opportunities, the eyewear segment caught his eye and inspired him to come up with his own.
This led to the creation of Flyrr.com, a website that focused on the eyewear market in the US. Flyrr went on to gain good traction and this prompted him to test the waters in the Indian markets and launch Lenskart in November 2010.
Lenskart was founded by Sumeet Kapahi, Peyush Bansal, and Amit Chaudhary with a singular goal in mind: to ensure that everyone could afford and have access to eyeglasses.
The creators noticed that purchasing eyeglasses in India might be a hassle and a drain on budget due to the prevalence of offline businesses selling a restricted selection of frames at high prices.
Lenskart, an online marketplace offering a diverse selection of eyewear at affordable rates, was created to tackle these challenges. Company operations are distributed all over India, although the headquarters are in Gurugram.
Lenskart has partnered with some major names in the eyewear business. Working with manufacturers, it has sourced reasonably priced, high-quality frames and lenses. The business has also collaborated with lens makers to create its lenses, which it markets under its label.
Lenskart has also collaborated with digital companies to make online buying easy for their clients. It has teamed up with traditional retailers to broaden its consumer base and provide in-store customization options. The company’s main source of income comes from the selling of its products and several subscription plans.
Lenskart offers over 5000 frames and glasses and more than 45 different kinds of high-quality lenses. The company follows an inventory-led business model wherein equal sourcing is done from India and China. Lenskart has a team of designers and stylists that keep a tab on the latest trends in the eyewear department, the designs made by the team are then passed down to the manufacturers.
To reach the masses, they have also ventured into offline stores through the franchise model. Lenskart currently has over 2500 omnichannel stores across 175 cities in India, Singapore, and Dubai. They have balanced the reach by spreading out across metro and non-metro locations and are currently serving more than 4000 people in a day and looking at scaling it up to 200,000 people in the coming years.
4 success factors in this industry are the quality of the product, the product portfolio, the delivery time, and lastly the sales service. Lenskart has a good value proposition that provides high-quality products at an affordable price. They also have a team of 1000+ employees who operate on manufacturing, eye technicians, custom service, technology, and logistics which further expand as the growing demands.
The revenue model of Lenskart encompasses multiple revenue streams to earn revenue. The sale of eyewear products, such as frames, lenses, sunglasses, and contact lenses, constitutes the company’s principal source of revenue. The company offers a diverse selection of items, making it suitable for customers of varying ages and requirements.
Glasses accounted for the bulk of Lenskart’s income, making nearly 95% of its total. Compared to the fiscal year of 2023, when it was INR 1,618.3 Cr, Lenskart’s total revenue, including other income, was INR 3,927.9 Cr, an increase of 142.7%. Fees for training, services, and in-home vision tests are some of the other ways the business makes money.
The subscription-based services that Lenskart offers are another source of revenue for the company. Lenskart Gold is a subscription program that offers users exclusive perks, such as free eye tests, free home eye check-ups, and savings on eyewear items.
Additional accessories and add-ons: Lenskart also provides additional accessories such as eyeglass cases, cleaning solutions, and lens wipes, in addition to further add-ons such as coatings that are scratch-resistant and anti-glare.
Fees for franchises: The company generates revenue by collecting franchise fees from optical retailers that are partners with it.
The business model of Lenskart is a business-to-consumer (B2C) approach, which is centered on sales. Direct sales of the company’s products to end users at affordable prices are made by the business. In addition to that, the organization places a strong emphasis on the most up-to-date fashions and trends, as well as durability and flawless quality. Their robotic technology comes from Germany and is imported from there. Because of this cutting-edge technology, Lenskart is the only company that is capable of producing eyewear that is accurate to within three decimal places and performs efficiently. The incorporation of these innovations into Lenskart’s business cycle enables the company to offer a product that is not only one-of-a-kind but also technologically advanced. Lenskart’s products distributorship primarily involves a franchise network, where franchisees manage physical stores and promote the brand to local customers. As a result, increasing the amount of revenue generated through the sale of these articles.
Lenskart Financials FY24
Lenskart Financials
FY23
FY24
Operating Revenue
INR 3788 crore
INR 5428 crore
Total Expenses
INR 4025 crore
INR 5550 crore
Profit/Loss
INR -63 crore
INR -10 crore
Lenskart’s financials show significant improvement from FY23 to FY24. Lenskart’s operating revenue grew by 43%, increasing from INR 3,788 crore to INR 5,428 crore. Total expenses also rose by 38%, from INR 4,025 crore IN FY23 to INR 5,549.5 crore in FY24. Although Lenskart still recorded a loss, the loss amount was reduced by 84%, from INR 63 crore in FY23 to INR 10 crore in FY24.
Lenskart Financials FY24
Lenskart USP
Suitability: Lenskart provides its clients with a shopping experience that is both convenient and easy. In addition to in-store and online shopping, customers can use the company’s website to schedule in-home eye exams. Customers may easily get the glasses they need without leaving the comfort of their homes.
Customization Lenskart provides its consumers with the opportunity to create their own unique buying experience. Customers can view how various frames will appear on their faces with the company’s virtual try-on tool on the internet. Lenskart also features in-store optometrists who are qualified to assist clients in selecting the ideal eyewear.
Excellence: Lenskart provides customers with long-lasting items that are crafted from top-notch materials. Customers have 14 days from the date of purchase to return an unsatisfactory item, according to the company’s generous return policy.
Lenskart SWOT Analysis
Lenskart SWOT Analysis
Lenskart Strengths
With its integrated model, Lenskart manages every step of its supply chain, from raw materials to finished products. Because of this, they can manage their inventory more efficiently, ensure faster delivery, and monitor quality.
Lenskart uses a hybrid retail strategy combining online and offline stores to serve a diverse consumer base. Physical stores provide instant service, credibility, and the ability to touch and feel products, while online platforms offer convenience.
In terms of technological innovation, the firm has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to improving the client service they provide. One thing that sets them different from other eyeglass stores is their virtual 3D try-on technology.
Branding and marketing efforts by Lenskart have been highly visible, elevating the company to the forefront of India’s eyewear industry.
Trust and customer happiness have always been Lenskart’s top priorities, which is why the company offers easy returns and product guarantees.
Lenskart Weakness
Although it has many advantages, the hybrid model of brick-and-mortar and Internet shops can create certain operational challenges. It can be difficult to manage logistics, and inventory, and maintain a consistent brand experience on both platforms.
Like many eCommerce platforms, Lenskart frequently uses sales and promotions to entice customers. This may lead to a decline in profit margins and establish a discount-focused expectation among customers.
Eyewear is a highly competitive industry, and this is true both online and offline. Potentially troublesome are competing brands, particularly long-standing global ones.
Lenskart Opportunities
The rising purchasing power of middle-class consumers and the general public’s focus on eye health point to a promising future for the eyewear industry in countries like India.
With the continued growth of internet access, particularly in emerging nations, the pool of potential customers for online eyeglass purchases is growing.
Expanding into adjacent product categories, such as high-end eyewear, specialized sports eyewear, or smart eyewear, could open up fresh avenues for expansion and revenue generation.
There is a substantial opportunity in smaller cities and villages, where the penetration of branded eyewear is lower than in metropolitan areas.
Lenskart Threats
Problems may arise if the governments of the countries where Lenskart does business were to alter their policies regarding online sales, imports, or exports.
The dynamics of the eyewear market or the viability of specific services could be altered by introducing new, possibly disruptive technologies due to the rapid pace of technological innovation.
Natural catastrophes, pandemics, or geopolitical conflicts are just a few examples of the kinds of disruptions that can affect the supply chain and cause problems with inventories or delays in deliveries.
The eyeglasses market is vulnerable to fake goods. Lenskart must consistently check the things it sells for authenticity if it wants to keep its reputation intact.
The Omni Channel Method
Lenskart started as an online business, but when they understood that Indian customers prefer to touch and feel the product before buying a high-involvement product, this is when they shifted to the Omni Strategy. It was important for them to leverage technology to actively engage their customers and adapt to the ever-changing consumer expectations.
With this strategy, the company focuses on delivering the right product, at the right time and the right place. For Lenskart, customer engagement is more important as they help their customers get a shopping experience tailored to their preferences. Lenskart is trying to keep itself close to the customers and increase trust by providing a value proposition.
Lenkart is known to give bundled offers like buying two at the cost of one or cross offers like giving the first frame for free, real-time offers, personalized recommendations, email coupons, etc. Lenskart has expanded to various cities which are based on the franchise business model in which 35% of all revenue is shared with the franchisee and an annual fee of INR 2 lakhs.
Growth Drivers for Lenskart
“The first frame is free” offer – Where the customers will pay for only the lens on their first purchase. A good strategy to attract first-time buyers.
“Try at home” –Where the customers can choose a maximum of 5 frames and try them at home before making a final purchase. This has led to more sampling by customers.
Eye checkups by optometrists at home across cities have been introduced.
Innovative use of technology – Developed a 3D facial visualizer where customers can see how the frames will look on them.
Features of Lenskart
The main features of Lenskart making it a popular eyewear brand are:
Lenskart’s competitors include both online and offline players. Even traditional retailers who specialize in eyewear are the competitors of Lenskart. Competition is heating up in this space with players like GKB, Lawrence and Mayo, Titan Eye Plus, Bausch and Lomb, Vision Express, Specsmakers, Coolwinks, Deals4Opticals. Some manufacturers like Ray-Ban, Essilor have their own online stores.
Lenskart faces competition from eCommerce marketplaces like Amazon, Flipkart, Paytm Mall, and Snapdeal which sell eyewear and impact its business directly. With a market size of Rs. 18000-20000 crore, organized players account for barely 9-10% of the market. The brands compete with a vast variety of low-priced products available offline and online so the challenge is to steer customers away from local opticians and keep them loyal.
Challenges and Future Growth Opportunities
Lenskart has experienced rapid growth, but it faces several challenges along the way. One of the primary obstacles is the intense competition from both other eyewear brands and online platforms, which makes it challenging to stand out in a crowded market. Additionally, Lenskart must ensure that its customer service remains consistent across both online and offline channels, which can be difficult to manage effectively. Scaling operations in smaller towns presents another challenge, as the purchasing power and demand for premium eyewear may be lower compared to metropolitan areas.
Despite these challenges, Lenskart also has substantial growth opportunities ahead. As more Indians become aware of the importance of eye health and opt for stylish eyewear, there is a growing market for quality products. The increasing demand for blue light-blocking glasses, driven by the rise in screen time, and the expanding middle-class population, create significant potential for continued growth and expansion within the industry.
Conclusion
Lenskart, whose slogan is “Our mission is to give India a Vision,” is among India’s most successful unicorn corporations. In the years to come, the eyewear brand plans to offer the greatest eye care solutions and use its low-cost franchise model to reach a variety of people. For aspiring entrepreneurs looking to make an impact in the eyewear sector, Lenskart offers a business strategy that provides updated solutions. Lenskart through its defined business model gives a clear message to youngsters that customer experience, integration, the Omni channel model, and product technology should be their primary areas of concentration if they want to achieve success.
FAQs
What is business model of Lenskart?
Lenskart has a B2C business model which is highly sales-oriented. They sell their product directly to customers at an affordable price. They have a wide variety of frames within a price range of Rs.345 to Rs.30,000 and also the first frame you buy is absolutely free.
Is Lenskart a Chinese company?
No, Lenskart is not a Chinese company. Lenskart is an Indian retail chain for spectacles having factories in China as well which manufactures about 50% of the production.
What are Lenskart features?
Lenskart offers a wide range of eyewear with over 5000 frames and 45+ lens types, featuring virtual try-on technology for a personalized shopping experience. The company combines online shopping with 1500+ physical stores to provide an omnichannel experience. Customers can customize their eyewear, access subscription plans for lens replacements, and enjoy hassle-free returns. Lenskart also offers home eye checkups and maintains affordable pricing with regular discounts, making quality eyewear accessible and convenient.
What is the USP of Lenskart?
Lenskart’s USP is its wide range of stylish, affordable eyewear, enhanced by virtual 3D try-on technology and a hybrid retail model combining online and offline stores.
How is Lenskart so cheap?
Since Lenskart is a B2C company, there are no intermediaries involved to eat their revenue.
How does Lenskart make money?
Since no intermediaries are involved between buyer and seller so whatever revenue generated comes directly to the company’s account.
Why should we choose Lenskart?
Lenskart has over 5000 styles of eyewear, which is 5 times more than that any retailer in India. Also, they provide a seamless user experience to their customers. Their lenses are durable and long-lasting along with their funky to casual looks.
What is Lenskart distribution channel?
Lenskart’s distribution channels include its e-commerce platform, 1500+ omnichannel stores, franchise model, social media marketing, and retail partnerships.
How does Lenskart work?
Lenskart works by offering a wide range of eyewear through its online platform and physical stores. Customers can browse products online or in-store, use features like virtual try-on technology, and order glasses or lenses. Lenskart sources frames and lenses from manufacturers, provides customization options, and ensures quick delivery. It also offers subscription plans for regular lens replacements and has customer service for support and adjustments.
What are Lenskart brands?
Lenskart offers eyewear under the following brands:
Lenskart – The main brand offering a wide range of eyewear.
John Jacobs – Premium eyewear collection.
Vincent Chase – Stylish and affordable eyewear.
Oaks – Budget-friendly eyewear brand.
Dita – High-end luxury eyewear brand.
These brands cater to different customer segments, from affordable to luxury eyewear.
How many Lenskart total stores in world are there?
With plans to go public in the upcoming fiscal year, the board of logistics unicorn Shiprocket has approved a resolution to turn the startup from a private to a public business. According to the company’s regulatory filings, the startup will now rename itself Shiprocket Limited and remove the word “private” from its name. At the Shiprocket general body meeting on January 18, this decision was made. After the company passed a special resolution at an extraordinary general meeting on August 31, 2024, its authorised share capital was INR 70.98 lakh.
Through its initial public offering (IPO), which will comprise both core components and an offer for sale (OFS), Shiprocket is allegedly planning to raise between INR 2,000 and 2,500 crore. The company has hired Axis Capital, Kotak Mahindra, JM Financial, and BofA Securities as its investment bankers for the sale, according to media sources.
Shiprocket Up for $26 Mn Funding Round
This recent development coincides with the startup’s fundraising round, which will be headed by US-based venture capital company KDT Ventures and raise INR 219 Cr, or around $26 million. Tribe Capital, SAI Global, Huddle Ventures, and Japan-based MUFG Bank are also anticipated to participate in the financing. The company will offer 50,461 Series E3 compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) to investors at an issue price of INR 43,394 each as part of its fundraising effort. Saahil Goel, Vishesh Khurana, Akshay Gulati, and Gautam Kapoor founded Shiprocket in 2017 with the goal of aggregating third-party logistics firms. In addition to Delhivery, FedEx, Aramex, Xpressbees, DTDC, and Shadowfax, the firm has 17 courier partners. It states that it provides shipping options for more than 24,000 PIN codes in India and 220 other countries.
Shiprocket is worth $1.21 billion and has raised more than $320 million so far. Bertelsmann Nederland B.V. is the biggest external stakeholder, followed by Tribe, according to the startup data intelligence platform TheKredible. Notable investors in Shiprocket include Temasek, Paypal, LightRock, and Zomato.
The company’s revenue increased by 21% year over year to INR 1,316 crore in the fiscal year that ended in March 2024, but its losses for the same period were INR 595 crore. Along with other companies like Shipyard, it is in competition with Unicommerce.
Shiprocket’s Business Operations
The business launched a D2C marketplace called Zop in August 2024. About 200–300 brands in eight categories, such as technology, fashion, and beauty, are featured on the platform. In terms of money, the startup’s FY24 net loss was INR 595 Cr, up 74.4% from FY23’s INR 341 Cr. From INR 1,089 Cr in the prior fiscal year to INR 1,316 Cr in the year under review, its operating revenue increased by 20.8%.
India is becoming theworld’s fastest-growing startup ecosystem with 118 Unicorn Startups, as of January 2025. In today’s world, unicorn startupsare not as uncommon as before; however, building a unicorn startup is not easy. It takes a lot of hard work, commitment, and perseverance throughout the startup’s journey to climb the ladder of unicorns, and the ones that have bagged the title of unicorns are discussed in this article.
Unicorn Startup consists of two words, “Unicorn” and “Startup”. Unicorn is a business term used to define a startup with a valuation of over $1 billion. The term was coined by a venture capitalist and a seed investor, Aileen Lee. On the other hand, Startups are privately owned companies typically at the early stages of their development.
Being hopeful and supportive of the unicorn culture of India, the Union Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, Skill Development, Electronics & Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that India will see a 10X increase in its unicorn count, in the next 2-3 years, which will reach more than 1,000. The Indian government also mentioned that it expects the next wave of startup founders to come from the Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities of India.
The Indian startups have reportedly raised around $42+ billion in funding across 1,584 deals in 2021. The startup ecosystem of India, where 90,000+ new startups have been established since 2016, across 56+ different sectors in the country, has also managed to create over 4.5 lakh job opportunities in the country. This has even got a special mention from President Ram Nath Kovind in his Presidential address on 31 January 2022, where he emphasized the new opportunities that the startups of India are ushering in.
A Celebration for 100 Indian Unicorns
With Neobank Open achieving unicorn status, India became a country of 100+ unicorns. The first unicorn was seen in India in 2011, and after a decade, India crossed the mark of 100 unicorns. The boasting of 100 unicorns is not a regular affair, and this is why the startup ecosystem has been tossing in joy and swelling with pride for quite some time now. In the meanwhile, many distinguished founders also voiced their thrill and joy for such an achievement.
“Crossing the 100th unicorn milestone is a proud moment for the country and the entire startup ecosystem. This is just the beginning of a long journey,” said Sujeet Kumar, the cofounder of B2B marketplace unicorn Udaan.
Vamsi Krishna of Vedantu also relished the mood that the startup ecosystem is in, and said, “The rise of India as a global superpower is inevitable and entrepreneurs will be the ones driving it. 100 unicorns are just a start. We will soon become the startup capital of the world.”
Divya Gokunath, the cofounder of Byju’s and the wife of Byju Raveendran also said, “We became India’s 16th unicorn, just seven years after we started operations. The valuation did not matter to us, but the milestone did because it was one of the few at that time which put India on the map. Today, for the first 100 Indian companies which made it, it’s a mark that we are on a mission to create something of value and something from India for the world.”
The faster growth of companies and the sprouting of more unicorns is what India wishes for now. This means that the companies should definitely have to be more serious, and resourceful, and work with an integrated team of specialists to reach the unicorn milestone and beyond. It also means that the Indian startups should forget racial, gender and caste divides, and work with all of their strength, and resources. Here, what is striking among the present unicorns is the apparent gender divide. Yes, only 15% of the present unicorns of India have at least one female founder, while the remaining companies have no female as their founders. This certainly needs to improve to give the upcoming companies a fresh gear of growth. Though the situation is improving, for around 79% of the Indian unicorns with female founders were incorporated after 2011, it still needs to be given considerable thought and a whole lot of action.
Here we have listed 118 Indian Unicorn Startups, which is the total number of unicorns in India at present in 2025! Don’t miss out on the regular updates in this list by bookmarking the article.
The following table is sorted by the year startups are turned into a unicorn (Latest to oldest).
Abhay Singhal, Amit Gupta, Mohit Saxena, Naveen Tewari, Piyush Shah
Founded
2007
Investors
Lightbox, Softbank Group, Kleiner Perkins
Products and Services
InMobi Pulse, Mobile Marketing
Valuation
$12 billion (April 2021)
InMobi is a Bengaluru-based mobile advertising platform that helps in optimizing the ranks of the advertisements offered on mobile phones. InMobi was founded in January 2007 and has been the first unicorn startup of India and thus, a torchbearer of the unicorn league of Indian startups that followed. Glance, a subsidiary company of InMobi, has also turned a unicorn in 2020.
