In 2021, India will have nearly doubled the entire number of startups valued at over $1 billion, thanks to the addition of three new “unicorns” per month. Mobile Premier League, Grofers, CoinDCX, and BharatPe are just a few of the unicorns that have emerged in recent months. Licious is a company that sells high-quality, locally sourced meats and seafood. Grofers was launched in 2013 by Albinder Dhindsa and Saurabh Kumar and was started by Abhay Hanjura and Vivek Gupta. Ashneer Grover and Shashvnat Nakrani founded BharatPe, a finance start-up, in 2013.
Key Highlight:
- In 2021, India will have nearly doubled the entire number of startups valued at over $1 billion.
- Mobile Premier League, Grofers, CoinDCX, and BharatPe are just a few of the unicorns that have emerged in recent months.
- Indian unicorns currently rank 3rd in the world, behind the United States (396) and China (277), but ahead of the United Kingdom (32) and Germany (18)
- There were 51 unicorns valued at more than $1billion as of the end of August in India.
- That figure is expected to nearly double by the year 2021.
This year, it’s pouring unicorns in India. Even though the year 2021 is almost through, more than 30 firms have already joined the illustrious “unicorn club.” There were 51 startups valued at over $1 billion as of the end of August in India, according to a survey by Hurun India, and that figure is expected to nearly double by the year 2021. Indian unicorns currently rank 3rd in the world, behind the United States (396) and China (277), but ahead of the United Kingdom (32) and Germany (18), according to the report.
Startups classified as unicorns have a market capitalization of $1 billion or more. With more than 60 unicorn businesses, India’s startup ecosystem is developing at the fastest rate in the world. Mobile Premier League, Grofers, CoinDCX, and BharatPe are just a few of the unicorns that have emerged in recent months. India’s production of unicorns has been rising steadily throughout the years. There were nine unicorns this year, making Bengaluru India’s Silicon Valley. Mumbai is the next in line, and it’s prepared with seven unicorns under its belt. Gurgaon then brings in three unicorns to follow it up. As of the end of September, Delhi had two, Noida had one, Pune had one, and Thane had one.
In addition to these Indian firms, below is a list of others that joined the unicorn club in 2018.
Licious: This direct-to-customer Bengaluru-based start-up is presently valued at $1 billion. Since its inception in 2015, Licious has specialized in fresh meat and seafood.
Vedantu, a 2011 Edtech start-up with a $1 billion valuation, was founded. Four IIT grads, Vamsi Krishna, Pulkit Jain, Saurabh Saxena, and Anand Prakash, created the firm, which has its headquarters in Bengaluru.
The three-year-old firm, Mobile Premier League, is currently valued at $2.3 billion. With three IIT grads at the helm, the Bengaluru-based startup has joined the unicorn club, following Dream11.
Albinder Dhindsa and Saurabh Kumar started Grofers in 2013 as an e-commerce grocery delivery company. Today, the $1 billion firm based in Gurgaon has a market capitalization of its own.
CoinDCX, a cryptocurrency exchange platform with a $1.1 billion market cap, is still another option. Within three years of its founding, Mumbai-based startup Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal joined the unicorn club.
Mumbai-based higher education platform upGrad launched in 2015 and is presently valued at $1.2 billion. Founders Mayank Kumar and Phalgun Kompalli attended IIT Delhi, and Ronnie Screwvala was an early investor.
BharatPe: The current valuation of this Delhi-based fintech business is $2.8 billion. Ashneer Grover and Shashvnat Nakrani founded the business.
Cred: In 2021, Cred joined the unicorn club with a $2.2 billion value, known for its excellent advertising game. Kunal Shah created this Bengaluru-based fintech (payments and credit card rewards) firm.
