Indian Economy News

India sees birth of its 100th unicorn, total valuation reaches $332.7 bn

With Neobank Open being the country's 100th unicorn, India's unicorn wave has reached an all-time high. According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, one out of every ten unicorns born globally was born in India. With the recent fundraising of US$ 50 million from IIFL and current investors, neobank startup OPEN becomes India's 100th unicorn.

As of May 5th, the Indian Startup Ecosystem, which is the third-largest in the world in terms of unicorns, has 100 unicorns with a total valuation of US$ 332.7 billion. According to the Ministry, 14 unicorns worth US$ 18.9 billion were born in India during the first four months of 2022. The year 2021 saw a significant increase in the number of unicorns, with 44 firms joining the club during the course of the year, with a combined valuation of US$ 93 billion.

Until fiscal year 2016-17, approximately one unicorn was added per year. This figure has been expanding exponentially over the last four years (from FY 2017-18), with a whopping 66% Year-on-Year growth in the number of additional unicorns introduced each year. Furthermore, according to ministry data, more than 69,000 startups have been recognised in the country since the inception of the Startup India initiative on January 16, 2016. We have identified startups solving problems in 56 varied areas, including 13% from IT services, 9% from healthcare and life sciences, 7% from education, 5% from professional and commercial services, 5% agricultural, and 5% food and drinks.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.