Ecommerce marketplace that offers over 150 million products
Valuation
$37.6 billion (July 2021)
Being the most favored eCommerce marketplace in India, Flipkart needs no introduction simply because the Big Billion Days are one of the most sought-after online events that millions of Indians look up to. Flipkart was among the first Indian unicorns that achieved the unicorn valuation during the 2011-2012 era after inMobi, which was the first Indian unicorn. With over 350 million users, and 150+ million products, which are distributed across 80+ categories Flipkart is a household for the Indian masses. This ecommerce giant was acquired by Walmart in 2018 for a whopping $16 billion, which helped it scale fast and easily. The Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal-founded company currently boasts of a valuation of over $37.6 billion and is the highest-valued Indian company, as of 2023.
BharatPe is an Indian digital payments app, merchant aggregator, and payments platform that encourages digital payments via QR and POS. It is not a government company but a private limited company that goes by the name, Resilient Innovations Private Limited. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the company tripled its valuation to $2.85 billion and joined the unicorn club on August 4, 2021.
BharatPe Co-founder Ashneer Grover was recently engaged in a telephone controversy where he allegedly abused a Kotak employee. Grover was also infamously featured on various social media and news platforms several times due to his rash behaviour and his blunt remarks where he also said “naukri dhoond” to one of his fellow pitchers. Furthermore, he is also associated lately with a financial fraud concerning BharatPe along with his wife Madhuri and five others, the investigation of which is continuing, as per reports dated January 29, 2022. Ashneer is currently observing a mandatory leave of absence, as mentioned last by the company and its Board. Grover might not see his place back and is likely to get fired, mentioned sources close to the matter.
Steadview Capital, Tencent, Tiger Global Management, Falcon Edge
Products and Services
Dream11 sports platform
Valuation
$8 billion (November 2021)
Dream11 is an Indian fantasy sports platform, which brings a host of sports including but not limited to cricket, football, hockey, volleyball, handball, futsal, and rugby, for the Indian sports fanatics to delve into their favourite games. A homegrown sports platform, Dream 11, aims to help Indian sports enthusiasts to expand and showcase the sports knowledge they boast of!
Earlier in April 2019, Dream11 raised funding worth $60 million from Steadview Capital and others and joined the unicorn league of Indian startups. The last valuation of Dream11 was recorded at $8 billion, after the company completed an investment of $840 million in November 2021.
PhonePe is a digital payment and merchant aggregator platform that has already had a huge contribution to making digital payments smooth, fast, and easy for Indian customers and merchants. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Andheri, Maharashtra, India, the company boasts of having the largest market share among the UPI apps. The company showed a huge potential for growth and has already achieved unicorn status before 2020. The company was acquired by Flipkart in April 2016 and has witnessed a considerable amount of growth since then. The PhonePe Business Model and “how PhonePe earns money?” is pretty interesting too.
Byju’s is a Bangalore-based edtech platform. It is an online tutoring and coaching firm that started in 2011 and runs on a freemium model. Launched by Byju Raveendran, Byju’s is used by more than 15 million students all over the world and has over 900,000 paid subscribers. Byju’s Current valuation has reached 16.5 Billion USD. Know in detail about BYJU’s business and revenue model.
SoftBank Group, Tiger Global, Tencent, Matrix Partners, and DST Global
Products and Services
Mobile app, website, Vehicle for hire, Goods and food delivery, Mobile payment and digital wallet
Valuation
$6.5 billion (FY20)
Ola is an Indian ride-sharing company that was launched on 3rd December 2010. As of 2019, Ola has expanded to over 1.5 million drivers across 250 cities. Ola has also expanded its network into its first overseas market, Australia, and New Zealand in September 2018. Ola began its operations in the UK introducing auto rickshaws.
SoftBank Group, Didi Chuxing, Greenoaks Capital, Sequoia India, Lightspeed India, Hero Enterprise, Airbnb, and China Lodging Group.
Products and Services
OYO Rooms, OYO Hotels & Homes
Valuation
$9 billion (July 2021)
OYO is among the top travel startups in India. Founded by 21-year-old Ritesh Agarwal in 2013, India’s largest hospitality startup comprises budget hotels. The startup works in liaison with existing hotels and offers travellers vacant rooms at a cheaper price. OYO rooms start at a nominal price of Rs 999. Besides bulk renting hotels, they have also invested in their own properties as well.
Norwest Venture Partners, Naspers, Accel, SAIF Partners, Meituan-Dianping
Products and Services
Food delivery
Valuation
$5.5 billion (July 2021)
Swiggy is one of the most valuable online food ordering and delivery platforms. Swiggy was founded by Nandan Reddy, Sriharsha Majety, and Rahul Jaimini in 2014. In early 2019, Swiggy expanded into general product deliveries, under the brand name Swiggy Stores. Swiggy today has more than 5,000,000 mobile application installations.
Zomato is an Indian food delivery startup restaurant aggregator. Zomato was founded by Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah in 2008. Zomato primarily provides concrete information, menus, and user reviews of the restaurants. Along with this, Zomato also has food delivery options from partnered restaurants in the selected cities. The pandemic was dangerous indeed for everyone, and it is almost as dangerous to the food tech companies as it is for every other individual and business, if not more. The food delivery unicorn, Zomato also fought the pandemic hard and thrived.
Freshworks offers innovative customer engagement software for a diverse range of businesses of varying sizes and kinds. Founded in 2010 in Chennai, the company now has its headquarters in San Mateo, USA, the products which help provide a 360-degree view of the customers. The Saas products brought in by FreshWorks are designed to be used instantly. Besides, they are easy to use, and also offer quick returns on investments.
Freshworks attained the prestigious unicorn club of the Indian companies in July 2018, thereby becoming the first unicorn startup belonging to the Saas market that the country has seen. Now, increasing the customer engagement and the retention rate for Saas companies is not as difficult as it was earlier
Moglix is an Asia-based B2B E-commerce company that was founded by Rahul Garg in 2017. The company has its headquarters in Singapore and head offices in India. The startup ambitions to digitally change the chain of manufacturing areas in India. Moglix wants to digitize and seriously change every component of the delivery chain, and B2B commerce which is unorganized and increases options to seriously change the grant chain via technology.
Moglix, presently serves the manufacturing sector, institutional clients (B2B), and private clients (B2C). The automotive sector, metals and mining, and FMCDs are the best three sectors they cater to. The platform provides Industrial products and services such industrial products and services such as Safety equipment, Electrical and Lighting products, Cleaning and Laundry products, Office Supplies, and Industrial Tools, among others. Moglix is one of the most trusted eCommerce sites for industries as it is known to deliver world-class services worldwide. So far the company has 150,000 industry essential products from 30 different categories and 25,000 SME clients.
upGrad is an online coaching program for all students opting for higher education. Partnering with some of the top universities of the world, upGrad brings a wide range of industry-ready courses including Bachelor’s degrees, MBA, Data Science, Machine Learning courses, and more. The company has grown to attain unicorn status on August 6, 2021, with the help of a $185 million fundraising.
Prosus & Nasper, Sierra Ventures, Helion Venture Partners, Helion Venture Partners, Tiger Fund
Products and Services
Booking tickets for shows, movies, flights, hotels, holidays, buses, trains, etc.
MakeMyTrip is one of the top online travel companies in India that was founded by Deep Kalra in 2000. The company has its headquarters based in Gurgaon and is known for its services such as booking holiday packages, hotel reservations, movies or even booking tickets for everyday traveling through fights, buses, trains, cars, etc. MakeMyTrip is currently operating in 14+ cities around the world with over 30 franchise stores and in 28 cities in India alone. The MakeMyTrip route planner feature allows its user to access basic information on over one million routes across India.
Steadview Capital, Fidelity, TPG Growth, Hero Corporate Service Private Limited
Products and Services
Cosmetics, skin & wellness products, etc.
Valuation
$2.3 billion (June 2021)
Nykaa is a leading cosmetic-based eCommerce platform that was founded in 2012 by Falguni Nayar. Nykaa has its headquarters based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, and is known for its app and website that sells a wide range of cosmetics, skin, and wellness products. The company also has over 26 offline stores across India and became a Unicorn startup in 2020. The platform has a huge range of 200,000 products from 2000 national and international brands, as of 2020. Many Bollywood actresses like Alia Bhatt and Katrina Kaif have been the brand ambassadors of Nykaa.
Intel Capital, Wellington Management Group, Inventus Capital Partners, Softbank Group True North and IDG Venture Partners
Products and Services
Life, Health, Motor, travel insurance, etc
Valuation
$2.4 billion (July 2021)
Policybazaar is one of the most well-known and trusted insurance companies in India. The company was started in 2008 by Yashish Dahiya, Alok Bansal, and Avaneesh Nirjar. The company initially started out as an insurance comparison website, but later on started providing different types of insurance plans like Life insurance, Health, Motor, and even Travel. Policybazaar.com is currently the largest insurance company in the country and is also popular in UAE. Policybazaar has both a website and an app, which allows its users to compare financial services from the top insurance options. Here’s knowing how Policy Bazaar witnessed an overwhelming growth via its marketing strategies.
CoinDCX is an Indian cryptocurrency exchange aggregator based in Mumbai. The company specializes in crypto-enabled financial services. CoinDCX aims to develop financial services without any borders to enable a simpler and seamless flow of capital powered by impregnable security. CoinDCX raised $90 mn in Series C funding to emerge as a unicorn. Thus, the company became India’s first cryptocurrency unicorn.
Mastercard, Lone Pine Capital, Flipkart, Temasek, Sequoia
Products and Services
POS devices and software solutions
Valuation
$5+ billion (Marh 2022)
Pine Labs is an Indian merchant platform, equipped with financing and last-mile retail transaction technology, which helps merchants and institutions receive their payments via easy and secure POS apps and devices. Pine Labs collaborated with the New-York based financial services giant, Mastercard in January 2020, and shortly after it attained unicorn status. It was the first company to have turned unicorn in 2020.
Highradius
Startup Name
Highradius
Industry
Fintech, AI, Saas, Software
Founder
Sashi Narahari
Founded
2006
Investors
Tiger Global, D1 Capital Partners, ICONIQ and more
Products and Services
AI-based order-to-cash and treasury management software
Valuation
$3.1+ billion (March 2021)
Highradius is an AI-powered, data-driven fintech enterprise software as a service (Saas) platform that extends autonomous software for smooth and easy management of order to cash (O2C), treasury, and record to report (R2R). Headquartered in Houston, Texas, US, Highradius claims to be the world’s number 1 data-driven AI software platform that helps “lower DSO, optimize working capital, fast-track financial close, and improve productivity.”
Raising $125 mn right at the start of 2020, Highradius turned into India’s first unicorn company in 2020 in a Series B funding round led by ICONIQ Capital, along with some of its existing investors like Susquehanna Growth Equity and Citi Ventures.
Zetwerk emerges as a B2B marketplace for manufacturing items. The online marketplace based out of Bengaluru connects large manufacturing companies with vendors and suppliers, who help them get various components of industrial tools and machinery that they require from time to time. The company joined the unicorn club on August 20, 2021, and became India’s youngest billion-dollar company.
Chanakya Hridaya, Rajesh Yabaji, Ramasubramaniam B
Founded
2015
Investors
Trifecta Capital Advisors, Sequoia, Accel, InnoVen Capital
Products and Services
Trucks, logistics and transportation services for shippers and fleet operators
Valuation
$1.02 billion (August 2021)
BlackBuck is a truck aggregator and one of the largest truck aggregators operating in India that aims to solve the transportation and logistics problems of countless Indians. Today, BlackBuck boasts of being the largest trucking network in India that is equipped with freight and fleet management technology platforms. Blackbuck entered the unicorn club on July 23, 2021, after it raised $67 mn as part of its Series E funding round at a valuation of $1.02 bn.
The company currently has a collection of 12,00,000+ trucks and extends its services to over 2000 locations with 15,000+ happy clients.
Lightbox, Toyota Tsusho, SevenTrain Ventures, Integrated Capital
Products and Services
Marketplace for used cars, bikes, scooters and other merchandise
Valuation
$1.2 billion(August 2021)
Droom is a marketplace for used cars, bikes, scooters, and other automotive, along with other products and merchandise. Powered by cutting-edge data science technology, the company helps its customers to buy and sell automobiles and other products seamlessly.
Droom has around 600K automobiles and dominates with a massive 80% market share of the automobile transactions online, Droom is India’s largest automobile platform online and is counted among the biggest E-Commerce companies in the country.
OfBusiness or OFB Tech, as it is often referred to, is a raw material procurement and credit platform for SMEs. The company focuses primarily on the manufacturing and construction industries. OfBusiness leverages state-of-the-art technology to integrate the same into the buying behaviors of the SMEs. This way it makes better products available at better prices and in the right timelines.
Internet, Mobile Apps, Social Media, Social Network
Founder
Ankush Sachdeva, Bhanu Pratap Singh, and Faris Ahsan
Founded
2015
Investors
Lightspeed Venture Partners, Tiger Global Management, Twitter Ventures, SAIF Partners, Shunwei Capital, and Xiaomi
Products and Services
Social Networking and Regional Contents
Valuation
$3.7 Billion (December 2021)
ShareChat is an Indian video-sharing social networking service, developed via Mohalla Tech Private Limited in the year 2015, established by Ankush Sachdeva, Bhanu Pratap Singh, and Farid Ahsan. The company is headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
ShareChat App acts as a content consumption and sharing platform solely in Indian vernacular languages, which caters to over 1.17 billion wifi customers of India. The company offers features such as messaging, sharing different kinds of media, tagging, etc. ShareChat enabled user-generated content creation on its platform, permitting customers to share their very own posters and innovative content. The company also has 400 plus employees and more than 50 million creator communities. The company went on to raise $500 mn from investors, which increased its valuation to $3 billion.
Verse Innovation
Startup Name
VerSe Innovation
Industry
Content, Technology, Social Media, Internet
Founders
Umang Bedi, Virendra Gupta
Founded
2007
Investors
Google, Sequoia Capital, Microsoft, ByteDance, B Capital and more
Products and Services
Powers Josh, Dailyhunt with technological support and expertise
Valuation
$5 billion (April 2021)
VerSe Innovation is the parent company of the leading vernacular news aggregating platform, Dailyhunt. Headquartered in Bengaluru, Verse Innovation is a local language technology platform that is currently powering two of the leading names among the Indian applications – Josh and Dailyhunt and boasts of an amazing reach of over 300 million users.
VerSe Innovation has raised funds close to $100 mn in December 2020 from a clutch of investors including Google, Microsoft, Falcon Edge’s Alpha Wave Incubation, Sequoia Capital India, Sofina Group, and others to enter the coveted club of unicorn companies in India. With this, Verse became the 10th Indian startup to attain the unicorn valuation in 2020.
B Capital, Prosus, Temasek, Think Investments, Tiger Global, A Velumani, etc.
Products and Services
Online pharmacy services, medicines, healthcare products, diagnostic test, etc.
Valuation
$5.6 billion (JuOctoberne 2021)
PharmEasy is an online healthcare delivery platform that was founded by Mikhil Innani, Dharmil Sheth, and Dhaval Shah in 2015. The company has its headquarters in Mumbai Maharashtra and is currently the leading online healthcare aggregator in India. Besides selling medicines online, the platform also helps connect patients with the closest local pharmacy and diagnostic center based on their medical needs. It delivers medicines in over 1000 plus cities and across 22,000 pin codes. PharmEasy claims to have delivered more than 1.5 crore orders and has over one lakh medicines available on its website.
MyGlamm (The Good Glamm Group)
Startup Name
MyGlamm
Industry
Cosmetics, Beauty, Marketplace
Founder
Darpan Sanghvi, Priyanka Gill
Founded
2015
Investors
Prosus, Warburg, Trifecta, Amazon and more
Products and Services
Beauty and cosmetics products marketplace
Valuation
$1.2+ billion (November 2021)
MyGlamm is a direct-to-consumer (D2C) beauty and cosmetics startup that extends an e-commerce marketplace with a wide range of products for stylists, beauticians, and others. The Mumbai-based D2C brand combines technology with content and social media in order to help the customers to shop for their preferred products along with gaining rich, personalized content and tutorial from the experts.
MyGlamm has turned into a unicorn company when it raised $150 mn in funding from Prosus Ventures and others on November 9, 2021. MyGlamm was the 34th Indian startup to turn a unicorn in the year 2021 and the 76th Indian company overall to enter the coveted club of unicorn companies of India.
Rentpay, CRED Stash, Store, Credit Card Payments and Cred Pay
Valuation
$2.2 billion (April 2021)
CRED is an upcoming Fintech startup that was started by Kunal Shah in 2018. The company has its headquarters in Bengaluru, Karnataka, and is known for its app that allows users to make credit card payments and even get rewarded. Besides rewards, CRED also gives its customers access to a wide range of additional services such as credit and a premium catalog of products from top brands. So far the platform has over 5.9 million users and has processed about 20% of all credit card bill payments in the country. CRED services are divided into five major products which are CRED RentPay, CRED Cash, CRED Pay, CRED Store, and CRED Travel Store. The Cred Business and Revenue Model depends on the app, its customers, and the business partnerships it sees.
Meesho is a popular Indian social ecommerce company that was founded in 2015 by batchmates, Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal. The company has its headquarters in Bengaluru Karnataka. Meesho helps small and medium businesses or even individuals to start their online stores through social media apps like Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp. Meesho also has an online reselling website and app that allows people to sell their products without investments. So far it is known to have 2.6 million resellers across the country.
Meesho became a unicorn on April 6, 2021, after raising $300 mn in funds in a funding round that was led by Japan’s Softbank Corp. Group. Know more about Meesho Business Model & Revenue Model.
professionals for cleaning, beauticians, masseurs, carpenters, etc
Valuation
$2.8 billion (June 2021)
Urban Company is said to be Asia’s largest home services company as it is an all-in-one platform that helps users find professionals for different home services. The platform has its headquarters in Gurgaon and offers professional home cleaning services to beauticians, masseurs, and even carpenters. Urban Company was founded in 2014 by Abhiraj Bhal, Varun Khaitan, and Raghav Chandra, while the platform currently has served over 5 million customers across India, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sydney, and Singapore. As of 2021, it is also known to be the UAE’s largest home services company. Here’s knowing all about Urban Company’s business model, and the marketing strategies that Urban Company uses.
Construction Materials, Infrastructure, and Heavy Equipment Rental
Valuation
$2.5 billion (August 2021)
Infra.Market is one of the best construction solutions companies and an online procurement marketplace that uses technology to provide an enhanced procurement experience. The company provides its services to the real estate and construction materials industry. The company was started by Souvik Sengupta in 2016 and has its headquarters in Thane, Maharashtra. Infra.Market specializes in manufacturing construction materials, infrastructure, and heavy equipment rental for all the sectors of a construction ecosystem. It caters to both institutional customers and the construction materials sector to build their projects. Infra.Market turned unicorn with a $100 mn funding on February 25, 2021
Insurance for Car, Health, employee, 2 Wheeler, 3 Wheeler, etc.
Valuation
$4 billion (May 2022)
Digit Insurance is one of the top general insurance companies offering health, car, bike, and travel insurance. The company was founded in 2016 by Kamesh Goyal, and has its headquarters in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The company is popular for Go Digit Mobile Insurance, a tailor-made mobile insurance that covers damages related to different mobiles or Smartphones such as accidental damage, etc. Digit Insurance was the first Indian Unicorn of 2021 and has been successful in achieving the feat in less than 4 years. Besides, Digit Insurance is one of the companies that are endorsed by Virat Kohli, who is the brand ambassador of Digit.
