The phrase “Unicorn Startup” is made up of the terms “Unicorn” and “Startup.” A startup with a valuation of more than $1 billion is referred to as a unicorn in the business world. Aileen Lee, a venture capitalist and seed investor, came up with the name. Startups, on the other hand, are often privately held businesses that are still in the early stages of development.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Union Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, Skill Development, and Electronics & Technology, expressed optimism and support for India’s unicorn culture by predicting that within the next two to three years, there will be a 10X increase in the country’s unicorn population, reaching more than 1,000. The Indian government also stated that it anticipates the country’s Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities to produce the majority of the country’s upcoming startup founders.
The nation has been ranked as the third best nation for hosting unicorn enterprises in 2021. When 33 firms on the Indian subcontinent became unicorns in 2021, compared to only 15 for the UK at the time, India passed the UK for third place. When it was last reported in 2021, the leading countries were the US, which added 254 unicorns, and China, which saw 74 unicorns.
With 107 unicorn startups as of 2022, India’s startup ecosystem will have the greatest growth rate worldwide. Unicorn startups are not as unusual today as they once were, but creating one is not simple. To climb the unicorn ladder, a startup needs to put in a lot of effort, dedication, and perseverance. In this post, we’ll talk about the startups that have succeeded in doing so.
According to reports, Indian entrepreneurs raised more than $42 billion in capital in 2021 through 1,584 agreements. Over 60,000 new companies have been founded in India since 2016 in more than 56 different industries, contributing to the creation of more than 6 lakh new jobs in the nation. President Ram Nath Kovind made a specific mention of this in his speech on January 31, 2022, where he highlighted the tremendous potential that Indian startups are bringing forth.
In total, 44 businesses in the nation became unicorns in 2021. Businesses that joined the Indian unicorn club in 2021 included Mamaearth, GlobalBees, Pristyn Care, Slice, Upstox, Rebel Foods, CarDekho, MobiKwik, Acko, The Good Glamm Group, CureFit, Mensa, NoBroker, Spinny, Flipkart Moglix, BharatPe, CoinDCX, upGrad, Groww, BlackBuck, Droom, OfBusiness, Meesho, Apna, Vedantu, Licious, CoinSwitch Kuber, Chargebee, CRED, Digit, Gupshup, Infra.Market, MindTickle, Five Star Business Finance, Innovaccer, Pharmeasy, Sharechat, Urban Company, Zeta, Eruditus, Zetwerk and BrowserStack, and more.
India has already begun to notice unicorns since the beginning of 2022, with Mamaearth being the first of the unicorns of 2022 with 5ire, OneCard, DealShare, ElasticRun, Livspace, LeadSquared, Purplle, PhysicsWallah, Oxyzo, Games 24×7, Open, Fractal Analytics, LEAD School, Darwinbox, Xpressbees, Uniphore, Hasura, CredAvenue, Amagi, and CommerceIQ
100 Indian Unicorns – A Celebration
What India wants right now is for businesses to grow more quickly and for more unicorns to appear. This implies that in order to reach the unicorn milestone and beyond, the organizations will undoubtedly need to be more serious, resourceful, and collaborative. Additionally, it means that Indian companies should put aside differences in race, gender, and caste and put all of their strength and resources into their job. The apparent gender disparity among the current unicorns is what stands out in this case.
Yes, whereas the remaining firms have no female founders, only 15% of the current unicorns in India include at least one female founder. This unquestionably has to enhance to give the burgeoning businesses a new growth gear. Though things are getting better, because 79% of the unicorn companies in India with female founders were formed after 2011, a lot of thought and activity still needs to be put forward.
India has had more than 100 unicorns as of the achievement of neobank Open. India saw its first unicorn in 2011; ten years later, the country has seen 100 of them, with Flipkart and BYJU’S ranking as two of the most valuable privately held unicorn firms. As of May 2022, the collective market value of India’s unicorns was $333+ billion. The startup ecosystem has been bursting with pride and delight for several days now because the boasting of 100 unicorns is not a common occurrence. Meanwhile, other illustrious creators expressed their excitement and satisfaction over the accomplishment.
