Which Indian Companies Are Unicorns?

SUMMARY

The Indian startup ecosystem boasts of 31 unicorns at the moment

The most number of unicorns in India were created in 2018

Which sector has contributed most to the unicorn club in India?

For unicorn hunters in India — in the context of startups, of course — things have been going well this year. People who have been tracking the rise of these companies with a billion-dollar-plus valuation in India will tell you that 2018 and this year so far have been a great time for growth stage companies looking to reach unicorn status.

Startups valued over $1Bn are termed as unicorns. India is home to 31 Unicorns today, with consumer service startups leading the charts.

According to Inc42 DataLabs, 2018 was a bumper year for Indian startups which saw the creation of 10 unicorns, the first time the ecosystem crossed the double-digit mark in a financial year. It was a great achievement considering the previous best year (2014) delivered just four unicorns.

The Startup Unicorn Landscape In India

This calendar year seems to be on track to beat 2018’s record-breaking tally. Since the start of 2019, seven startups have reached unicorn status already to take the total to 31 unicorns in India. Here’s a sector-wise look at the unicorns.

1. Consumer Services

Consumer services as the name suggests refers to startups in the hyperlocal and food delivery space. One of the hottest sectors of the Indian startup ecosystem. In Q3 2019, consumer services startups raised $176 Mn overall with 33% of the deals coming in FMCG startups. Here’s a look at the unicorns of the sector:

Quikr

Launch Year: 2008

Founders: Jiby Thomas, Pranay Chulet

Headquarters: Bengaluru

Total Funding: $430 Mn

Key Investors: Kinnevik AB, Brand Capital, Tiger Global Management, NGP Capital, Warburg Pincus

Unicorn Since: 2015

Zomato

Launch Year: 2008

Founders: Deepinder Goyal, Pankaj Chaddah

Headquarters: Delhi NCR

Total Funding: $775 Mn

Key Investors: Sequoia Capital, InfoEdge, Temasek Holdings, Ant Financial, Vy Capital, Info Edge

Unicorn Since: 2015

Hike

Launch Year: 2012

Founders: Kavin Bharti Mittal

Headquarters: Delhi NCR

Total Funding: $261 Mn

Key Investors: Bharti SoftBank, Tiger Global Management, Tencent Holdings, Foxconn Technology Group

Unicorn Since: 2016

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Info Edge

Launch Year: 1995

Founders: Sanjeev Bikhchandani

Headquarters: Delhi NCR

Funding: Public Company

Unicorn Since: 2014

BigBasket

Launch Year: 2011

Founders: Abhinay Choudhari, Hari Menon, Vipul Parekh, VS Sudhakar

Headquarters: Bengaluru

Total Funding: $1.02 Bn

Key Investors: Alibaba Group, Helion Venture Partners, Paytm Mall, Helion Venture Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, LionRock Capital, Abraaj Group

Unicorn Since: 2019

Swiggy

Launch Year: 2014

Founders: Nandan Reddy, Rahul Jaimini, Sriharsha Majety

Headquarters: Bengaluru

Total Funding: $1.27 Bn

Key Investors: DST Global, Naspers, Bessemer Venture Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, Accel, SAIF Partners

Unicorn Since: 2018

2. Ecommerce

The ecommerce sector remains one of the most crucial in the Indian market from the point of view of startups as plenty of other sectors have relied on the growth of the ecommerce sector for their own growth — with hyperlocal and logistics being prime examples. Over 21 deals in Q3 2019, ecommerce startups raised $381 Mn, according to the analysis by DataLabs by Inc42.

Flipkart

Launch Year: 2007

Founders: Sachin Bansal, Binny Bansal

Headquarters: Bengaluru

Total Funding: $7.3 Bn

Key Investors: SoftBank, Naspers, Tiger Global Management, Microsoft, Tencent, eBay, Steadview Capital, DST Global, Accel Partners

Unicorn Since: 2012

Snapdeal

Launch Year: 2010

Founders: Kunal Bahl, Rohit Bansal

Headquarters: Delhi-NCR

Total Funding: $ 1.8 Bn

Key Investors: SoftBank, RuNet Holdings, Alibaba, Kalaari Capital, Foxconn Tech, Blackrock