Innovaccer
Startup Name
Innovaccer
Industry
Healthcare
Founders
Abhinav Shashank, Kanav Hasija and Sandeep Gupta
Founded
2014
Investors
Steadview Capital, Dragoneer, B Capital Group, Mubadala Capital Microsoft Venture Funds.
Products and Services
Clinical Integration, Health Management, Big data analytics, Quality Reporting, Healthcare data platform
Valuation
$1.3 billion (February 2021)
Innovaccer is one of the top healthcare companies that is known for its top-notch healthcare services and products that are done through pioneering analytics and accurate data. Innovaccer was founded in 2014 by Sandeep Gupta and has its headquarters in San Francisco. It has head offices in India and America. Innovaccer products are available in over 500 locations and it also has more than 10,000 providers. The company has helped thousands of institutions, governmental organizations, hospitals, clinics, and healthcare organizations such as Mercy ACO, StratiFi Health, Catalyst Health Network, and Osler Health Network.
Innovaccer has turned into a unicorn after it received $105 mn of funding from Tiger Global Management on February 24, 2021. With this, Innovaccer also became the first health tech unicorn in India to turn unicorn.
Sequoia Capital India, Norwest Venture Partners, KKR, TVS Capital, Matrix Partners
Products and Services
Small Business Loans, Mortgage Loans, Home Loans, Property Loans
Valuation
$1.4 billion (March 2021)
Five Star Business Finance (FSBF) is one of the oldest Indian investment firms that was started by V.K Ranganathan in 1984. The company provides different kinds of loans like Small Business Loans, Mortgage Loans, Home Loans, Property Loans, among others. The company has been making strides in the financial industry over the last three decades. Five Star Housing Finance Private Limited which is the company’s subsidiary is designed to help its clients with small housing loans.
Stock broking services, direct mutual funds, IPO, ETF, digital gold
Valuation
$1 billion (May 2021)
Groww is one of the most popular online investment platforms in India. The company was started in 2017 by Lalit Keshre, Harsh Jain, Ishan Bansal, and Neeraj Singh. The company has its headquarters in Bengaluru, Karnataka, and has so far raised over $14 million as of April 2021. This mutual fund investments platform started out by offering wealth management and currently offers direct investments in mutual funds, stocks, digital gold, and exchange-traded funds, among others. The parent company of Groww is Nextbillion Technology.
Tiger Global Management Llc, Think Investments, Malabar Investments, Harbor Spring Capital, White Oak , Fidelity Management
Products and Services
Chatbots
Valuation
$1.4 billion (July 2021)
Gupshup is an upcoming Software company that provides services such as SMS, email, voice, and IP messaging. Gupshup company operates in India, America and UK and is known for its chatbox development services to retail and eCommerce companies. The company developed a smart messaging app called Teamchat and handles over 6 million messages every month. Gupshup is one of the first companies to launch the chatbot building platforms known as gupshup.io which currently offers its services to over 30,000 developers. The platform also has 30,000 chatbots across 22 different social media channels.
Eruditus is an Edtech platform headquartered in Mumbai. Founded in 2010, the company collaborates with the leading universities from across the globe in order to make executive education accessible globally. Eruditus Executive Education boasts of partnering with over 30 universities with a collection of more than 100 courses that extends to the students of around 80 countries. The company has recently turned into a unicorn with a $650 million fundraise as part of its series E funding round!
invoicing, taxes, SaaS metrics, accounting and customer management.
Valuation
$1.4 billion (April 2021)
Chargebee is a SaaS Company with its headquarters in San Francisco, California. The company specializes in providing subscription and recurring billing based SaaS and E-commerce services like invoicing, taxes, SaaS metrics, accounting and customer management. The company also supports over 100 currencies and numerous well-known payment gateways such as Stripe, Braintree, WorldPay and PayPal. The SaaS startup has gathered 3,000 customers most of whom are from America, Europe, and India.
cloud-native, API-first neo-banking and other Fintech services.
Valuation
$1.45 billion (May 2021)
Zeta is a financial technology company that provides a full-stack, cloud and API first neo banking services. The fintech company was founded in 2015 by Bhavin Turakhia and Ramki Gaddipati with its headquarters based in Los Angeles, California, and has head offices in India. It is known for its Omni stack that includes modern credit and debit processing, BNPL, banking, and mobile experiences. The company products are used by banks like RBL Bank, IDFC First Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank, along with 14000 corporates. So far Zeta has over 2 million users with over one million transactions per day.
Zeta is a budgeting app for couples. It integrates personal and shared accounts, which include bank accounts, loans, and credit cards. Connect your account immediately for automated updates or manually add an account to manage it yourself.
You can see your joint incomes, expenses, and financial savings in one place. It lets you create more than one budget for private and shared expenses. Plus, you can set precise monetary goals for you and your partner, such as saving for a holiday or placing up an emergency fund.
BrowserStack is a cloud net and mobile testing platform, which is used by two million developers in around a hundred thirty-five countries. The product’s price proposition is to assist groups to fasten up launch cycles and develop websites and mobile app that work seamlessly on any user interface. The aim is to limit the time, price, and protection overhead related to testing.
More than 25,000 world corporations use BrowserStack, which includes Microsoft, ING, MasterCard, Dow Jones, Garmin, National Geographic, Volvo, NRK, HubSpot, Walt Disney, and AngularJS. BrowserStack has offices work in San Francisco, Mumbai, Dublin, and is privately held and backed by Accel.
Paytm Mall, Paytm Payments Bank, Paytm Money, Gamepind, Paytm Smart Retail, Payment system, Mobile payments, Online shopping
Valuation
$16 billion (June 2021)
Paytm is one of the biggest unicorn startups in India. It is among the largest digital payment service providers in India with a market share of 11.63% and is currently in the third position in the list of top UPI apps in India, as recorded in June 2021. The fintech startup is famous for its payment gateway service, which helps consumers to make seamless payments to the seller from their bank accounts. Paytm entered the unicorn club in 2015. Paytm’s valuation was over $7 billion, and it has now increased to $16 billion in 2020.
Paytm Mall is a B2C model inspired by China’s largest B2C retail platform TMall. Paytm Mall was launched by Paytm in 2017. Launched in 2016, as a hyperlocal offline-to-online (O2O) business, Paytm Mall turned unicorn in 2018 on raising half a billion from Softbank and others.
Kite, Coin, Console, Varsity, Equity Trading, Currencies and Commodities Trading, Mutual Funds and Bonds
Valuation
$2 billion (June 2021)
Zerodha is an Indian fintech startup that offers retail and institutional broking, currencies and commodities trading, mutual funds, and bonds. The Company was founded in the year 2010 in order to achieve the goal of breaking all the barriers traders and investors face in India. Zerodha is headquartered in Bangalore and has a physical presence in several major Indian cities.
In Dec 2020, Zerodha was the largest retail stockbroker in India by active client base and contributes upwards of 15% of daily retail volumes across Indian Stock Exchanges. Zerodha entered the unicorn club in July 2020 with a self-assessed valuation of about $1 billion. This valuation was based on the ESOP buyback exercise the company undertook valuing each share at more than four times the book value of ₹700 per share. Know why is Zerodha not raising funds for its operation?
Disruptive pricing models and in-house technology have made Zerodha the biggest stockbroker in India in terms of active retail clients. Over 5+ million clients place millions of orders every day through our powerful ecosystem of investment platforms, contributing over 15% of all Indian retail trading volumes.
ReNew Power Limited is an Indian renewable energy company. It is an independent power producer which was founded by Sumant Sinha in 2011. ReNew Power has a pipeline of close to 1400 MW solar and wind projects. It has a current valuation of $8 billion, which makes it one of the most valuable startups in India in 2021.
Hari Menon, V.S. Sudhakar, Vipul Parekh, Abhinay Choudhari and V.S. Ramesh
Founded
2011
Investors
Alibaba, CDC Group, Ant Financial, Intel Capital, and Berkshire Hathaway
Products and Services
Grocery Delivery
Valuation
$1.85 billion (March 2021)
BigBasket is India’s largest online grocery store which was founded by Hari Menon, V.S. Sudhakar, Vipul Parekh, Abhinay Choudhari, and V.S. Ramesh in 2011. BigBasket founder Hari Menon is one of the most revered entrepreneurs, who deserves a place among the top entrepreneurs of India. It has gained popularity among the Indians and receives over 100,000 orders per day. BigBasket has also launched 3 new businesses BB Daily, BB Instant, and BB Beauty. Here’s something that might interest you – JioMart VS BigBasket: Top Contenders Of Online Grocery Market
Udaan is a B2B e-commerce platform that provides a wholesale product solution to different vendors in all categories. It was founded by Sujeet Kumar, Amod Malviya, and Vaibhav Gupta in 2016. Udaan is a B2B (Business to Business) marketplace for trade that is working for connecting retailers, wholesalers, traders, and manufacturers using technology as the main tool. Udaan turned a startup unicorn in 2018, which is just after 2 years and 2 months since it was launched in 2016. It is thus, the first startup to be called the fastest unicorn.
SoftBank, Tiger Global, Ratan Tata, Hyundai Motors, Matrix Partners, Tiger Global and The Munjal Family.
Products and Services
Electric two and tree wheeler vehicles
Valuation
$5+ billion (January 2022)
Ola Electric is a brainchild of Ola which is currently one of the largest ride-hailing companies. Ola Electric is a tech mobility startup that provides transit services. Besides that, the company also offers a platform to work with driver-partners, vehicle manufacturers, and battery companies and also advance into making future technology for daily mobility. The company was founded in 2017 by Ankit Jain and Anand Shah and had its headquarters in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Ola Electric is also known to be the fastest unicorn after Udaan.
Lightspeed Ventures, Tiger Global, Twitter, India Quotient,
Products and Services
MOJ and Sharechat
Valuation
$3.7 billion (December 2021)
Mohalla Tech is a software company that was founded by Ankush Sachdeva, Farid Ahsan and Bhanu Singh in 2015. The company has its headquarters in Bengaluru, Karnataka, and is known for its platforms – MOJ and Sharechat. Mohalla Tech designs and develops social media platforms for sharing various quotes, videos, images, and news content. Currently, Moj and Sharechat are known to have a combined user of 340 million. According to some reports, an average user will spend over 34 minutes on the MOJ platform every day, which also gets 4.5 million views every day.
TPG, Chrys Capital, Premji Invest, Elevation Capital, MegaDelta and Vertex
Products and Services
Baby and Kids Products
Valuation
$2 billion (March 2021)
FirstCry is one of the top E-commerce companies for Baby and Child products. The company was founded by Supam Maheshwari, Amitava Saha, Prashant Jadhav, and Sanket Hattimattu in 2010, with its headquarters based in Pune, Maharashtra. Currently, the company has 380 plus stores across the country and also has a hospital contact program that helps in reaching out to more than 70,000 new parents every month. Firstcry has over 100,000 plus baby, kids, and new mom products from more than 1000 international and national brands.
Temasek, Falcon Edge Capital, KKR, Bay Capital, and Chiratae
Products and Services
Eyewear, opticians
Valuation
$4.32 billion (April 2022)
Lenskart is a leading eyewear company that was started by Peyush Bansal, Amit Chaudhary, Sumeet Kapahi in 2010. The company has its headquarters in Faridabad and has manufacturing facilities in Delhi, Zhengzhou (China). The company is known to manufacture over 300,000 eyewear every month, as it has more than 500 stores in over 70 cities across India. Besides having a huge range of eyewear it also offers its users branded contact lenses and sunglasses.
And this is not the end of the story. There are many new entrants to this unicorn club. Multiple startups strive hard to reach the top 10 unicorn startups but only a few make it to the top. India is the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world. It can be said that India is the future of great startups.
Grofers is an Indian online supermarket that helps in the home delivery of food, grocery products, and essentials. Founded in 2013, Grofers started with groceries and gradually expanded to a whole list of categories that includes beauty products, household care, baby care, and more. The company is now a unicorn with a $120 million fundraising round from the food aggregator, Zomato. Grofers was rebranded to Blinkit after a rebranding attempt on December 13, 2021.
A subsidiary company of inMobi, Glance is an artificial intelligence platform that offers customized lock screen content to the owners of the smartphones of the present. The company was founded in 2019 as a subsidiary of inMobi, a Bengaluru-based mobile ad network, and turned unicorn on December 22, 2020. Its parent company had already become a unicorn company back in 2011.
Google, Alphawave, Microsoft, Sequoia Capital, Falcon Capital
Products and Services
Dailyhunt app
Valuation
$1 billion (March 2021)
Dailyhunt is an Indian content and news aggregator services platform that helps its users access updates on trending topics along with online news, books, and magazines. The company is popular for offering content in 14 different local languages for a wide variety of Indian readers. The company raised around $100 million from Google and Microsoft and Falcon Edge’s Alpha Wave to become India’s first tech unicorn focused on vernacular content on December 22, 2020.
Accel, Norwest Venture Partners, Steadview Capital, Tiger Global Management
Products and Services
Salon software, spa software, med spa software
Valuation
$1.5+ billion
A cloud-based software platform for spa and salon services of the country, Zenoti was founded in 2010 with its headquarters in Bellevue, Washington, United States, and Hyderabad. Zenoti has been since the day it was founded and is now used by over 10,000 customers and has already established its presence in 50+ countries. With a fundraise that amounted to $160 million, the company entered the unicorn club on December 15, 2020.
Cars24 website/app, cars buying and selling service
Valuation
$1.6 billion (July 2021)
Cars24 is an online marketplace that encourages the buyers and sellers of used cars and helps them to buy and sell automobiles online without any hassles. Via an AI-enabled pricing algorithm, Cars24 displays the appraisal price along with the market price of the vehicles. Furthermore, it also arranges appointments for vehicle inspection, thereby making the selling process as transparent as possible.
The Gurgaon-based company, Cars24 was founded in 2015 and has already become a unicorn on November 24, 2020, with the $200 million Series E funding round led by Yuri Milner’s DST Global fund, Exor Seeds, Moore Strategic Ventures, and more. The company was valued at over $1 billion when assessed in November 2020.
RazorPay is a digital payment gateway that enables businesses and individuals to process, receive and disburse payments smoothly and securely. Razorpay accepts a wide range of the latest payment devices and platforms to improve the customer’s payment journeys online.
RazorPay is among the last year unicorn companies in India, which joined the unicorn club of Indian startups on October 11, 2020, when the company raised around $100 million. The company was valued at around $3 billion in April 2021.
Gaurav Munjal, Hemesh Singh, Roman Saini, Sachin Gupta
Founded
2015
Investors
Temasek Holdings, Dragoneer Investment Group, Softbank, Facebook, Sequoia Capital
Products and Services
Courses and classes
Valuation
$3.44 billion (August 2021)
Unacademy is an Indian unicorn Edtech company based in Bangalore, which climbed to unicorn status on September 2, 2020, thereby becoming the second e-learning startup to achieve the status.
Founded in 2015, Unacademy offers educational content for competitive examinations and other video lectures, some of which are also freely accessible for students. With the latest fundraise where the company received $440 million, Unacademy is now valued at $3.44 billion, as of August 2021. Here’s a List of Startups Acquired by EdTech Giant Unacademy
Postman raised $150 million in June 2020 to turn into a unicorn. The API development environment is used by around 6 million developers worldwide across 200,000 companies located globally. Postman serves as a platform that makes it easy for developers and enterprises to build, test, and debug their APIs.
With a valuation of $5.6 billion, as per the reports in August 2021, after the company received funding of around $225 million, Postman is presently acknowledged as the most valued Saas startup in India.
CitiusTech
Startup Name
CitiusTech
Headquarters
Princeton, New Jersey, United States
Industry
Healthcare Technology
Founders
Jagdish Moorjani, Rizwan Koita
Founded
2005
Investors
Baring Pvt. Equity Asia, Bain Capital
Products and Services
Consulting, Digital & Product Engineering, Data & Analytics
Valuation
$2.4 billion (May 2022)
CitiusTech is a major technology service and solution provider for the healthcare industry. CitiusTech boasts of having over 4000 professionals worldwide. With its workforce, the company aims to empower the healthcare and life sciences companies with reassuring consultation and digital technology services and drive clinical value chain excellence across integration and interoperability, data management, data science, performance management, and more.
CitiusTech was acquired by Baring Private Equity Asia, after the Hong Kong-based company signed a definitive agreement on July 12, 2019. This deal has valued the company at a little over a billion dollars, thereby granting its entry into the unicorn club of Indian companies.
As per the news dated May 5, 2022, Bain Capital has bought 40% of the stakes of CitiusTech from Baring Private Equity Asia, as the latter sold half of its tech to the American private investment firm. Apax Partners and Fujitsu of Japan were the other contenders for the stake. The 40% stakes of CitiusTech were valued between $960 mn to $1 bn, which has successfully catapulted the valuation of CitiusTech to around $2.4 bn, as of May 2022. The other 40% stakes of the firm are with Baring, while the remaining stakes are held by the company’s founders.
B Capital Group, Ignition Partners, Eight Roads Ventures
Products and Services
Contract Management Software
Valuation
$2.8 billion (March 2021)
Icertis is designed as a powerful AI-enabled contract management platform that promises ultimate compliance and aims to reduce the risks involved in it. Being an enterprise contract management platform, Icertis extends easy solutions to hard contract management issues.
When the company raised $80 million in March 2021, at a valuation of $2.8 billion, Icertis was declared as the second most-valued startup unicorn of India. The company turned into a unicorn even before that in 2020.
Druva
Startup Name
Druva
Headquarters
Sunnyvale, California, United States
Industry
Software, Cloud Data Services, Cloud Security, Saas
Sequoia Capital India, Viking Global, Indian Angel Network
Products and Services
Data protection solutions
Valuation
$2 billion (April 2021)
Druva is an Indian enterprise software platform that is designed to protect and manage enterprise data across endpoints, data centers, and cloud workloads. Built on AWS, Druva offers a Saas platform that extends superior data resiliency options, which is infinitely scalable, for the companies operating across the globe.
The India-based Saas company headquartered in the US is one of the earliest companies of India that turned into a unicorn. Druva attained unicorn status in 2019.
Rivigo is a logistics platform empowered by the latest technologies that extend effective transport services for a wide range of industries including clothing, eCommerce, automotive, automobiles, and more. The company was founded in 2014 in Gurgaon, Haryana, and was valued at $1.05 billion when it turned unicorn in September 2019.
Polygon or Matic Network, as it was named previously, is a Bengaluru-based blockchain startup that was founded as a result of the infamous RBI ban of cryptocurrencies that came in April 2018. Founded by Jaynti Kanani, Sandeep Nailwal, and Anurag Arjun, Matic Network focussed on solving the “scalability and usability issues, without compromising on decentralization”. It was on February 9, 2021, that Matic was renamed into Polygon.
Polygon is already a unicorn when last reported in May 2021 and is currently valued at over $10 bn, as of February 2022. The market capitalization of its native MATIC token has crossed the $20 billion mark once in December 2021.
MindTickle is a sales readiness platform founded in 2011, which helps in onboarding, product training, coaching, and ongoing readiness. The company offers a vital sales solution to the fast-growing startups to prepare their sales team in a scalable and effective way. MindTickle was founded in 2011 and turned a unicorn on August 6, 2021, with the influx of $100 mn in Series E funding led by Softbank Vision Fund II.
Bhavesh Manglani, Kapil Bharati, Mohit Tandon, Sahil Barua, Suraj Saharan
Founded
2011
Investors
FedEx, Fidelity, Steadview Capital, Tiger Global management
Products and Services
Cargo and freight services
Valuation
$4 billion (June 2021)
Delhivery was founded in 2011 in Gurgaon, Haryana, as a logistics and supply chain startup that aims to provide seamless transportation, warehousing, freight, and order fulfillment services. Delhivery Pvt. Ltd. turned unicorn back in 2019 where it raised around $413 million and was valued at $1.5 billion.