The total number of unicorn businesses in India as of 2022 is 105, which we have listed here.
The following table is arranged according to the year that startups become unicorns (Latest to oldest).
Top Unicorn Startups in India as of 2022
- InMobi
- Flipkart
- BharatPe
- Dream11
- PhonePe
- BYJU’S
- OLA
- OYO Rooms
- Swiggy
- Zomato
- Freshworks
- Moglix
- upGrad
- MakeMyTrip
- Nykaa
- Policybazaar
- CoinDCX
- Pine Labs
- Highradius
- Zetwerk
- BlackBuck
- Droom
- OfBusiness
- ShareChat
- Verse Innovation
- PharmEasy
- MyGlamm
- CRED
- Meesho
- Urban Company
- Infra.Market
- Digit Insurance
- Innovaccer
- Five Star Business Finance
- Groww
- Gupshup
- Eruditus
- Chargebee
- Zeta
- BrowserStack
- Paytm
- Paytm Mall
- Zerodha
- ReNew Power
- BigBasket
- Udaan
- Ola Electric
- Mohalla Tech (Moj)
- FirstCry
- Lenskart
- Blinkit (ex-Grofers)
- Glance, Inmobi
- Dailyhunt
- Zenoti
- Cars24
- RazorPay
- Unacademy
- Postman
- CitiusTech
- Icertis
- Druva
- Rivigo
- Matic Network / Polygon
- MindTickle
- Delhivery
- Billdesk
- Mu Sigma
- MPL
- Apna
- Vedantu
- Licious
- CoinSwitch Kuber
- Rebel Foods
- CarDekho
- MobiKwik
- Acko
- CureFit
- Mensa
- NoBroker
- Spinny
- Upstox
- Slice
- Pristyn Care
- GlobalBees
- Mamaearth
- Fractal Analytics
- LEAD School
- Darwinbox
- DealShare
- ElasticRun
- Livspace
- Xpressbees
- Uniphore
- Hasura
- CredAvenue
- Amagi
- CommerceIQ
- Oxyzo
- Games 24×7
- Open
- PhysicsWallah
- Purplle
- LeadSquared
- OneCard
- 5ire
- Shiprocket
- Tata 1mg
FAQs
What Do You Mean by Unicorn Startup?
Startups valued at more than $1 billion are referred to as unicorns.
How Many Unicorns Are There in India?
104 unicorns can now be found in India. In 2021, 44 firms in the nation became unicorns, and in the first six months of 2022, India already had 19 new unicorn enterprises.
Which are the top Indian Unicorns?
India today may take pride in having some of the top unicorns:
- 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?
The first unicorn has been joined by InMobi, a multinational mobile advertising technology business with headquarters in Bangalore and was launched in 2007. 2011 saw InMobi become the first unicorn.
Which Country Has the Most Unicorns?
As of November 2021, the United States topped the list with 472 unicorns.
What Is the Fascination with Firms Called Unicorns?
Startups known as “unicorns” claim a valuation that has surpassed $1 billion and are constantly pushing the limits of their capabilities. The businesses classified as unicorns are always in rivalry with one another and serve as role models for other startups and emerging businesses.
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 a unicorn status today.
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 Indian companies turned unicorn in 2022?
There are 21 Indian companies that turned unicorn in 2022, as of July 15, 2022.
What are the Indian companies that turned unicorns in 2022?
The Indian companies that turned unicorns in 2022 are:
- Mamaearth
- Fractal Analytics
- LEAD School
- Darwinbox
- DealShare
- ElasticRun
- Livspace
- Xpressbees
- Uniphore
- Hasura
- CredAvenue
- Amagi
- CommerceIQ
- Oxyzo
- Games 24×7
- Open
- PhysicsWallah
- Purplle
- LeadSquared
- OneCard
- 5ire