Unicorn Since: 2014

Paytm Mall

Launch Year: 2016

Founders: Vijay Shekhar Sharma

Headquarters: Delhi-NCR

Total Funding: $ 645 Mn

Key Investors: Softbank, Alibaba

Unicorn Since: 2018

Udaan

Launch Year: 2016

Founders: Sujeet kumar, Vaibhav Gupta, Amod Malviya

Headquarters: Bengaluru

Total Funding: $ 285 Mn

Key Investors: DST Global, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Yuri Milner

Unicorn Since: 2018

Shopclues

Launch Year: 2011

Founders: Radhika Aggarwal, Sanjay Sethi

Headquarters: Delhi NCR

Total Funding: $ 255 Mn

Key Investors: Helion Venture Partners, Nexus Venture Partners, Tiger Global

Unicorn Since: 2016

3. Enterprise Tech

Enterprise tech startups refers to startups working in SaaS and ERP solutions to companies. Many SMEs are leveraging SaaS and to optimise their overall performance. While Zoho and Freshworks dominate the SaaS game, the new kids on the block include Druva and Icertis.

Zoho

Launch Year: 1996

Founders: Sridhar Vembu

Headquarters: Chennai

Total Funding: Bootstrapped

Freshworks

Launch Year: 2010

Founders: Girish Mathrubootham, Shan Krishnasamy

Headquarters: Chennai

Total Funding: $ 249 Mn

Key Investors: Accel, Sequoia Capital India, Tiger Global Management, CapitalG

Unicorn Since: 2018

Mu Sigma

Launch Year: 2004

Founders: Dhiraj Rajaram

Headquarters: Bengaluru

Total Funding: $ 211 Mn

Key Investors: Sequoia Capital, General Atlantic, MasterCard

Unicorn Since: 2013

Druva

Launch Year: 2008

Founders: Jaspreet Singh, Milind Borate, Ramani Kothandaraman

Headquarters: Bengaluru

Total Funding: $ 328 Mn

Key Investors: Viking Global Investors, Riverwood Capital, Tenaya Capital, Nexus Venture Partners

Unicorn Since: 2019

Icertis

Launch Year: 2009

Founders: Samir Bodas, Monish Darda

Headquarters: Pune

Total Funding: $ 211 Mn

Key Investors: Greycroft, PremjiInvest, B Capital Group, Eight Roads, Ignition Partners

Unicorn Since: 2019

4. Fintech

With 22% contribution to the total funding amount, fintech emerged as the most funded sector in Q3 2019. One of the most promising sectors for the Indian startup ecosystem, fintech has been on an upward swing with 36 funding deals and investment amount of $688 Mn. Lending tech is on the rise in the Indian fintech ecosystem, with 42% of all funding in the previous quarter coming for lending tech startups. Here’s a look at the fintech unicorns in India:

Paytm

Launch Year: 2010

Founders: Vijay Shekhar Sharma

Headquarters: Delhi-NCR

Total Funding: $ 2.5 Bn

Key Investors: SoftBank, Alibaba, Berkshire Hathaway, SAIF Partners, Intel Capital, and SAP Ventures

Unicorn Since: 2015

PhonePe

Launch Year: 2015

Founders: Burzin Engineer, Rahul Chari, Sameer Nigam

Headquarters: Bengaluru

Total Funding: $ 291 Mn

Key Investors: Flipkart

Unicorn Since: 2018

Policy Bazaar

Launch Year: 2008

Founders: Alok Bansal, Yashish Dahiya

Headquarters: Delhi NCR

Total Funding: $ 346 Mn

Key Investors: Wellington Management, PremjiInvest, Tiger Global Management, Inventus Capital Partners

Unicorn Since: 2018

Billdesk

Launch Year: 2000

Founders: Ajay Kaushal

Headquarters: Mumbai

Total Funding: $257 Mn

Key Investors: Clearstone Venture Partners, State Bank of India, Visa

Unicorn Since: 2018

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5. Logistics

Touted to touch $307 Bn by 2020, the Indian logistics sector in recent years has become the backbone of the ecommerce, agritech and hyperlocal sector in India. In fact, ecommerce can be said to be the pillar which fuelled the growth of the sector in the country. Add technology to the mix and logistics has redefined movement of goods like never before and this is the reason that logistic startups have mushroomed like never before in the country. Take a look at the unicorns from the logistics sector:

Delhivery

Launch Year: 2011

Founders: Bhavesh Manglani, Kapil Bharati, Mohit Tandon, Sahil Barua, Suraj Saharan

Headquarters: Delhi NCR

Total Funding: $670 Mn

Key Investors: SoftBank, Fosun, Carlyle Group, Tiger Global, Nexus Venture Partners, Times Internet

Unicorn Since: 2019

Rivigo

Launch Year: 2014

Founders: Deepak Garg, Gazal Kalra

Headquarters: Delhi NCR

Total Funding: $ 216 Mn

Key Investors: SAIF Partners, Warburg Pincus

Unicorn Since: 2018

6. Transport Tech / Mobility

Transport systems today are built on emerging and futuristic technologies and the companies operating within the segment are changing the mobility game by facilitating transportation in a quick and seamless way through on-demand cab services, bike taxis, carpooling and more. The growing segment of electric vehicles is only contributing to the optimism around mobility or transport tech.

Ola

Launch Year: 2010

Founders: Bhavish Aggarwal, Ankit Bhati

Headquarters: Bengaluru

Total Funding: $ 3.8 Bn

Key Investors: SoftBank, Tencent Holdings, Tekne Capital

Unicorn Since: 2014

Ola Electric

Launch Year: 2018

Founders: Bhavish Aggarwal, Ankit Bhati

Headquarters: Bengaluru

Total Funding: $306 Mn

Key Investors: Ratan Tata, Matrix Partners India, SoftBank, Tiger Global

Unicorn Since: 2019

7. Cleantech

Startups in India are working to bring eco-friendlier solutions for the major problems such as rising energy consumption. With climate change and global warming becoming a major problem to solve for countries around the world, many Indian startups today are supporting the government’s objective of generating and storing energy with a focus on renewable and sustainable production.

Renew Power

Launch Year: 2011

Founders: Sumant Sinha

Headquarters: Delhi NCR

Total Funding: $ 1.6 Bn

Key Investors: Goldman Sachs, Franklin Templeton India, JP Morgan, L&T and more

Unicorn Since: 2017

8. Traveltech

As per an IBEF report, the online travel space will likely account for 40% to 50% of total travel transactions by 2020. And to take a bite of this pie many startups have risen in the traveltech sector in India. These startups have changed how consumers make their travel plans, and have changed the game for hotel owners and the hospitality industry as well.

Makemytrip

Launch Year: 2010

Founders: Deep Kalra, Keyur Joshi, Rajesh Magow

Headquarters: Delhi NCR

Total Funding: $ 548 Mn

Key Investors: Ctrip, Tiger Fund, Helion Venture Partners, Sierra Ventures

Unicorn Since: 2010

OYO

Launch Year: 2013

Founders: Ritesh Agarwal

Headquarters: Delhi NCR

Total Funding: $ 1.7 Bn

Key Investors: SoftBank, Greenoaks Capital, Huazhu Hotels Group, Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners

Unicorn Since: 2018

9. Media & Entertainment

The Indian media and entertainment industry is projected to touch $39.68 Bn by FY 2023, with the OTT and gaming sub-sectors contributing heavily to the growth estimates. With the rise of gaming unicorns in India as the rapid penetration of OTT players, the media and entertainment industry is poised for rocket growth in the next few years.

Dream11

Launch Year: 2011

Founders: Harsh Jain; Bhavit Sheth

Headquarters: Mumbai

Total Funding: $ 100 Mn

Key Investors: Steadview Capital, Kalaari Capital, Think Investments, Multiples Equity

Unicorn Since: 2019

10. Edtech

By integrating technology with traditional education patterns, Indian edtech startups are working to provide affordable education for one and all across geographies, and solving the problem of access to schools through online learning and courses. Edtech startups have redefined how one can learn any skill or topic and democratised learning in many ways.

Byjus

Launch Year: 2008

Founders: Byju Raveendran, Divya Gokulnath

Headquarters: Bengaluru

Total Funding: $819 Mn

Key Investors: General Atlantic, Tencent Holdings, Verlinvest, Sequoia Capital India, Sofina, Aarin Capital, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

Unicorn Since: 2018

11. Adtech

With mobile advertising growing by leaps and bounds in the Indian market, adtech solutions that give marketers and businesses the right analytics and digital tools for optimising these digital ads have also mushroomed.