Billdesk is a company conceived in 2000 as IndiaIdeas.com Ltd., which helps Indian customers pay their bills safely and easily. Powered by the latest advancements in the electronic medium, BillDesk offers its customers better ways to organize and manage their payments online. Billdesk has already achieved unicorn status in 2018 when it mopped up nearly $300 million in a fundraising round led by Visa.
The company is currently acquired by PayU, a Prosus-owned company headquartered in the Netherlands via a deal worth $4.7 billion, one of the biggest deals in the Fintech range of India.
Mu Sigma was founded in 2014 as a data analytics services platform that offers data analytics services along with developing decision support system tools and software for Fortune 500 companies. Mu Sigma offers a range of services including market measurement, product/customer segmentation and profiling, prospecting, RFM analytics, and more. It was in 2016 when Fortune declared Mu Sigma a unicorn company.
Info Edge
Startup Name
Info Edge
Headquarters
Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
Industry
Enterprisetech
Founders
Sanjeev Bikhchandani
Founded
1995
Investors
Temasek Holdings, Lightbox
Products and Services
Employment, Education, Real estate, Matrimonial service
Valuation
$6.6 Billion (May 2023)
Info Edge, founded by Sanjeev Bikhchandani in 1995, is a technology-driven Indian internet company offering a wide range of online services in sectors such as recruitment, matrimony, real estate, and education. The company is well-known for its flagship platforms, including Naukri.com for jobs, Jeevansathi.com for matrimonial services, 99Acres.com for real estate listings, and Shiksha.com for educational resources.
The company attained a valuation of over $1 billion in 2014 and became an elite member of the Indian unicorn club.
Sai Srinivas Kiran G, Shubh Malhotra, Shubham Malhotra
Founded
2018
Investors
Sequoia, Moore Strategic Ventures, Legatum Capital
Products and Services
EGaming platform
Valuation
$2.3 Billion (September 2021)
Mobile Premier League, now if the name rings a bell, then you’re right! MPL is another fantasy gaming and esports platform from India after Dream11 that has turned unicorn. The Sequoia Capital and Moore Strategic Ventures-backed startup was founded in September 2018, just 3 years ago by Sai Srinivas Kiran G and Shubh Malhotra, which emerged as the second gaming unicorn from the subcontinent.
Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global Management, Lightspeed
Products and Services
Professional networking platform and job portal
Valuation
$1.1 Billion (September 2021)
Apna is a leading professional networking platform that helps the rising workforce of India stay updated in terms of professional requirements and recruitment and grab them anytime and anywhere. Apna is currently available across 28+ cities in India for students and blue-mand gray-colored working professionals to get the best communities and land jobs.
The Series C round was on September 15, 2021, where Apna raised around $100 million from investors like Tiger Global, Sequoia, and others and turned into a unicorn within just 21 months of its foundation. This makes Apna the fastest unicorn in India.
Vamsi Krishna, Pulkit Jain, Saurabh Saxena, and Anand Prakash
Founded
2011
Investors
Coatue, Tiger Global Management, WestBridge Capital, Accel Partners
Products and Services
Online tutoring, courses and classes
Valuation
$1 Billion+ (September 2021)
Vedantu is an Edtech platform that offers online e-learning courses and classes to empower real-time personalized learning experiences. Vedantu believes in bridging the gaps between a student and his/her tutor to enjoy the benefits of real-time one-to-one teaching. Vedantu can help students pursue online tuitions for Maths, Physics, Chemistry, English, French, Hindi, Social Studies, German, Computer Science, and more.
Vedantu raised $100 mn via its Series E round led by ABC World Asia, Coatue, Tiger Global, WestBridge, and others on September 29, 2021, and became the 27th Indian unicorn of 2021 and the 69th unicorn startup in the country.
Bertelsmann, Mayfield Fund, Vertex Growth Fund, 3one4 Capital
Products and Services
Meat, fish, eggs packaging and delivery services
Valuation
$1 Billion+ (October 2021)
Licious was founded in 2015 and headquartered in Bengaluru as a Direct-to-consumer brand that offers fresh meat, eggs, fish, and seafood, which the customers can order online to receive the same at their doorsteps. The meat industry in India is largely unorganized and Licious is born out of the sole aim of organizing this sector and delivering fresh, trustworthy, delicious meat and fish to the house of the Indians.
The company raised $52 million in its latest funding round led by IIFL AMC’s Late Stage Tech Fund, emerging as the 29th Indian unicorn company of 2021 so far, and the first unicorn from the D2C segment, as of October 5, 2021.
Paradigm, Ribbit Capital, Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global Management
Products and Services
Cryptocurrency exchange platform
Valuation
$1.9 Billion (October 2021)
CoinSwitch Kuber is hailed as a cryptocurrency exchange platform that encourages users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies via their platform, ensuring secure and convenient transactions. The company supports a wide list of over 100 cryptocurrencies from which the customers can buy cryptos at the best rates, through a range of payment options.
CoinSwitch Kuber turns into India’s 30th unicorn startup in 2021 so far. The company raised a Series C funding round worth $260 million on October 6, 2021, led by a16z (Andreesen Horowitz) and Coinbase Ventures to join the coveted club of the unicorn companies. CoinSwitch Kuber boasts of being the second crypto unicorn of India, which crossed the 1 billion dollar mark in less than 2 months after CoinDCX was hailed as the first crypto unicorn of the country in August 2021. CoinSwitch Kuber is reportedly valued at $1.9 billion on October 2021, which is higher than what CoinDCX announced in August, which was $1.1 billion.
Rebel Foods, also termed Faasos Food Services Pvt. Ltd., is a food delivery platform of India that takes care of the food delivery requirements across the country, delivering food products at the doorsteps of the customers. Besides, the company also boasts of a huge network (over 450) of dark kitchens that operates in over 10 countries. Rebel Foods currently serves over 10,000 Indian customers, the numbers of which are jumping rapidly.
The Indian cloud kitchen and food delivery startup becomes the 31st unicorn of India in 2021. Rebel Foods has raised $175 million via its Series F funding round led by the investors like Qatar Investment Authority, Coatue and Evolvence, and more, to be valued at $1.4 bn, as of October 7, 2021.
Sequoia Capital India, HDFC Bank, LeapFrog Investments
Products and Services
Cars, Used cars retailing services
Valuation
$1.2 billion (October 2021)
CarDekho is a leading name in the used car retailing space. Headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana, CarDekho helps users browse through a wide selection of cars and select one that fits them in all aspects. The platform of CarDekho is equipped with the relevant details about the car, along with other detailed specs, experts’ reviews, comparisons, and more. All of these further ease the selection process of the car models and are some of the reasons that have contributed to the rising popularity of the company.
CarDekho has turned into a unicorn following its recent Series E and Debt financing rounds dated October 13, 2021, and led by LeapFrog Investments. The company has successfully raised around $200 mn and $50 mn respectively, with the last funding rounds that it saw. With the recent funding, CarDekho becomes the 33rd unicorn and the 3rd unicorn startup in the used car retailing space in India so far in 2021.
Sequoia Capital India, Hindustan Media Venture, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
Products and Services
Digital payments platform
Valuation
$1 billion (October 2021)
MobiKwik is a Fintech company founded in 2009 as digital payments platform that offers phone-based payment options along with the facility of a digital wallet for its users. Headquartered in Gurgaon, MobiKwik is one of the trusted names in the digital payments space that also provides payment gateway and other financial services.
MobiKwik turned unicorn on October 12, 2021, after the conclusion of its secondary ESOP sale round led by Mathew Cyriac, former Head of Blackstone India.
Insurtech, Insurance, Health insurance, Auto insurance
Founders
Ruchi Deepak, Varun Dua
Founded
2016
Investors
Munich Re Ventures, Amazon, General Atlantic, Multiples Alternate Asset Management Private Limited
Products and Services
Car, bike and health insurance products
Valuation
$1.1 billion (October 2021)
Acko is a digital insurance provider of India, dubbed as the first insurance startup that efficiently processes car, bike, and health insurance without any paperwork. Furthermore, Acko also possesses the license, which allows the company to underwrite and distribute bite-sized insurance products.
Acko raised around $255 million in its Series D round led by General Atlantic and Multiples Private Equity and turned a unicorn on October 27, 2021. The unicorn insurance provider is the 34th Indian company to join the unicorn club in 2021 and is currently valued at $1.1 bn.
CureFit
Startup Name
CureFit
Headquarters
Bengaluru, India
Industry
Healthcare, wellness
Founders
Ankit Nagori, Mukesh Bansal
Founded
2016
Investors
Temasek Holdings, Accel, Tata Digital, Zomato, Axis Bank
Products and Services
Nutrition products, Consultation services for mental and well-being
Valuation
$1.5 billion (November 2021)
CureFit is a health and fitness company that extends online and offline experiences to bring in adequate nutrition, foster physical fitness, and mental well-being via improved yoga and meditation, medical and lifestyle care consultation.
The Bangalore-based fitness brand turned unicorn on November 10, 2021, in a deal where the foodtech giant Zomato sold its fitness facility arm Fitso for $50 mn and infused another $50 mn in CureFit. This helped Zomato own 6.4% shares in CureFit, worth $100 mn. As a result of the cross-selling, CureFit joined the unicorn club of Indian startups as the 36th company to turn unicorn in 2021 and the 77th company overall among the Indian startups.
Mensa
Startup Name
Mensa
Headquarters
Bengaluru, India
Industry
Financial services, Venture capital
Founders
Ananth Narayanan, Pawan Kumar Dasaraju
Founded
2021
Investors
Alpha Wave Incubation, Norwest Venture Partners, Accel, Falcon Edge Capital
Products and Services
finance, working capital
Valuation
$1 billion+ (November 2021)
Brands’ aggregator and roll-up firm, Mensa has been founded by former Myntra CEO and Medlife cofounder, Ananth Narayanan and Pawan Kumar Dasaraju. Mensa Brands stands as an investment firm that strives to partner with entrepreneurs to build digital brands and scale them. The company embraces a Thrasio-based model via which it invests working capital and picks up equity in other D2C startups, thereby scaling the presence of the brands online. The platform that Mensa offers helps in driving growth, product, merchandising, technology, supply chain, product, and access to global markets, which eventually lets the founders get lucrative financial exits along with transforming their business through a stable and successful partnership.
Mensa raised $135 mn in a new Series B funding round led by Alpha Wave Ventures (Falcon Edge Capital) on November 16, 2021, and has joined the coveted club of unicorn companies in India. The company turned unicorn within just 6 months since it started its operations, thereby emerging as the fastest Indian startup to turn unicorn.
Tiger Global Management, General Atlantic, Trifecta Capital, BEENEXT
Products and Services
Peer-to-peer property listings platform
Valuation
$1 billion+ (November 2021)
NoBroker, as the name states, is designed on the concept of building a brokerage-free real estate platform, which will take care of the entire journey of a customer from choosing a house, listing it, securing a home loan, contacting the packers and movers, opting for painting and other services and more. Founded by Akhil Gupta, Amit Kumar Agarwal, Saurabh Garg in 2014, NoBroker is based in Bengaluru and is currently hailed as a unicorn.
NoBroker is, in fact, India’s first proptech (property tech) startup that has achieved a unicorn status on November 23, 2021. The company is the 38th Indian startup to emerge as a unicorn in 2021. The unicorn valuation of the company was disclosed after it raised around $210 Mn in its Series E funding round on the same date.
Tiger Global Management, General Atlantic, Trifecta Capital, BEENEXT
Products and Services
Used car listing and selling platform
Valuation
$1.7 billion+ (November 2021)
Spinny is a used-car buying platform that is powered by new-age technologies and enables reliable and hassle-free transactions in used cars. Founded in 2015 in Gurgaon, Haryana, India, Spinny is built on a full-stack business model with the aim of making the process of buying used cars simple and transparent and ultimately helping the customers to buy cars that match their aspirations.
Spinny has turned unicorn after it received its Series E funding round of $248 million (Rs 1,849 crore), as of November 24, 2021. The company received an investment of Rs 739.7 crore each from Tiger Global and Abu Dhabi Growth Fund, while the remaining funds poured in from Somerville SPV and Aveni Spinny. Spinny is now officially the fourth Indian startup from the used car space to join the unicorn club, where Droom, CarDekho, and Cars24 have already joined earlier.
Upstox is a fintech company that offers innovative investment solutions for users, including securities brokerage and stock trading services. Based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, the company extends equity trading opportunities for retail investors via the platform, promising their clients to be benefited from their cutting-edge trading platform that brings in the best-in-class services.
Upstox turned unicorn with the recent fundraising round led by Tiger Global Management, as of November 25, 2021. The company agreed to allot around 18761 Series C preference shares at an issue price of Rs 98,608 in order to raise the sum of $25 million (Rs 185 crore) from Tiger Global. Upstox has raised the recent funds at a post-money valuation of an estimated $3.4 bn, which pushes it past its rival Groww, which was recently valued at $3 bn in October 2021. Upstox thus became the 40th unicorn startup in India in 2021.
Slice is a financial startup based out of Bengaluru, India that focuses on payment cards/credit cards, and extends them to their target audiences, mostly comprising Gen Z and millennials.
Slice has mopped around $220 mn in the recent funding round dated November 29, 2021, led by Tiger Global and Insight Partners to achieve a unicorn valuation. The series B round that Slice witnessed included participation from Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal and Checkout co-founder and CEO, Guillaume Pousaz, along with a list of existing investors that includes Sunley House Capital, Moore Strategic Ventures, Anfa, Gunosy, Blume Ventures, and more. Slice is currently the 41st Indian startup unicorn of 2021.
Pristyn Care
Startup Name
Pristyn Care
Headquarters
Haryana, India
Industry
Healthtech, Health care
Founders
Harsimarbir (Harsh) Singh, Dr. Garima Sawhney and Vaibhav Kapoor
Founded
2018
Investors
Tiger Global Management, Hummingbird Ventures
Products and Services
Healthcare services
Valuation
$1.2 billion (December 2021)
Pristyn Care is a healthcare startup founded in September 2018, which is designed to disrupt elective surgery procedures. Headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India, Pristyn Care believes in leveraging cutting-edge technology and advanced procedures to simplify medical care and surgery experiences.
The startup successfully raised $84 Million on December 7, 2021, via new funding round, Series E, led by Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global, Hummingbird Ventures, Epiq Capital, QED, and others to enter the unicorn club of Indian startups. With its unicorn valuation, the health tech startup from Gurgaon has turned to be the fourth startup to achieve the feat in its space in India after Innovaccer, PharmEasy, and CureFit.
Founded in 2021, GlobalBees is a Thrasio-style startup focused on acquiring other companies, especially startups, and scaling them with adequate funds and resources to extend joyful product experiences. GlobalBees can also be considered as the venture arm of FirstCry.
GlobalBees has already been in talks ever since it raised $150 mn in India’s largest Series A funding round. Furthermore, the company has become a unicorn when it again raised around $111.5 mn in a mix of equity and debt round of Series B led by a clutch of investors including FirstCry, SoftBank, Premji Invest, Chiratae Ventures, Trifecta Capital, and others.
Beauty, baby care, skin care, body care products and more
Valuation
$1.1 billion+ (December 2021)
Founded in 2016, Mamaearth is a personal care brand that was established as an organic alternative to the baby, hair, face and skincare products in the market. Headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, Mamaearth extends the best organic products for babies and their mothers.
Mamaearth turned unicorn after the latest funding round that it raised on December 28, 2021, worth $80 million led by Sequoia Capital. Gurugram-based organic skincare, haircare, and body care brand, Honasa or Mamaearth became the first unicorn in India in 2022.
Fractal Intelligence is a Mumbai-based analytics startup founded in 2000 by Ramakrishna Reddy, Pranay Agrawal, Srikanth Velamakanni, Nirmal Palaparthi, and Pradeep Suryanarayan and is currently headquartered in New York, US. Primarily established as a strategic analytics partner to the most sought-after Fortune 500 companies globally, Fractal empowers every human decision by bringing analytics, AI, and other cutting-edge technology to the decision-making process.
Fractal Analytics currently has its presence across 15 countries including the United States, UK, Ukraine, and India. The company has recently turned unicorn by raising $360 million from a fundraising round led by TPG Capital, and Apax Partners, as per the reports dated January 5, 2022. Fractal is one of the leading players in the AI space with Qure.ai, Crux Intelligence, Theremin.ai, Eugenie.ai and Samya.ai as its flagship products. It is also important to note that Fractal is the second Indian unicorn of 2022.
LEAD School is a Mumbai-based edtech company that helps bring in improved marketing and academic solutions for educational institutions to transform their school education in India. Founded in 2012 by Smita Deorah and Sumeet Mehta, LEAD School helps digitize and transform private schools to help them serve students from varying economic backgrounds better.
LEAD School turned unicorn on January 13, 2022, thereby becoming the first Indian edtech startup to achieve a unicorn valuation in 2022. LEAD raised a funding round worth $100 mn today, led by GSV Ventures and WestBridge Capital to attain unicorn status. The Deorah and Mehta-led startup has thus become the third unicorn startup in India in 2022.
Darwinbox has been founded by Chaitanya Peddi, Jayant Paleti and Rohit Chennamaneni as a cloud-based Hr technology product, which serves as an end-to-end HR software that helps enterprises automate the entire employee lifecycle. The HR software that the company provides the organizations, helps them manage all of their HR requirements including recruitment, payroll, employee engagement, talent management, and people analytics across the employee life cycle under one platform.
Darwinbox has already served 1.5 million employees across 650+ organizations from over 90 different industries. The company claims to be the third-largest HRTech platform after SAP and Oracle. The growing HR Tech platform has raised $72 million in its Series D funding round from TCV on January 25, 2022, to attain the unicorn club of Indian companies. The unicorn valuation obtained by Darwinbox has made it the first Indian Saas unicorn of 2022 and the fourth unicorn overall that the country has seen this year.
DealShare
Startup Name
DealShare
Headquarters
Bengaluru, Andhra Pradesh, India
Industry
Ecommerce, Grocery
Founders
Rajat Shikhar, Sankar Bora, Sourjyendu Medda, and Vineet Rao
Founded
2018
Investors
Tiger Global, Alteria Capital, Alpha Wave Global, Innoven Capital and other
Products and Services
Grocery and other consumer products via its ecommerce business
Valuation
$1.62 billion+ (January 2022)
DealShare is a social eCommerce startup based in Bengaluru. Founded in 2018 by Rajat Shikhar, Sankar Bora, Sourjyendu Medda, and Vineet Rao, DealShare boasts of having multi-category consumer goods that are available at affordable prices.
DealShare has turned into a unicorn, as per the reports dated January 27, 2022. The Bangalore-based grocery and essentials delivery eCommerce platform have raised $130 million via a Series E funding round led by Tiger Global, Alpha Wave, Kora Investment, and others for this recent round in funding.
ElasticRun
Startup Name
ElasticRun
Headquarters
Pune, Maharashtra, India
Industry
Ecommerce, Logistics, Transportation
Founders
Sandeep Deshmukh, Saurabh Nigam, Shitiz Bansal
Founded
2015
Investors
Softbank, Kalaari, Prosus, Innoven, Norwest Venture Partners and more
Products and Services
Online system, logistics and transportation support
Valuation
$1 billion+ (February 2022)
ElasticRun is an eCommerce logistics and transportation-based startup headquartered in Pune, Maharashtra, which is designed to serve as an online system that will empower the eCommerce and distribution industry of India by improving the reception of orders from customers and the dispatch of delivery drivers.
In a recent round of funding dated February 8, 2022, ElasticRun has raised over $300 million from SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Goldman Sachs with some of its existing investors including Prosus Ventures. At the conclusion of the fresh funding round, the company posted a post-money valuation of $1.44 bn. ElasticRun was just valued at $400 mn during the last round that it saw in April 2021, thereby implying that the valuation of the company saw a 3X rise. With this round, the Kirana commerce platform becomes the 6th unicorn startup in India in 2022.
Trifecta, Saint Gobain, Bessemer Venture, Helion Venture, Kharis Capital, and more
Products and Services
Interior Design solutions
Valuation
$1.44 billion+ (February 2022)
Built with an aim to connect individuals with designers, services, and products, Livspace is an interior designing startup that works as an omnichannel home interior and renovation platform. Headquartered in Bengaluru, Livspace helps homeowners to find pre-created looks for rooms, kitchens, and storage areas on the platform. Furthermore, Livspace also extends the opportunities to its customers to choose and buy the designs they want, along with further options for customization.
The Anuj Srivastava and Ramakant Sharma-led startup raised $180 Mn in a Series F funding round led by American investment giant KKR & Co. and other existing investors of Livspace including Jungle Ventures, Venturi Partners, Ingka Group (Ikea), and Peugeot Investments. This has lifted the valuation of Livspace to $1.44 bn. With the unicorn valuation that Livspace attained with the funding round dated February 8, 2022, the company witnessed a 2X jump in its valuation since December 2019, when it was valued at $500 million. The company became the 7th Indian unicorn in 2022 and is the 50th unicorn since January 2021.
Founded by Supam Maheshwari and Amitava Saha, Xpressbees is an eCommerce logistics platform that extends reliable delivery solutions to its partners along with customized delivery solutions. Headquartered in Pune, India, the company offers a wide range of delivery and logistics-oriented services including comprehensive last-mile delivery, reverse logistics, payment collection, drop shipping, vendor management, cross-border services, fulfilment services, and more. Furthermore, Xpressbees also boasts of bringing in tailored software solutions to clients.
Xpressbees is the 8th unicorn company in India, which raised $300 million worth of funds in its latest Series F funding round led by Blackstone Growth, TPG Growth, and ChrysCapital on February 9, 2022. The funding round via which it raised the funds that will support the next phase of business growth of Xpressbees also saw participation from its existing investors including Investcorp and Norwest Venture Partners.
Uniphore
Startup Name
Uniphore
Headquarters
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India and Palo Alto, California, USA
Industry
AI, Saas, Software
Founders
Ravi Saraogi, Umesh Sachdev
Founded
2008
Investors
IIFL, Sorenson, March Capital, Chiratae Ventures and more
Products and Services
auMina and akeira and other software products
Valuation
$2.5 billion+ (February 2022)
Uniphore is a Conversational Automation platform founded by Ravi Saraogi and Umesh Sachdev in 2008. The customer service platform developed by Uniphore is powered by AI and automation technologies the vision of which is to bridge the gap between people and machines through voice. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Uniphore extends first-rate customer service to global businesses and helps them benefit from the integrated suite of software products for conversational analytics, assistance, and security that Uniphore provides. auMina and akeira, two proprietary AI solutions are already developed by Uniphore in the speech analytics and virtual assistant verticals.
Uniphore raised $400 million in a Series E round led by NEA, March Capital, and others to become the eighth unicorn of India in 2022, as per the reports dated February 16, 2022, at the end of which the company was valued at $2.5 billion.
Hasura
Startup Name
Hasura
Headquarters
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Industry
Software
Founders
Rajoshi Ghosh and Tanmay Gopal
Founded
2017
Investors
Greenoaks, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Vertex Ventures and more
Products and Services
GraphQL development platform
Valuation
$1 billion+ (February 2022)
Hasura is a Bengaluru-based GraphQL development platform that has built its platform with an aim to boost web application development. The Rajoshi Ghosh and Tanmay Gopal-led startup plan to do this by reducing the roadblocks, thereby making data access easy for the frontend and full-stack developers. The platform turned into an open-source platform in July 2018 and since then developers from around the world have used Hasura to help themselves build the data layer for modern applications.
This developer-focused tooling products platform turned into a unicorn on February 22, 2022, thereby becoming the 10th Indian startup to enter the coveted unicorn club in 2022. It raised a funding of $100 million to obtain unicorn status in its Series C funding round.
CredAvenue
Startup Name
CredAvenue
Headquarters
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Industry
Fintech, Finance, PaaS
Founders
Gaurav Kumar and Vineet Sukumar
Founded
2017
Investors
Dragoneer, B Capital Group, Insight Partners, Sequoia Capital and more
Products and Services
CredLoan, CredCo-Lend, Plutus
Valuation
$1.3 billion+ (March 2022)
Termed as a complete corporate debt solution, CredAvenue is founded by Gaurav Kumar in 2017 and is designed as a fully integrated, unified digital platform, which helps investors discover, trade, execute and fulfil debt solutions for investors. Vineet Sukumar, who joined the startup in October 2020 also stands as the Founder and Director of CredAvenue.
CredAvenue turned into a unicorn on March 6, 2022, by raising $137 million worth of funds in a series-B round led by Insight Partners, B Capital Group, and Dragoneer. The company is currently valued at over $1.3 billion, which is more than double the valuation of CredAvenue that was measured in September 2021. The Chennai-based debt marketplace startup becomes the 11th Indian startup to attain unicorn status in 2022.
Baskar Subramanian, Srinivasan KA, Srividhya Srinivasan
Founded
2008
Investors
Accel, Mayfield, Premjiinvest, Emerald Media and more
Products and Services
Cloud solutions for broadcasting
Valuation
$1 billion+ (March 2022)
Founded in 2009, by Baskar Subramanian, Srinivasan KA, Srividhya Srinivasan, and originally headquartered in Bengaluru, Amagi is a media-tech and broadcasting startup that helps target TV advertisements geographically. As a Cloud Saas technology provider, Amagi offers a mix of media and innovation to bring services that are powerful, cost-effective, and result-oriented, thereby making a way for a new TV-media advertising platform.
Amagi raised $95 million in funding on March 16, 2022, led by Accel and a clutch of existing investors like Norwest Venture Partners and Avataar Ventures, which helped it attain a unicorn valuation. With this funding round, Amagi becomes the 12th Indian startup to enter the unicorn club in 2022. It is also presently hailed as one of the highest valued media tech companies in the world.
Started as Boomerang Commerce, founded by Guru Hariharan, CommerceIQ is an omnichannel management platform that is currently headquartered in Palo Alto, California, US. Founded in 2012, CommerceIQ uses cutting-edge technologies including Machine Learning and Automation to multiply e-commerce sales.
CommerceIQ raised $115 million in its Series D funding round dated March 21, 2022, led by Softbank to turn a unicorn. This funding round made CommerceIQ the 13th unicorn that India has seen so far in 2022 and the second Indian company to turn unicorn by a funding round led by SoftBank after ElasticRun.
Alpha Wave, LLC, Matrix, Capital Management, Tiger Global, Norwest and more
Products and Services
Financial Services
Valuation
$1 billion+ (March 2022)
Oxyzo is a credit solutions provider, working as the lending arm of the unicorn industrial goods and services procurement platform, OfBusiness. Founded by Asish Mohapatra, Ruchi Kalra, with a deep understanding of the SMEs’ business trends, Oxyzo aims to transform small and medium-scale enterprises into something bigger in terms of operations, revenue, and profit margins.
In the latest Series A funding round that Oxyzo witnessed on March 23, 2022, where it received $200 million from a clutch of investors including Alpha Wave Global, Tiger Global, Matrix Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, and more, the company turned unicorn. This was the first external round of investment that Oxyzo received that has made it attain unicorn status. Owned by OfBusiness, Oxyzo is the second unicorn of the group. Raising such a large amount in the Series A round, Oxyzo has also been recorded as the first Indian startup to do so to date.
Games 24×7
Startup Name
Games 24×7
Headquarters
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Industry
Gaming, Fantasy Sports
Founders
Bhavin Pandya, Trivikraman Thampy
Founded
2006
Investors
Malabar Investment and more
Products and Services
Gaming platform
Valuation
$1 billion+ (April 2022)
Games 24×7 is India’s leading scientific gaming company. Founded by Bhavin Pandya and Trivikraman Thampy, on June 1, 2006, headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, Games 24×7 offers real money skill gaming, daily sports fantasy games, and casual gaming for its users.
The leading games platform recently turned unicorn on March 30, 2022, by raising $75 mn of funds led by Malabar India Fund and is currently valued at $2.5 billion. Tiger Global was an existing investor who also took part in the same funding round. Games 24×7 is currently hailed as India’s 99th unicorn company, as per the reports dated 30th March 2022.
Open is a neobanking startup that was founded in 2017 and is headquartered currently in Bangalore. Ajeesh Achuthan, Anish Achuthan, Deena Jacon, and Mabel Chacko were the minds behind the foundation of Open.
The neobanking culture is rapidly influencing the Indian banking and financial system and Open has been one of the major players in this growing culture. Open is currently powering 2.3+ million SMEs and processing over $30 billion in annualized transactions, which is certainly huge. This neobanking startup has put another feather in its cap by raising $50 mn in its Series D round on May 2, 2022, and turning into a unicorn, led by IIFL, Temasek, 3one4 Capital, and Tiger Global. With this, Open has seized the title of being the 1st Indian unicorn from the neobanking space and the 16th unicorn that India has seen so far in 2022.
It is also important to note here that Open has resumed India’s unicorn streak, which showed an unprecedented pause towards the end of March 2022, after Games 24×7 achieved the unicorn status.
Tutoring, Study materials for Classes 6-12, and Live Courses for them and for the other entrance examinations like JEE, NEET and more
Valuation
$1.1 billion+ (June 2022)
PhysicsWallah is an edtech company founded by Alakh Pandey in 2016, where Prateek Maheshwari. It offers online and offline courses and study materials for engineering and medical entrance examinations like JEE and NEET along with various entrance and state board exams. Video lectures, live classes, test series, and dynamic exercises are some of the main services that PhysicsWallah offers.
PhysicsWallah had last seen the Series A funding round, which was the maiden fundraising round that poured $100 mn into the startup. This round was led by Westbridge and GSV Ventures and helped the bootstrapped startup turn into an Indian unicorn company on June 7, 2022, thereby making PhysicsWallah the 101st Indian unicorn. PhysicsWallah, which was valued at $1.1 bn post the infusion, is currently hailed as the second bootstrapped Indian company that turned a unicorn. PhysicsWallah belongs to the edtech space that is seeing a huge upheaval after the unwinding of the country post-pandemic. Losses rage the edtech sector now, and layoffs are the new normal for the Edtech space in India.
Blume Ventures, Kedaara Capital, PremjiInvest, Goldman Sachs and more
Products and Services
Ecommerce platform for cosmetics and beauty products including haircare, skincare products and more
Valuation
$1.1 billion+ (June 2022)
Purplle is an Indian multi-brand beauty retailing online marketplace that was founded in 2011. Founded by Rahul Dash and Manish Taneja, Purplle is an online store that offers a wide range of products spanning numerous categories like fragrances, cosmetics, hair and skincare, and more.
The Mumbai-headquartered D2C cosmetic ecommerce brand turned unicorn on June 7, 2022, by raising $33 mn of funding from South Korea-based Paramark Ventures and its existing investors including Kedaara Capital, Blume Ventures, and PremjiInvest.
LeadSquared
Startup Name
LeadSquared
Headquarters
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Industry
Saas, Technology
Founders
Nilesh Patel, Prashant Singh, and Sudhakar Gorti
Founded
2011
Investors
WestBridge Capital, International Finance Corporation, Gaja Capital and more
Products and Services
Marketing Automation, Field Force Automation, Self-serve Portal, Sales Execution CRM, Sales Performance Suite
Valuation
$1 billion+ (June 2022)
Raising $153 mn in its Series C funding round from WestBridge Capital and others, LeadSquared turned unicorn, thereby becoming the 103rd Indian unicorn, as of June 21, 2022. With this latest funding in its arsenal, LeadSquared is planning to invest more in its business in India and North America. It is also looking to foray into the APAC and EMEA regions ahead, and would also fund some acquisitions. Besides, it is also looking to increase its workforce, and might even double its headcounts in the next 18 months.
LeadSquared was founded by Nilesh Patel, Prashant Singh, and Sudhakar Gorti in 2011, and is currently headquartered in Bengaluru. New Jersey, Philippines, South Africa, Australia, and Indonesia are some other territories where the company has seen its expansion to date. As a company, LeadSquared offers solutions for end-to-end sales, marketing, and onboarding automation, making these processes easy for its customers. LeadSquared already has 2,000+ customers, which belong to a variety of industries, including education, BFSI, healthcare, real estate, automotive, hospitality,and more. Some of its customers include biggies like Byju’s, Godrej Housing Finance, Olx, Dunzo, Practo, Kotak Securities, Amazon Pay, NIIT, Uni,and more.
OneCard
Startup Name
OneCard
Headquarters
Pune, Maharashtra, India
Industry
Financial Services, Credit card challenger
Founder
Vaibhav Hathi, Rupesh Kumar, Anurag Sinha
Founded
2018
Investors
Sequoia Capital, Ocean View Investment, QED Holdings, Matrix Partners, Hummingbird and more
Products and Services
Metal credit cards, Visa credit cards, OneScore
Valuation
$1.3 billion (FY22)
OneCard was founded in 2018 by Vaibhav Hathi, Rupesh Kumar, and Anurag Sinha, and is a subsidiary of FPL Technologies. Being an Indian startup from the credit card challenger space, OneCard competes with companies like Slice, Karbon Card, Uni Card, and more. OneCard rolled out its first mobile metal credit card in 2020, which it offers as a service along with Visa credit cards in partnership with numerous banks, and OneScore, a digital credit score checking platform that helps users check their credit scores without paying anything and without even any spams. OneCard currently extends its services in 12+ states across India.
OneCard turned unicorn after it raised $100 mn in funds via its Series D funding round led by Temasek, Sequoia Capital, QED Holdings, Matrix Partners, Hummingbird, and others, on June 13, 2022. With this fundraising round, OneCard is now valued at around $1.3 bn, thereby turning into the 104th Indian unicorn in 2022. Its total funding now crossed $225 mn, as of July 14th, 2022. After Slice, OneCard is now the second unicorn Indian startup in the credit card challenger space now.
5ire
Startup Name
5ire
Headquarters
London, England, UK
Industry
Blockchain Network
Founder
Pratik Gauri, Prateek Dwivedi, and Vilma Mattila
Founded
August 2021
Investors
SRAM & MRAM, GEM Global Yield LLC SCS (GGY), Launchpool, Sanctum Global Ventures
5ire is a London-based 5th generation Layer-1 (L1) blockchain network founded by Pratik Gauri and Prateek Dwivedi, who are of Indian origin, and with the help of web3 financier Vilma Mattila, in August 2021. 5ire aims to build a space in the web3 revolution, just like Google did in the case of web1 revolution and Facebook revolutionised the web2 space, mentioned the company CEO Pratik Gauri. The name “5ire” came from the idea of the 5th industrial revolution.
5ire raised $100 mn in Series A funding from UK-based conglomerate SRAM & MRAM at a valuation of $1.5 Bn to be listed as the 105th unicorn of India.
Shiprocket
Startup Name
Shiprocket
Headquarters
New Delhi, India
Industry
Ecommerce, Logistics, Supply Chain Management
Founders
Gautam Kapoor, Saahil Goel, Vishesh Khurana and Akshay Ghulati
Founded
2017
Investors
Tamesek Holdings, Lightrock, Bertelsmann, Moore Strategic Ventures
Products and Services
Ecommerce Logistics and Shipping Software, Courier Delivery App
Valuation
$1.2 billion (August 2022)
Shiprocket was founded in 2017 by Gautam Kapoor, Saahil Goel, Vishesh Khurana and Akshay Ghulati. The startup is a developer of an eCommerce shipping and enablement application and is headquartered in New Delhi. The platform makes use of a machine learning-based data engine to recommend the best courier service for a business and select a courier company. Apart from this, it offers benefits like packaging, warehousing, printing shipping labels, and tracking orders from a single panel. This helps the merchants and sellers to manage the deliveries smoothly.
The Zomato-backed logistics startup has become the 106thunicorn startup in India after raising $33.5 million from Temasek Holdings and Lightrock raising its valuation to $1.2 billion. This makes it the 21st Indian startup to turn unicorn in 2022.
Tata 1mg (formerly 1mg) was founded in the year 2015 by Prashant Tandon, Gaurav Agarwal, and Vikas Chauhan. The startup is headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana. It is an online drug delivery platform that intends to make healthcare more accessible and affordable. The platform is known to offer medicines and other healthcare products, lab tests, and online consultations from healthcare professionals. All this makes it a one-stop solution for all of the customers’ healthcare needs.
The Tata-owned health tech platform has become the 107th unicorn startup in India after raising $40 million in an internal round of funding led by Tata Digital, raising its valuation to $1.25 billion.
Molbio Diagnostics
Startup Name
Molbio Diagnostics
Headquarters
VERNA, Goa, India
Industry
HealthTech, MedTech
Founders
Chandrasekhar Nair, Sriram Natarajan
Founded
2010
Investors
Temasek Holdings, Motilal Oswal Private Equity
Products and Services
Medical Diagnostics, TB Diagnostic Tools, RT-PCR
Valuation
$1.53 (September 2022)
Molbio Diagnostics is a manufacturer of molecular diagnostics. The company was founded by Sriram Natarajan and Chandrasekhar Nair and is headquartered in Verna, Goa. It operates as a platform that specializes in providing affordable diagnoses for tuberculosis and other infectious diseases.
After raising $85 million from Temasek and existing investor Motilal Oswal Alternates, Molbio Diagnostics became India’s 108th unicorn startup in September 2022 and the first unicorn startup from Goa, increasing its valuation to $1.53 billion.
Zepto was founded by Kaivalya Vohra and Aadit Palicha, both Stanford students who decided to drop out of the university to pursue entrepreneurship. The startup was founded in 2021 and is headquartered in Mumbai. It is a quick commerce platform designed to deliver groceries to your doorstep within 10 minutes, ensuring convenient access to essential food items.
Zepto became India’s first unicorn in 2023 after a long 11-month unicorn drought. The startup raised $200 million in a Series E funding round led by StepStone Group with participation from Goodwater Capital and existing investors in August 2023. This funding round increased Zepto’s valuation to $1.4 billion, making it an exclusive member of the unicorn club.
Krutrim
Startup Name
Krutrim
Industry
Research Services
Founder
Bhavish Aggarwal
Founded
2023
Investors
Matrix Partners India and others
Valuation
$1 billion (January 2024)
Krutrim is an artificial intelligence startup launched by Ola founder and Chairman Bhavish Aggarwal in 2023. Krutrim AI is a part of the Ola group and is committed to building the entire AI computing stack for the future. It aims to provide an advanced AI computing stack for India, including infrastructure, cloud services, foundational models, and AI-powered applications. By offering a comprehensive AI computing stack tailored for the Indian market, Krutrim aims to empower consumers, startups, enterprises, and scientists with cutting-edge technology.
India’s own AI, Krutrim AI, raised $50 million at a valuation of $1 billion in a funding round led by Matrix Partners India and others. This not only makes Krutrim India’s first unicorn of 2024 but also represents a historic achievement as India gets its first artificial intelligence unicorn, marking it as Bhavish Aggarwal’s third unicorn startup.
Real-Time Credit Decisioning, Analytics, Onboarding Automation, SME Lending Solutions, and More
Valuation
$1 billion (March 2024)
Perfios Software Solutions is India’s leading B2B fintech software company. Headquartered in Bangalore, Perfios specializes in credit decisioning, analytics, and onboarding automation. Their core data platform seamlessly aggregates and analyzes both structured and unstructured data, providing tailored solutions for the BFSI sector. Perfios empowers financial institutions to make informed decisions while enhancing customer experiences across the banking, financial services, and insurance sectors.
Perfios raised $80 million from Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG), the late-stage venture and growth investment arm of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. This deal has raised Perfios’ valuation to $1 billion, making it a unicorn startup in India.
Porter
Startup Name
Porter
Headquarter
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Industry
Logistics, Transportation
Founder
Pranav Goel, Uttam Digga, Vikas Choudhary
Founded
2014
Investors
Tiger Global Management, Vitruvian Partners
Products and Services
Two-wheelers, Trucks, Packers and Movers, Porter for Enterprise, Courier Service
Valuation
$1 Billion (May 2024)
Porter is an online logistics marketplace that simplifies truck booking for businesses. They offer mini trucks and tempo rentals based on date and location, with real-time tracking for efficient logistics management.
Founded in 2014 by Pranav Goel, Uttam Digga, and Vikas Choudhary and headquartered in Bengaluru, Porter has disrupted logistics with its on-demand marketplace for LCVs, bikes, and specialised services like Enterprise and Packers & Movers.
Porter became the third unicorn startup in India in 2024 following a recent friends and family round, during which individuals purchased shares from the company’s employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) at a valuation of $1 billion. This came after a successful funding round in 2021, where Porter raised $100 million from investors like Tiger Global Management and Vitruvian Partners.
RateGain
Startup Name
RateGain Travel Technologies Limited
Headquarter
Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
Industry
SaaS, Travel Technology, Hospitality Solutions
Founder
Bhanu Chopra
Founded
2004
Investors
Pinebridge Global Funds, Troo Capital, ICICI Prudential MF, Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance
Products and Services
Hotel Distribution, Hotel Booking Engine, Travel-Intent, Competitor Pricing Intelligence
Valuation
$1 Billion
RateGain Travel Technologies Limited is a SaaS company in the travel and hospitality industry. It offers solutions for hotels, airlines, online travel agents, and more. Founded in 2004 by Bhanu Chopra, RateGain operates in over 100 countries.
In 2024, RateGain became the only listed company to reach unicorn status in India, with a valuation of $1 billion. Headquartered in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, the company helps businesses grow revenue through acquisition, retention, and wallet share expansion. It was one of the six companies that entered the Indian startup unicorn club in 2024.
Rapido
STARTUP NAME
Rapido
Headquarter
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Industry
Transportation, Mobility Tech
Founder
Aravind Sanka, Pavan Guntupalli, Rishikesh SR
Founded
2015
Investors
WestBridge Capital, Nexus Venture Partners
Products and Services
Bike Taxi Service, Auto Rickshaw Services
Valuation
$1 Billion (July 2024)
Rapido is India’s largest and fastest-growing bike taxi app service. Headquartered in Bengaluru, Rapido offers two-wheeler ride services with transparent fares, making intra-city travel and last-mile connectivity affordable and fun. The platform also includes app-based auto rickshaws and delivery services, quickly expanding into various transportation solutions.
Founded in 2015 by Aravind Sanka, Pavan Guntupalli, and Rishikesh SR, Rapido raised $120 million in a Series E funding round in July 2024, led by WestBridge Capital. This funding round boosted Rapido’s valuation to over a billion, making it a unicorn startup in India.
Ather Energy
Startup Name
Ather Energy
Headquarters
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Industry
Automotive, Electric vehicles, Motor Vehicle Manufacturing
Ather Energy is a leading electric two-wheeler manufacturer in India, headquartered in Bengaluru. The company is known for its innovative and eco-friendly scooters, including the Ather 450 series and Ather Rizta, which feature advanced lithium-ion battery packs and digital management systems. Ather Energy’s products are designed to offer a cleaner, smarter mode of transportation.
Founded in 2013 by Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain, Ather Energy secured $71 million in a funding round led by the existing investor National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) in August 2024. This funding round increased Ather Energy’s valuation to $1.3 billion, making it a unicorn startup in India.
Moneyview
Startup Name
Moneyview
Headquarters
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Industry
FinTech, Digital Lending, Personal Financial Management
Founder
Puneet Agarwal, Sanjay Aggarwal
Founded
2014
Investors
Accel India, Nexus Ventures, Tiger Global Management
Products and Services
Loans, Investments, Personal Finance Management Solutions, Smart Pay, Credit Tracker
Valuation
$1.2 Billion (September 2024)
Moneyview, a leading consumer lending platform, offers personalised financial products such as loans, credit tracking, investments, and personal financial management solutions. Headquartered in Bengaluru, the company enables users to access instant personal loans, track finances, and manage expenses through a seamless, paperless process.
Founded in 2014 by Puneet Agarwal and Sanjay Aggarwal, Moneyview became a unicorn startup in September 2024 after raising $4.6 million in a funding round from Accel India and Nexus Ventures, bringing its valuation to $1.2 billion.
Fleet Camera System, Driver•i One, Driver•i Hub-X, Driver Drowsiness with Driver Monitoring System (DMS) Sensor
Valuation
$1.34 Billion (January 2025)
Netradyne is a leading logistics AI startup, transforming fleet management with advanced technology. The company utilises artificial intelligence, machine learning, and edge computing to enhance driver safety by minimising accidents, identifying risky driving behaviours, and shielding drivers from false claims. Its flagship product, Driver•i, collects and analyses vast amounts of data to set new safety standards for commercial vehicles, helping businesses enhance safety, boost profitability, and build a driver-focused culture.
Founded in 2015 by Avneesh Agrawal, Netradyne became India’s first unicorn of 2025 in January after securing $90 million in a Series D funding round led by Point72 Private Investments, alongside Qualcomm Ventures and Pavilion Capital, bringing its valuation to$1.34 billion.
Former Indian Unicorn Companies
India has seen many unicorn companies to date and the above list containing is a testament to that. However, if you wonder about the total number of unicorns in India, then the numbers would be even more than what reflects in the list above because many of the unicorn companies in the country have either gone defunct or devalued thus, lost their unicorn status. Here’s remembering the prominent ones among them:
Quikr is a Bengaluru-based Indian online marketplace and classified advertising company that was founded in 2008 by Pranay Chulet. Quikr boasts of having its listings in over 1000 cities in India across a wide range of product categories including cars, mobile phones, household products, education, jobs, services, and more.
The online classified ads major was valued at over $1.5 billion on October 8, 2015. However, the company lost its unicorn status in February 2020.
Started as a social media instant messaging app, Hike Messenger was beyond a craze when it first launched. It was the time when Whatsapp was launched recently in India and was far from gaining the popularity that it is currently known for. Kavin Bharti Mitta, who was the founder and CEO of Hike, founded the company in December 2012.
Hike raised $175 million in a Series D funding round, which valued the startup at $1.4 billion in just under 3.7 years in August 2016, thereby becoming the then youngest startup in India to achieve the feat!
However, the company saw a massive drop in its revenue as Whatsapp rapidly rose to fame and dominated the market. The company tried some strategies to lift its brand value. It even tried a sticker-centric experience by rebranding itself as Hike Sticker Chat in April 2019. The company finally announced its shutdown on January 15, 2021.
ShopClues was founded by Sanjay Sethi, Radhika Aggarwal, and Sandeep Aggarwal in 2011 and has claimed to be India’s first and largest managed marketplace. It was once a promising company with over 2.5 crore listed products and 6,00,000+ merchants. Shopclues also turned into a unicorn back in 2016 and was hailed as the fourth unicorn startup in India. However, ShopClues has slowly and steadily collapsed from being a promising unicorn to an also-ran by the company and was finally sold to Singapore-based Qoo10 Pte Ltd at a valuation of just $70-100 million in an all-stock deal.
FAQs
What is the meaning of a Unicorn startup?
Startups with a valuation of over $1 Billion are known as Unicorns.
How many unicorn startups are there in India in 2024?
As of September 2024, there are 117 unicorns in India.
Which are the top Indian unicorns?
Some of the top unicorns that India boasts of today are:
Zomato
Nykaa
PolicyBazaar
OYO
Ola
Paytm
Swiggy
BYJU’S
FirstCry
Lenskart
Freshworks
Moglix
Nykaa
Swiggy
Pine Labs
BlackBuck
Which is India’s first unicorn startup?
InMobi, a Bangalore-based multinational mobile advertising technology company, founded in 2007 is the first to enter the unicorn club. InMobi became the first unicorn in 2011.
Is Nykaa a unicorn?
Nykaa entered the unicorn club in 2020.
Which country has the most unicorns?
The United States is at the top of the list with over 650 unicorns as of August 2023.
What is the obsession with unicorn startups?
Unicorn startups boast of their valuation, which has crossed the $1 billion mark, and are always at the edge of their gameplay. The companies grouped in as unicorns are forever in competition with each other, and always stand as inspirational figures for the rest of the startups and other budding companies.
How many companies turn unicorns?
Though startups are everywhere now around us, as per the recently conducted surveys, 9 out of every 10 startups fail. Therefore, being a successful startup and turning it into a unicorn is always difficult for startups. AngelList says that a venture-backed seed-stage startup has a 1 in 40 shot, which is equivalent to a 2.5% chance of achieving unicorn status today.
Is Zerodha a unicorn?
Yes, Zerodha entered the unicorn club in 2020 with a valuation of about $1 billion.
Which Indian startups became unicorns in 2020?
Pine Labs
FirstCry
Nykaa
Unacademy
Zerodha
Razorpay
Postman
Cars24
Dailyhunt
Glance, InMobi, and more.
Which Indian startups became unicorns in 2021?
BrowserStack
Moglix
PharmEasy
CRED
Meesho
Urban Company
Digit Insurance
Groww
Gupshup
Chargebee
Zeta
Infra.Market
Innovaccer
Five Star Business Finance
Licious
Vedantu and more.
How many startups turned unicorns in India in 2024?
As of September 2024, six startups turned unicorns including Krutrim, Perfios, Porter, Rapido, Ather Energy, and Moneyview.
What are the Indian companies that turned unicorns in 2022?
The Indian companies that turned unicorns in 2022 are:
When we talk about our present, Social Media is one of the prime things out there, that made a place in our life. There is hardly anyone who is not on social media. People use them to post about their daily life updates, consume entertainment, stay connected with acquaintances, and whatnot. In this scenario, one Indian decided to find a social media platform that would change the way Indians perceive social media.
Ankush Sachdeva is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Co-Founder of the Indian social media platforms, Sharechat and Moj,which were launched in 2015, and 2020 respectively. He supervises both the companies’ growth strategy and examines product development. Ankush Sachdeva is the Founder of Mohalla Tech Private Limited firm which owns Sharechat and Moj. Sharechat has over 180 million monthly active users and the app supports 15 Indian languages.
Ankush completed his primary education at Somerville School, Noida. He pursued B.Tech in Computer Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur. He also was an intern at Microsoft Hyderabad for three months.
Ankush Sachdeva – Professional Life
The man whose inspiration was likes of He has been a part of the Programming Club of his college. He was a coordinator in the programming team for one year. Ankush Sachdeva is a computer programmer and entrepreneur who is the founder of two companies.
Ankush with his IIT Kanpur friends, Bhanu Pratap Singh and Farid Ahsan, founded Mohalla Private Pvt. Ltd., which launched Sharechat in 2015. All three friends had a common passion for product development and product management, thus they came to work hand in hand and try something new. First of all, they tried to develop 14 to 16 products, including a crime data analyzer for the Delhi Police Department. This does not help them in gaining impactful results. The trio finally took their first step towards success when they propelled their social media platform, Sharechat.
Mohalla Tech also launched Moj, which is a video-sharing app in the year 2020, the app experienced good popularity after the ban of TikTok.
Initially, Ankush served as the Co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Sharechat for around two years. He later became the co-founder and CEO of Sharechat. He is holding his CEO position for the last few years.
Ankush Sachdeva – Mohalla Tech
Ankush Sachdeva established the parent company, Mohalla Tech Private Limited in 2015, which launched Sharechat and Moj. The company eventually got bigger after projecting the Indian social networking sites, Sharechat and Moj.
Mohalla Tech acquired various companies including,
Transversal Tech, a short video-sharing platform
Elanic, an online fashion marketplace
Memer, a meme discovery and sharing platform
Circle Internet, a hyperlocal information platform
Ankush has been escorting various ideas to make Sharechat a leading social media network in India.
Ankush Sachdeva – Sharechat
ShareChat Logo
Ankush has been a part of Sharechat since the beginning. Sharechat allows users to share content from varied digital platforms to its own interface and vice versa. After 17 unsuccessful startup attempts, Ankush Sachdeva teamed up with his two friends from IIT, Farid Ahsan, and Bhanu Singh, for his 18th venture. Together, they launched the ShareChat app in October 2015.
Sharechat is an Indian social networking site that provides content consumption and video-sharing platforms only in Indian vernacular languages. The headquarters of the company is in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Currently, 600 employees work for the company.
Currently, it offers its services in 15 Indian languages including Hindi, Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, Haryanvi, Kannada, Rajasthani, Assamese, Bhojpuri, Odia and Urdu. The company aims to empower individuals by escorting them to share their experiences, voice their opinions, build relevant communities, and discover new trends and opportunities in their native language. The app scrolls down the use of English and encourages users to interact in their language by sharing varied content through Sharechat.
As of 2024, the valuation of the company has dropped by 60% to under $2 billion from a $5 billion valuation in 2022. The company joined the Unicorn Club a long time ago.
Moj founded by Ankush Sachdeva, Bhanu Pratap Singh, and Farid Ahsan in 2020 is a video-sharing platform packed with features like special effects, emoticons, stickers, and short videos ranging from 15 seconds to one minute across categories like dance, travel, singing, acting, humor, and education. Available in 16 languages, including Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, and more, Moj allows users to download videos and caters to diverse audiences.
Launched soon after the Indian government banned TikTok, Moj gained over 100 million downloads within just six months.
He won several honors and awards during his academic career. The following awards were won by him:
He received the first position at TechOlympics, in the Algorithmic Programming Contest held at IIT Bombay’s annual technical festival.
He received the first position at BattleCity, where he developed AI for the Tron game for an online bot versus bot-competition held at the annual technical festival of IIT Kanpur.
He won the Jury’s Choice Award at Yahoo HackU 2012 for developing an Android app within 24 hours to toggle the user’s ringing mode from loud to silent depending on his location preferences and accelerometer data.
He won the ACM ICPC Asia Regionals in December 2012.
Ankush Sachdeva was also listed on Forbes’30 under 30 Asia in 2018.
Ankush Sachdeva is the youngest entrepreneur featured in the inaugural ‘2024 Hurun India Under35s‘ list.
FAQs
Who is Ankush Sachdeva?
Ankush Sachdeva is the co-founder and CEO of ShareChat and Moj.
What is Ankur Sachdeva age?
Born in 1992, Ankush is 32 years old (2024).
Who founded ShareChat?
ShareChat was founded by Ankush Sachdeva along with Farid Ahsan and Bhanu Singh.
Is Moj under Mohalla Tech?
Moj is under Mohalla Tech, it is a video-sharing and content-creating app.
How many languages does ShareChat allow its audience to use?
ShareChat allows 15 languages for its audience to use.
This article is contributed by Ms. Pritika Singh, CEO, Prayag Hospital & Research Pvt. Ltd.
Despite the sword of Covid-19 hanging above our head and living with our ‘new Normal’, 2021 saw some revolutionary change in the startup industry all over the world. Almost every industry experienced a boom in a number of successful startups throughout the year. In this run, India is not far away. In fact, the year 2021 turned out to be a substantial one for Indian start-ups and entrepreneurs. India saw a monumental rise of 46 businesses that achieved unicorn status. Out of the total, 95 unicorns so far in India, 44 achieved that status in 2021 only.
Women Entrepreneurs in India
This news deserves a massive celebration, and the fact that India now has 13 female unicorn founders, 8 of which joined the list in 2021, makes the deal even sweeter. The path paved and led by the likes of business stalwarts like Kiran Mazumdar Shaw (Chairperson of Biocon), Indra Nooyi (former Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo.), and Falguni Nayyar (founder and CEO of Nykaa) is attracting more women business leaders to lead from the front and it is just the start.
Representation from names like Gazal Kalra (Founder of Rivigo), Ruchi Kalra (Founder of OfBusiness), Saritha Katikaneni (Founder of Zenoti), Ruchi Deepak (Founder of ACKO Insurance), Rashmi Verma (Founder of MapmyIndia), Garima Sawhney (Founder of Pristyn Care), Kavitha Subramaniam (Founder of Upstox), and Upasana Taku (Founder of MobiKwik), has proved that women entrepreneurs are here to stay. Not only that, but they are also shattering glass ceilings and carving a niche for themselves in industries like healthcare, science, and technology, the industries that are mostly populated and usually associated with men. These are still only the names of some female unicorn founders; thousands of stories are still untold of the women who are redefining businesses in these segments in their own way.
Struggles that Women Entrepreneurs Faces
The breakthrough of these women entrepreneurs is the much-needed silver lining, but this transformation is far from its completion yet. There is still a long way to go. And now that we are celebrating this breakthrough of sorts, it makes sense to underline the hardships and struggles that woman entrepreneurs face at large.
Societal Challenges
The societal design has kept women from stepping out of their homes and taking professional responsibility for the longest time. Despite all being said and done, when a woman eventually steps out of her home to work, her journey is quite distinguished from their male counterparts. Literary legends like Maya Angelou have also raised such issues of motherhood, marriage, and the challenges of being a working woman in society. Men have the liberty of switching off from their work after and before office hours, but sadly, women are devoid of that option. When a lady chooses to work at a job or a business, they meet an exclusive set of challenges. These include taking care of the home as well as their professional responsibilities. Such systematic design ends up burdening women even more instead of liberating them. There is always this added onus of striking a work-life balance and navigating home and office responsibilities onto these women. Despite all challenges, if we are witnessing so many women entrepreneurs and leaders on the rise, it proves that they excel at tackling them.
Less of Capital
When it comes to women founders, discrimination still exists in the form of the financial aid that they receive. Though women have proved themselves time and again to be as capable as their male counterparts in all respects in terms of businesses, the investors still find it difficult to believe they can lead an organization and this disbelief often leads to diminishing funds.
Reduced Support and Mentorship
Support from advisors and mentors always proves to be effective when it comes to business. However, as far as the women founders are concerned, they were still underprivileged in terms of the support they receives from advisors. According to the last survey, over 48% of the female entrepreneurs stated that the lack of support was prominent during their career and this lack of advisors restrained their growth massively.
Lack of Networking Opportunities
Women are always underestimated in every section of society even in this very millennia that we are living. This is why they seem to be forever lacking in networking opportunities and are always kept aside from their male counterparts. A proper network in the field of business or rather the lack of it can certainly set two persons wide apart.
Pressure from All Sides
Time and again, the debate surfaces that a woman has to work twice as much as their male peers to attain even remotely comparable recognition, remuneration, and other perks. They must prove them constantly, which pushes them to work harder. As a result, they have no other option but to give their best every single day. Women also excel at taking criticism and feedback. They are also better at multi-tasking, listening, and observing. Such qualities combine to make these women excel at their work in several aspects.
Women Leaders in Different Sectors
It is the result of these qualities, perseverance, and passion that has established these ladies as leaders. Today, women are breaking the barriers of traditional moulds and making their names in medicine, technology, healthcare, and science. The women are now redefining the rules of the game. Better yet, they are even deciding the new rules by themselves.
The camaraderie amongst the female workforce and a commitment to supporting each other is what’s helping them emerge out as the real champions. A doctor, lawyer, scientist, teacher, entrepreneur, or any role, the ladies are here to stay and lead the game from the front. We should not be surprised if 2022 presents 30 female unicorn founders instead of the current 13, especially since we have witnessed the event once.
Conclusion
It doesn’t matter what type of industry it is going to be, women leaders are going to conquer them all and they have already started to spread their wings in almost all of them. It’s just the beginning of something great and we will witness the rise of some of the greatest women entrepreneurs in the coming years. Here, one thing is for sure that the women, as they are and always have been on the receiving end of the brunt, will be coming out as more seasoned and indomitable players in the long run.
FAQ
Who is the Most Successful Woman Entrepreneur in India?
Vandana Luthra, the founder of VLCC is said to be one of the most successful woman entrepreneurs in India.
Who is the First Woman Entrepreneur in India?
Kalpana Saroj is said to be the first woman entrepreneur in India. She is the Chairperson of Kamani Tubes.
Who is the Youngest Female Entrepreneur in India?
Aditi Gupta, the founder of Menstrupedia is one of the youngest female entrepreneurs in India.
How many unicorns in India have Women Entrepreneurs?
Currently, around 13 unicorns in India have women entrepreneurs leading them.
Which Indian startup achieved its unicorn status in 2021 and is led by a woman?
OfBusiness is a startup that joined the unicorn club in 2021 and is led by a woman.
2021 was one year full of events. This was the year when the pandemic did not come to an end. It was the year when the vaccines started to pick up the pace. Not only the pandemic stayed but it transformed into many forms and variants. We were confined to our homes and were still connected with the help of technology.
This was the year when we saw how crucial healthcare workers really are. We learnt how to honour them. We learnt ways to heal, and we shared the ways we found. We learnt how we can be alone and together with everyone at the same time. We rediscovered that we can overcome anxiety to rise above our shortcomings. We learnt how to smile under our masks and how to appreciate friends and family and life. We learnt how to hit back from the setback.
All these things happened in 2021, and now it is almost the end of the year. India too shared the pain and heals with the whole world. We too joined hands and faced the pandemic with courage. There was one new event that we witnessed this year and that set the tone for the rest of the year. The event we all saw was the uprising ‘valuations of startups’.
The Indian startup ecosystem saw unicorns from all directions, it was quite literally raining valuations. Companies raised a lot of capital, reached huge valuations and made a mark in this unusual year. This is the time for a startup rewind. Let us see back on this eventful year and bid farewell. This article entails everything that happened in our Indian startup ecosystem this year. First, the basics and then the technicalities, read on to witness glory.
There are many jargons that go without saying in the business world. One of the most (considered) prestigious words is Unicorn. A unicorn refers to a startup (A company) that is privately held and reaches or over a valuation of 1 billion dollars. The term was first officially coined in 2013 by Aileen Lee, a venture capitalist.
She chose the mythical creature (It does not exist in reality) ‘Unicorn’ to represent the rarity of such immense successful ventures. When Aileen coined the term ‘Unicorn’, there existed about thirty-nine companies that deserved to be called unicorns.
If we look at CB insights, we will find that there exist about 803 unicorns as of august 2021. If we sort the list of all unicorns on the basis of scale, the top tier will be reserved by ByteDance, SpaceX and Stripe. Some of them have already achieved valuations of 10 billion dollars like SpaceX and Stripe. They are to be called ‘Decacorns’.
Indian Startup Ecosystem in 2021 – A look back
This year was the year of many firsts, this year we saw many things that were never done before. America chose its first female vice president, NASA touched the sun for the first time ever, space tourism became a reality, and India won its first gold medal in the athletics category.
Neeraj Chopra Gold medal in Javelin Throw
Alongside all the worldly business, our country India saw something unusual in the startup ecosystem. We saw a boom of unicorns and many firsts in these many categories too. India witnessed the first health tech unicorn “Innovaccer”, the first social commerce unicorn “Meesho” and the first electronic pharmacy unicorn “PharmEasy”. These were the firsts (types) unicorns in their respective fields that India saw this year.
Well, startups are quite always the trailblazers for technology and innovation they bring to society but apart from these above mentioned ‘Firsts’, do you know how many Indian Startups became a unicorn?
The Indian startup ecosystem saw 33 startups that came under the definition of a Unicorn. That means in just twelve months, India produced something like three dozen unicorns in the country. This stunning number definitely improved India’s status in the world.
Moreover, India displaced the UK to become the third top country to have a flourishing startup hosting ecosystem. The cumulative valuations of these unicorns go over the value of 33 billion dollars and that is a new record in itself. The UK on the other hand produced 15 unicorns.
India now is ahead of the UK, France, Israel, Brazil, Canada and South Korea, on the list of top startup hosting countries. It added many unicorns, led by the online educator BYJU’S (worth the US $21 Billion), Mobile ad tech InMobi (the US $12 Billion), and travel stay finder (the US $9.5 billion). There are 33 stories to be celebrated. We will talk a little about some of them. Let us read the most glorious and biggest startups of the year for the Indian startup ecosystem.
BYJU’S (Education + Technology)
BYJU’S is an “ed-tech” platform which simply means the amalgamation of education and technology. It is one of the world’s leading ed-tech companies providing learning programs for students in LKG, UKG, classes One to twelve (K-12) and competitive exams like JEE, NEET and IAS. The mobile app uses a mix of video lessons and interactive tools to personalise learning for every student.
It has a valuation of about 21 billion US dollars. That is a massive number. The company is also in talks for a listing in the United States. It is expected that if the listing is successful, BYJU’S valuation will jump from 21 billion dollars to a whopping 48 billion dollars. It is headquartered in Bengaluru.
It is not just India’s topmost startup in terms of valuation but it is also one of the most valued ed-tech platforms in the whole world. BYJU’S has had and still has, a great growing perspective in India but the plans of this ed-tech giant is deviating a bit.
The company is planning to enter the United States and then on to other English speaking international markets. It tends to believe that these countries (like the United States) have a large untapped demand for a merger in the field of education and technology. These are developed countries with an already built strong payment infrastructure and the willingness to pay a fee. The subscription business model of BYJU’S, hopes for better demand and a better future in these outside countries.
It is here to be noted that it is not going to be easy. Conquering the education and technology amalgamation is a herculean task. That too in a foreign land where technology is already developed and flourishing. So, fighting in a market that is already a place of the target for many corporations will be difficult. The expansion is still in talks but the effect it has on India is nothing short of remarkable.
InMobi (Mobile Marketing platform)
Going by the most amount of valuations, InMobi lies second in this list. It is the country’s second most valued startup. It is valued at 12 billion dollars. Inmobi is based out of the most favourite city for startups, is Bengaluru. It is a mobile advertising platform that helps others in optimising the ranks of the advertisements which run primarily on mobile phones.
InMobi has raised a total of $320.6M in funding over seven rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Jan 1, 2019, from a Venture-Series Unknown round. InMobi is funded by six investors. Lightbox and Tennenbaum Capital Partners are the most recent investors. InMobi has acquired 10 organisations. Their most recent acquisition was Appsumer on Oct 13, 2021.
InMobi has invested in NestAway on Mar 16, 2015. This investment – Seed Round – NestAway – was valued at $1.2M. InMobi has raised a total of $25M in a single venture fund, InMobi Indie Game Developers. This fund was announced on Jul 24, 2014, and raised a total of $25M. Data is sourced from Crunchbase.
One of the most interesting facts about InMobi is that it is India’s first Unicorn. Yes, it is true. In 2011, the startup was provided with a cheque of 200 million dollars from SoftBank and thus it became the first-ever unicorn startup in India.
The future of this advertisement focussed startup is quite interesting. According to the March 2021 news, the company InMobi is planning for an IPO in the United States at a value of up to 15 billion dollars. After being founded in 2007, and becoming the first-ever unicorn in India, it is seen as a hopeful venture. It is also seen as the torchbearer of the unicorn league that started after this company entered the $1 billion mark of valuation. The company also has a subsidiary named “Glance”, which also turned a unicorn in the pandemic year, 2020. What the future holds for this venture, is yet to be seen, for now, it is expanding as much as possible.
OYO Rooms (Hotels and technology)
Ritesh Agrawal, a 19-year-old college drop-out released the nightmares of a traveller for an affordable place to stay in and then decided to develop an Airbnb inspired online homestay service. Spotting a perfect opportunity in the then unorganised hotel market, which was worth less than $7 billion, he founded OYO Rooms in 2013. 24-year-old Ritesh Agarwal had the solution to a backpacker’s ordeal of unpleasant surprises to horrors of the “budgeted” hotels is a booking app that promises clean, affordable and branded hotels.
OYO is a global travel technology company. The aim of this company is to help people find hotels and staying locations. It also works as a connection between patrons and guests. It was founded by Ritesh Agrawal and the startup is based out of Gurgaon (Now gurugram), Haryana, India. The company now has about 10,000 employees as of now.
The startup is financed through debt and is a privately held company. OYO has been able to raise about 4.5 billion dollars up till now and has made twenty-seven investors interested with their money in the venture. Let us see through the facts and figures that shaped the hotel retail chain OYO, here in the next para we discuss the founding and funding of this startup,
OYO has raised a total of $4.6 billion in funding over 21 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Dec 16, 2021, from a Debt Financing round. OYO has invested in OYO LIFE on Oct 30, 2018. This investment – Funding Round – OYO LIFE – was valued at ¥8.3B. OYO is funded by 27 investors. Microsoft and Värde Partners are the most recent investors. OYO has acquired a total of about 7 organisations. Their most recent acquisition was Danamica on Sep 2, 2019. They acquired Danamica for $10M.
Investments Analysis for the year 2021 (Investments behind valuations)
The Indian startup ecosystem saw a noticeable record on investments this rather unusual year. The startup ecosystem has witnessed an investment of $36 billion in privately held companies this year. This investment trend can be seen making sense as the demand for digitisation has grown many many folds amid the Covid 19 pandemic.
This year, the opus of seed-stage deals dominated nearly 396 deals aggregating to a value of 705 million dollars. Moreover, the number stood at 166 Investments at the “Series A” round of funding, which amounted to about 1.67 billion dollars. This is the data up till the 20th of December. It is to be carefully noted that most of the majority of the investments were in the direction of the IPOs that were listed in the year 2021. It was directed to the pre-initial public offering and nuanced rounds in companies like Zomato, PolicyBazaar, Ola and Paytm. If we count and add the top ten deals or investments, we will get the number 5.58 billion dollars.
In addition to the number of deals of investments, Indian startups also raised more than normal. Normal here refers to the compared rounds of the previous years that were preceding 2021. Startups raised much more than they normally do, this is quite unusual. Which matches the theme of the whole of the unusual year that we faced.
Risk capital funds stepped up the game to take bigger and bigger bets on high growth companies. Interestingly, they put all that risk of investing capital in these companies very early in time. This resulted in companies getting more and more valuations. These higher valuations inflated the worth of these newborn businesses and led the way of doubling and even tripling their value in each successive funding round.
VC Deals in India By Year
The graph above clearly shows the enthusiasm in investment deals this year. We can notice that venture capital deals in India are rising. The number is not even steady, it is mostly a jump. After a little slump in the year 2020, it picked up the pace again like before. Not only the pace and rapidness but the volume and magnitude grew too.
The aggregate value of deals that happened tripled from what it was in the initial year of the pandemic. The second year in pandemic saw an average deal of almost 33 million dollars. Such a jump in average deals proves the point that investors and Venture capital funds are bullish on companies. This year they took more risk in hope of expected future returns.
“Valuations are a reflection of an investor’s exit expectations. 2021 has proven the full venture cycle for India. Some fabulous exits like Zomato, Nykaa, PolicyBazaar and others have increased exit size expectations, and consequently the valuations,” said Alok Goyal, founder and investment partner at Stellaris Venture Partners, an early-stage VC firm.
He also sounded a cautionary note while pointing out that
“markets have a habit of overreacting on both sides – in bull and bear cycles. We are seeing a bull cycle reaction right now and (won’t) be surprised if there is a bearish overcorrection in the future.”
Many companies like Fintech startup, Cred, OfBusiness, Groww, Cars24, Licious, Spinny, InfraMarket, Good Glamm Group and Pristyn Care were among the firms whose valuations grew manifold in the last year.
Number of VC Deals in India in 2021
“Through 2021 we experienced a strong positive shift in the quality of founding teams, depth of markets, unit economics and exit opportunities via public markets. As a result, investors across stages felt comfortable writing larger cheques and taking more risk,” said Vaibhav Agrawal, partner at Lightspeed India, which has backed new unicorns of 2021 like ShareChat and Apna Co.
Seed VC Deals in India by Year
The above graph is the graph showing Seed Venture capital deals in India over the years. The number of capital deals was rising until a halt in 2020, that too got over and the growth continued in 2021. However, if we look at the average deal size, we can clearly see a good amount of growth. The average investment deal we saw was about 2.5 million dollars, which is the highest over the years preceding 2021. With this trend in the average deal size, aggregate deal value also grew to 700 from 400 in the year 2020.
With all this capital at ease and in their bank account, startups have been able to execute their strategies and thus are able to grow more than ever in the past twelve months. Moreover, they are seeking listing not only in our big nation but even in the foreign developed and technology-rich lands.
More and more investments are enabling them to grow both vertically and geographically. Most investors said that sectors that dominated 2021 like web3/ crypto, SaaS, direct-to-consumer or D2C brands and tech, business-to-business (B2B) commerce, edtech and healthcare will continue to attract funding next year as well.
“ Cycles will come and go, but the important takeaway here is that Indian entrepreneurs have access to the equity needed to get closer to their vision of being market leaders,” said Pranav Pai, cofounder, 3one4 Capital, an early-stage venture fund with investments in Licious and Koo.
“They are also taking this opportunity to strengthen balance sheets and prepare for the resilience needed to face a correction when it comes,” he added.
Today, most mature startups have dedicated corporate development teams and an exit by sale is a real option for founders now, according to Kashyap Chanchani, managing partner, The Rainmaker Group, a Mumbai-based investment bank. “Till two years ago a majority of M&As would have been out of distress and lack of options,” he said.
Some time ago, we feared that the covid 19 pandemic will impact and eventually affect the listings this year. We were surprised by startups as if they were ready for the magic trick. Initial public offerings were not in the options for startups this year but 2021 changed that.
This year we witnessed monumental shifts in how technology-led businesses expand at the maximum. Smaller startups like gaming firm Nazara Technologies went public this year but it was food delivery from Zomato’s Rs 9,000-crore IPO that really set the stage for at least half-a-dozen top-league startups seeking an IPO in India.
Country
No. of Unicorns
USA
487 (+254)
China
301 (+74)
India
54 (+33)
UK
39 (+15)
Germany
26 (+16)
France
19 (+12)
Israel
17 (+9)
Canada
15 (+12)
The above list is the list containing “Top countries and cities where the world’s unicorns are based out of”. We can see India is ranked third in this list of countries. It has added 33 new unicorns in this year alone.
City
No. of Unicorns
San Francisco
151(+83)
Beijing
91(-2)
New York
85(+52)
Shangai
71(+24)
Shenzhen
32(+12)
London
31(+15)
Bengaluru
28(+20)
Hangzhou
22(+2)
The top cities where the Unicorns are based are also listed. San Francisco is the top tier city where startups foster growth the most. SF is the home of the startup world, the presence of Silicon Valley makes it a very favourable place to be.
If we move down on the list and see the number 7, it is Bengaluru, the startup hub of India. Later in the list, we can also see Gurugram and Mumbai. All these cities because of their business environment and with the help of the government have turned out to be a growth nest for new-age startups.
Industry
No.of Unicorns
% of Total Value
FinTech
139
19.5%
SaaS
134
10.4%
E-commerce
122
8.4%
AI
84
6.0%
HealthTech
80
4.7%
Cyber Security
40
2.5%
The above list is an excerpt that we are linking to our blog. We can see that FinTech (Finance and technology) has incorporated the most number of unicorns. Not to mention that technology has occupied a huge part of our daily life amid the pandemic. This can be safely assumed as the reason why technology has grown at this pace.
During the pandemic, people began questioning a lot of things like their finances and the security that they get from money and the likes. Thus, these questions and the revelation of the fact that life is fragile led to the growth in people investing their money into stocks. We can safely say that people began thinking long term because of the pandemic. The second and third rank is held by SAAS (Software as a service) and E-commerce startups, which too is crucial to normal life in the pandemic.
Unicorns Founded by Indians (Abroad)
We read about the data about startups that went on to become unicorns in Indian borders or boundaries, but Indians won’t stop here. There are some startups that are helmed by Indians that went unicorns outside of the Indian borders.
Indians now can be seen running about 119 unicorns in India and around the world. This cumulative number contains 54 unicorns that are in India and 65 outside Indian borders. Let us talk about a few unicorns that are either founded by Indians or who have at least one co-founder who is an Indian.
Instacart – Instacart is an on-demand delivery startup based in the United States.
Clip – Clip is a finance technology (Fintech) company based out of Mexico. It is founded by an Indian,
Improbable – gaming company based out of the United Kingdom.
Moglix – E-commerce platform based out of Singapore.
Determining Valuations
When we think about valuations, we might think about some graphs and numbers and more data and more numbers. Well, you are right, it is number crunching and data drives but there is one more aspect to it, the story behind the data. And oftentimes the story enjoys more space than numbers. There are three things that need to be kept in mind,
Valuation is simple, we choose to make it complex.
Every valuation has a narrative behind it. A good valuation is more about the story than about the numbers. When valuations go bad, it’s not because of the numbers, it’s because of biases, uncertainty and complexity.
When valuations go bad, it’s not because of the numbers, it’s because of biases, uncertainty and complexity
Why we are seeing a surge in Unicorns (What explains India’s Unicorn boom ?)
It was a wonderful year for the Indian startup ecosystem. It is really interesting to see that in an unusual year like 2021, startups were able to get impressive valuations. Not only impressive valuations but they were able to become unicorns with a worth of over a billion dollars. This requires an explanation. Let us see how these new businesses with literally no past record of profit-making are even able to hold great valuations. Let us see the most expected view that the experts are saying.
Technology Sector Uprising
Before the pandemic started in the year 2020, India was a developing nation (still is). India was adapting to the major shifts in the sector of technology and slowly but surely was on the path of making the new behaviour (of using technology on a regular and normal basis) a reality.
At that time, there was a chief technological officer in almost every Indian household, who was under the age of 20 and above 12. That person was the chief in the technology sector of the house. He/She was the person if the other members of the home (who are not that tech-savvy) wanted any sort of help in that domain.
As the pandemic hit, everything came to a standstill and our dependence on technology grew manifolds. This growth made the public procure more and more technology in houses all over the country.
The CTO of the house also became the chief procurement officer for the household. As the reliance on technology became broader and broader, people became more used to it. We are seeing a massive change in consumer behaviour, and we don’t think that the change is irreversible.
Now, it has been about two full years in the pandemic and the need for technology has not slowed. It has risen and only risen in the past year. This rise in the usage of technology has made possible such growth trends in this unusual year.
Each and every business, or startup has become a technology business, without them realising this thing. Today even before anything, they want to work on the technology behind the company, because they know that it will be the face of the company in the future. The future is already here.
Cheaper Accessibility to technology
The lockdown and the fact that people spent most of their time at home has led to more technology boost. We have used technology for quite everything except a few things. Phones and laptops were seen as the most important technological devices in a household. We attended virtual meetings, went on to more virtual meets, dated on our phones and ordered food from our mobiles.
This dependence has led to a huge demand for not only the technology sector but the wearable sector as well. The cheaper accessibility of smartphones and the wide range of tech devices has also led to a boost in this technology race. This race has opened the door for a fully digital economy that India will become in the upcoming years. This boost in technology has enabled a new playground for startups and thus, we see huge and handsome valuations and of course “Unicorns”
Thriving Payments ecosystem
Led by Paytm and Google pay, India is paying digitally. We are using net banking, Unified payments interface or UPI, credit cards, debit cards and all sorts of things to make our payments easy and convenient. This has led to startups expanding their respective user bases. This has also led to the digital and cashless and paperless economy that the government of India supports.
A thriving payments infrastructure also has led to growth in the valuations of startups. The reason is the fact that as paying someone becomes easy and it alters the behaviour of people transacting something, it boosts it.
A good and smooth payment gateway also lubricates the payments made to a business. This lubrication has penetrated every business in this tech-savvy India and led to more and more payments. As paying becomes easier and business transactions become more and more accessible, startups are able to maintain a healthy user base and even they are able to increase their user base in the previous year.
This increase in user base and the loyalty customers show startups are able to generate some income that proves the point of investing in them. Thus, they get more and more money from investors and Venture capitalists as they are able to see and witness a good and healthy user base.
Digital-first approach
Every business, be it a newborn startup or a 100 year old national or a multinational company, eerie business is operating with a target of a “Digital-first approach”. Going by this approach, the businesses are starting to maintain and take their online business very seriously and make their digital hand the strongest among all. This will not only help in maintaining that already established user base but it will also help them to establish themselves as a brand in this technology world.
Moreover, it is online and in the digital space than in the offline space that people discover new businesses to get their work done. Thus, digital businesses are also good at generating new customers from zero. This has also helped startups to establish themselves as a trustworthy investment for both venture capitalists and potential customers.
IPOs of startups
This year we all have witnessed that startups that are relatively young than that of established brands went ahead and listed themselves. They had, what we call an Initial public offering in financial terms. IPOs of Zomato and Paytm proved the might of these young startups.
Venture capitalists used to invest in tech companies. The reason behind that is that software is easy to scale, In fact, the software is the most scalable thing in the whole world. Softwares and digital assets can give you returns as much as 10X a year in some cases.
Now, as we all know that pandemic accelerated that trend of dependence on software and led to our more use of technology on a daily basis. When everything came to a halt, like restaurants, retail businesses and theatres and other businesses, the only sector that shined through that rough phrase was the technology sector. This is why capitalists and investors invested their money in tech businesses because it is the hottest available option of investment right now and possibly in the future as well.
Future Predictions of Indian Startup Ecosystem
The future is going to be interesting at this pace. We don’t know when this cycle of great valuation will stop and it is hard to tell. The pandemic taught everyone that technology is the sector that is the best for investments. The best way and most efficient way to invest in technology is through the hands of venture capitalists. This is the trend that we saw recently in the pandemic years. We can safely and surely say that technology is going to be something that will drive growth in the future.
If we talk about the future predictions, then boss, it is on the positive side of the slope. As things get normal, people will resume working on their laptops and smartphones. This pandemic altered the behaviour of people from all over India, also the whole of the world saw a change in behaviour.
Some are saying that these valuations are just vanity metrics and some are promoting the fact that Indians will run the world and tech is the next big thing (already is). Some are even thinking of a correction in the market that the market will correct itself in the future time to come. Some are also saying that it is a unicorn bubble. What is a unicorn bubble? let us find out,
A unicorn company is one that is valued at, or above, $1 billion US dollars. A unicorn bubble is a theoretical economic bubble that would occur when unicorn startup companies are overvalued by venture capitalists or investors. This can either occur during the private phase of these unicorn companies or in an initial public offering. This is what we call a unicorn bubble.
The term is as weird and mythical as the term ‘Unicorn’ itself, but in this uncertain and unusual world, we are now probably ready for each and every ‘weird’ and mythical thing that crosses our path. Let us then witness the future with our own eyes.
Conclusion
This year, the volume of seed-stage deals dominated with nearly 396 deals aggregating to $705.86 million while about 166 investments series A amounted to about $1.67 billion, this data is until December 20. India is now the third most destination in terms of startups produced per year. We produced 33 this year. That is the highest of many countries.
We did even better than the United States and other developed countries in this category. India is growing insanely when it comes to the startup world. There are so many unicorns in India these days. The reasons we discussed already in the blog above. We have been betting on technology for two years now. It is the foreseeable future as far as we can see, the pandemic only accelerated it. We are seeing a massive change in consumer behaviour, and we don’t think that the change is irreversible.
All these things happened in 2021, and now the year is ending. What you want to take with you depends heavily on you. As we come to the end of the year, it’s time to reflect back and set the tone for the new year. It is that time of the year when we get ready to start something again and try again, and/or continue doing successful ventures in the future.
The startups in India made us proud and had shown us a ray of hope in a rather dull year. We all hope that this ray of hope broadens in the new year as explorers from all over the world continue to make our world better equipped for the future.
FAQ
How many unicorns are starting in India in 2021?
India added over 33 unicorns in 2021 which takes the total count to 54.
Which industry added the most unicorns in 2021?
The fintech sector added the most unicorns in 2021 with 139 unicorns.
Why pay for online courses when you can get them for free? upGrad is such a company that brought out its online education application where students, teachers and everyone else can do courses for free. upGrad’s free courses offer makes it a standout application from other educational websites.
Most websites and applications that you find on the internet do not come free of cost. upGrad is quite opposite to that and that is one of the reasons why it attracted a lot of customers. Competitions are tight in the Indian market and upGrad’s marketing strategy helped them take the lead in the online education platform.
upGrad is an EdTech company that came out with the motive to help students with their higher education. The company performs its business completely online based and free of cost. The application also caters to large variety of courses ranging from undergraduate programs to Master’s degree programs.
Master’s degrees and some post-graduate programs are only offered on a fee payment system. Otherwise, most courses are free of cost and are also offering a completion certificate unlike other educational applications in the market.
It was in the year 2015 when upGrad was launched by the co-founders of the company- Ronnie Screwvala, Phalgun Kompalli, Mayank Kumar, and Ravijot Chugh. Their efforts made upGrad become one of the leading EdTech companies in Asia. Currently, all co-founders of the company are leading different divisions within the organization. Their efforts made it to enter the unicorn club in August, 2021.
Interestingly, upGrad was not meant to be for college students, or school students or any other institutions. But, it was designed so that more people could be familiar with the term ‘entrepreneurship’ and all those things that are required to become successful.
about upGrad learning platform
upGrad Marketing Strategy
upGrad Logo
upGrad is a B2C company and follows a wide range of marketing strategies. The company also focuses on its marketing because it is the only way a company is recognized. Well, a company like upGrad does the same thing.
The CEO of upGrad, Arjun Mohan had even mentioned in an interview that the company spends a whopping sum of money on its advertisements. The company also uses online tools for marketing its products to customers. Some of the most common ones are Google Ads, Social Media Ads, promotional guest posts, and many more.
Back in the year 2020, when the company was just 5 years old had set a budget of INR 175 crore for its marketing. For a startup like upGrad, this amount is considered to be a massive one and surprising too.
Other than spending a large amount on advertising, upGrad also focussed on promotional activities. The company took an active part in promoting its business during the 2020 IPL season. Even in the latest IPL season, i.e. 2021 upGrad took an effective part in its promotional activities.
The company tied up with Disney+ Hotstar and associated with the Star Sports network. This again became a huge boost in the company’s marketing and promotional activities. Surprisingly, the 2021 IPL event became upGrad’s first association with any sport-related event.
upGrad acquired Pyoopil Education Technologies only a year after its formation i.e. in 2016. Pyoopil Education Technologies was a mobile-based SaaS product that was used by corporate. Two years later in the year 2018, upGrad made another acquisition of Acadview Software which was in the field of a college education.
Later, in the year 2019, the company acquired CohortPlus which was known to be India’s largest product management community startup. Looking at the progress that the company has already made it is clear that the company will become the leader in the TechEd companies in the world.
Moreover, the company has got notable connections and tie-ups with large institutes and universities. Some of the most famous collaborations are mentioned below.
Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS)
International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT)
Though there are not many revelations from the company’s side of view it is expected that by the end of 2025, the company plans to cross the 5 million alumni members mark. However, other than that, the company is working on other specialization programs curated by global universities.
With collaborations with global universities, upGrad would become a different and standout educational company in the Indian market. There will be a lot coming from the company’s point of view in the future and we hope to experience the brilliance of learning from upGrad.
upGrad’s products and services are likely to improve and enhance better learning to its customers in the upcoming days. It is not that the company is not doing great currently but the future of the company will determine upGrad’s sustainability in the market.
FAQs
Who has founded upGrad?
upGrad was founded by Ronnie Screwvala, Mayank Kumar, Phalgun Kompalli, and Ravijot Chugh in 2015.
Are there free courses available at upGrad?
Yes, there are free courses which can be done free of cost. The company caters to courses ranging from various subject areas.
Does upGrad provide a 100% job guarantee?
Yes, the company offers a 100% job guarantee to fresher candidates and other people as well.
Tiger Global Management is known to be the most statistical and voracious startup investors among all. It has developed with a great prospect and is proceeding towards investing in more prominent startups, especially those who hold the potential to earn unicorn status someday. And in recent years, Tiger Global Management has made hostile growth.
Tiger Global Management is a New York-based investing firm, built in the early 2000s. The firm not only made remarkable progress but also became one of the most prolific investment firms among the billion-dollar startups. The estimated value of the total assets of Tiger Global Management is around $65 billion.
In the initial days, Tiger Global Management invested in private companies in India and China but now, the firm invests in some of the biggest startups companies. But, how does the firm gain such progress? Well, to understand it better we need to know the strategies and portfolio for Tiger Global Management.
According to the Crunchbase data, Tiger Global Management has invested in 118 companies in 2021. The firm has made ten times more growth in the initial months of 2020. In this article, we have presented some of the biggest investments made by Tiger Global Management. Let’s get started!
Infra.Market is a well-established technology firm that offers a one-stop marketplace for manufacturing materials and goods. Recently the firm has raised its Series C funding to $100 million led by Tiger Global Management along with some other potential investors like Nexus Venture Partners, Accel Partners, Sistema Asia Fund and Fundamental and Evolvence India Fund.
The largest funding amount received by Infra.Market is $1 billion making its absolute way to the unicorn list. This funding is intended for the advancement of the seed market and their private label brands enhancements, technological offerings and direct-to-direct channels and exports. The company founded by Aaditya Sharda and Souvik Sengupta in 2016 has made quite an impactful position in the market.
Innovaccer
Innovaccer Website
The very prominent Innovaccer is a healthcare software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup. The company has recently gained unicorn status after the tremendous fund-raising session by Tiger Global Management, which helped it reach a valuation of $1.3 billion.
The last year estimated valuation of Innovaccer was $350 million after the Series C funding round but when the SaaS startups were globally increasing their capital and catching investors attention, Innovaccer raised the valuation to $105 million in the new round.
Innovaccer has many potential investors such as Dragoneer, Steadview Capital, M12, B Capital Group and Mubadala Capital. These investors participated in the new round of funding along with the OMERS Growth Equity. And so far, Innovaccer raised $225 million.
The widely famous Ola Electric Mobility Pvt. Ltd is a well-established private company in India for its cab services. Recently, Ola received a great investment from the ride-hailing unicorn’s investor, Tiger Global Management.
Ola is aimed to enhance its Mission Electric programme which was announced last april. In this programme, Ola will launch 10,000 electric vehicles, mainly three-wheelers and intended for promoting one million electric vehicles by 2022.
Ola is currently testing several commanders to deploy electric vehicles and their charging solutions. Moreover, it is working on the advancement of battery swapping stations and two or three-wheeler electric services.
Ola is making its strong uphold position among the industries and currently working with many prominent automobile industries in order to enhance the functioning of electric vehicles.
Brex
Brex Website
The prominent San Francisco based startup, Brex Inc., offers corporate cards to several companies as well as venture capital-backed companies. It received a major uplift of $425 million through a funding round investment by Tiger Global Management.
Previously, Brex valuation was estimated as $7.4 billion from the investment from TCV, Ribbit Capital and many other firms.
Brex entered the sector which was majorly dominated by the likes of either American Express Co. or JPMorgan Chase & Co. The company experienced progressive growth together with manufacturing other products such as business cash accounts and bill pay software. This brought a clear targeting measure for traditional established small to the big businesses.
Flipkart is a well-known E-commerce company, whose $14 million worth of shares has been sold to the Tiger Global Management firm by its co-founder Binny Bansal. Ever since Walmart grasped its hands around the E-Commerce firm, this would be the third time when Binny Bansal sold a tranche of his share.
The shares holding of Binny Bansal has been transferred to two types of Tiger Global Management funds. The first part of the share i.e., 47,756 equity is transferred to the existing Internet Fund III Pte Ltd. and the other 54,596 is to incoming Tiger Global Eight Holdings.
Conclusion
Tiger Global Management has made great progress in recent years and the firm has gained many portfolios as well. The firm is going for every potential startup doesn’t matter how established they are in the market. It is investing in many new potential startup companies through millions of shares.
In other words, Tiger Global Management is acquiring every opportunity of investing in independent potential startup companies. And with this exponential graph flow, Tiger Global Management is estimated to grow even more aggressively.
Today, almost every startup aspires to secure investment from Tiger Global Management. However, there are still many heights that Tiger Global Management has to reach.
FAQ
What is Tiger Global Management?
Tiger Global Management is an American investment firm that focuses on internet, software, consumer, and financial technology industries.
What are the top startups funded by Tiger Global Management?
Flipkart, Brex, Infra.Market, Innovaccer and Ola Electric Mobility are top startups funded by Tiger Global Management
Who is the founder of Tiger Global Management?
Chase Coleman is the Founder of Tiger Global Management.
People know about popular unicorn companies like Uber, Swiggy, Airbnb, Snapchat, and Pinterest and their journey to success, but most people don’t know what a unicorn company exactly means. What are the different criteria for a startup company to become a unicorn? A unicorn in the Business world indicates a privately owned startup company that has a valuation of $1 billion.
The term was initially coined by a well-known venture capitalist Aileen Lee, who choose the mythical animal to represent the statistical rarity of successful startup companies. The simplest definition of a startup has remained unchanged ever since, while the number of unicorns has gone up. Unicorn has now become a catchphrase within the global startup market. When a startup becomes a unicorn, it shows how the business model of the company and its value proposition is in the eyes of the investors. The unicorn helps grows in both visibility and operational outlay, which often leads directly to greater business opportunities for the organization.
The article ahead will give you an insight on How to become a Unicorn Startup, the Features & Characteristics of a Unicorn Company, and more.
The process to be a unicorn is not easy and each and every unicorn has its own story. All the unicorn companies have a similar set of features that makes them a unicorn startup.
Groundbreaking innovations: The unicorn companies have brought a disruption in the field they belong to. Uber, for example, changed the way people commuted. While Airbnb is known to have changed the way people planned their way while traveling. The innovative strategies are what make them a unicorn company.
The First innovations: The unicorn companies are mostly the starters in their industry. They change the way people do things and gradually create a necessity for themselves. They are also known to continuously innovate and stay ahead of competitors which might later boom.
High Technology: Most unicorn companies have a business model run on a higher level of technology. Almost 87% of the unicorn products are software, 7% of them being hardware, while the other 6% of them being based on products and services.
Consumer-focused startups: Their main goal into simplify and make things easy for consumers and be a part of their day-to-day life. Over 62% of the unicorns are particularly B2C companies. Another key ingredient is keeping their products and services affordable.
Privately owned: Many known unicorn companies are nowadays privately owned which gets their valuation bigger when an established company invests in it. There are more than 361 private companies around the world valued at over $1 billion. India has 16 of these companies, that are taking up 4% of the overall share.
Popular unicorn companies outside the US
Key ingredients of a Unicorn
To make a simple solution to an existing problem
Make a strong and highly marketable value proposition
Make a plan in order to have a clear vision for the future of the company and the products and services they offer
Unicorn companies have Potential beta testers and customers
They usually have an easy-to-use UX that allows users to quickly adapt and get the product.
Investors of the Unicorn Companies
Great ideas usually don’t have value until you do something with them, which is what the unicorns companies are good at as they have the right people, skills, tools, and data to make the magic happen. This is taken into consideration by the investors for deciding which startup to fund. It is very important to project revenue and growth.
Some projections need to be backed by hard data and the forecasting growth for the next 6, 12, or 18 months. If a startup in need of funding without any numbers to back up its claims, the potential investor may not be interested in good. Recent startups wait in order to seek out investors until they have a marketable product with proven demand as well as a number of opportunities coming your way.
The answer is yes because the unicorn is a term given only to startups who have a valuation of over a billion. The only startups that have a valuation of 10 billion are grouped under the term called decacon (which is a super unicorn). Dropbox, SpaceX, and WeWorkare some examples of decacon.
For the startups that are based out of Canada, there is an exclusive term for what we call a unicorn. It is the narwhal. This means that any Canadian startup company with a valuation of over 1 billion is called a narwhal. Some of the famous narwhale companies are Hootsuite and Wattpad.
The main reason behind the growth and success of each and every unicorn is the disruptive impact it has on its chosen market. A well-known example of this is the on-demand taxi aggregator Uber. Uber uses smartphones as a medium to connect consumers with their nearby cab drivers at the touch of the button, the only reason that has driven the massive success that the company continues to enjoy.
Uber not only made booking a cab booking more convenient for the end-user but also headed more operational efficiency for cab drivers and taxi service providers by helping them optimize their revenue streams. As a result, the company is now one of the most successful unicorns with a valuation of 64.5 billion in 2020.
Market Size of the Unicorn Companies
It is important for startups aspiring to make the title of a unicorn in order to analyze the market they are operating in. Entrepreneurs must understand and analyze their target markets well in advance in order to aim for the title of a unicorn in order to analyze the markets they are operating in. They must analyze their target market and target audience well in advice before aiming to make their startups into the next big thing in the startup community.
An example of the is Airbnb. Founded as an alternative lodging/hotel solution for business travelers all over the world, the company then changed its approach to target the much larger global hotel industry, which is currently worth 550 million.
There no fixed rule that requires a company to be profitable in order to become a unicorn. In fact one of the earliest unicorns, Nutanix earned the status in 2013 despite a complete lack of profits. The point is that profits and growth don’t always go hand in hand. In fact, going after profit can sometimes slow your ability to increase revenue.
The startups must work towards building sustainable growth rather than opting for a quick, short-sighted bump in profits. Instead of only focusing on growing your margins to impress investors with fast ROI, they must also focus on perfecting your product, increasing your total revenue, and growing your user base.
FAQ’s
What is a startup unicorn?
A term that describes a privately-owned startup with a valuation of over $1 billion.
What is a unicorn in a startup?
In finance, “unicorn” is a term that describes a privately-owned startup. The term was introduced by venture capital investor, Aileen Lee, in 2013 to describe rare tech startups that were valued at more than $1 billion. The phenomenon of unicorns is quite controversial.
Which Indian startup became unicorns in 2020?
In all, 11 Indian startups — Unacademy, Pine Labs, FirstCry, Zenoti, Nykaa, Postman, Zerodha, Razorpay, Cars24, Dailyhunt, and Glance — became unicorns this year.
Which is India’s fastest Unicorn startup?
Bengaluru and San Francisco-based SaaS startup Postman became the fastest SaaS startup to reach unicornstatus. In June 2020, the six-year-old startup secured a Series C funding of $150 million at a valuation of $2 billion.
Which country has the most unicorns?
The number of unicorn companies found in China in early 2020 was bigger than those of 29 other countries, including Germany, India, and the UK, combined.
Conclusion
Hope you got an idea on how to build a unicorn startup & what are the unicorn startups’ characteristics. Startups into tech will now embrace machine intelligence mostly in its devices or products. Artificial intelligence is the future and is making innovations in the tech industry for years. But its presence will become more in the coming years. This in turn will give rise to unicorn startups which will dominant the startup industry. The moto is not to make unicorn startups but to create something that takes away the human effort by making the world a little better.
Rishabh Rathi
