Over the last 12 months, thanks to bold bets by venture capital firms like Sequoia, SoftBank Vision Fund, and foreign strategic investors like Naspers, pipeline of start-ups with potential to achieve $1 bn in valuation is at an all-time high.
'Today, we have 2 million active drivers earning through our platform every month.'
There seems to be no dearth of funds to fuel this growth, report Peerzada Abrar and Shivani Shinde.
Startups that became unicorns in 2024 took an average of nine years and six months to reach $1 billion valuation, reflecting the impact of a prolonged funding squeeze from PE/VC firms over the past few years.
Banking technology start-up Zeta is the latest entrant to the unicorn club after raising $250 million in its Series C round from SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Sodexo participated as an additional minority investor in the round. Founded by serial entrepreneur and billionaire Bhavin Thurakia, the startup is now valued at $1.4 billion. It is the 14th company this year to cross the $1 billion valuation mark after Meesho, Cred, Pharmeasy, ShareChat, Moglix and others.
BlackBuck, India's leading online trucking platform, has closed a $67 million round of equity financing. The round was led by Tribe Capital, IFC Emerging Asia Fund and VEF. Existing investors Wellington Management, Sands Capital, and International Finance Corporation also participated in the round. The investment has made the Bengaluru-based company a 'unicorn,' or a startup valued at more than $1 billion, according to the firm. The company will use these funds to further penetrate the market and launch new service offerings for its customer base.
There's a hint of new competition riding into a sector that has attracted attention for being in a duopoly-like situation. Rapido, a commute app known for its budget-friendly bike-taxi services, on Tuesday announced its entry into the cab market, which is currently dominated by marquee brands Uber and Ola. Rapido's cab foray will be enabled by a software as a service (SaaS)-based platform.
With the number of start-ups reaching the unicorn level falling drastically in 2023, the Hurun Unicorn Index said it has demoted eight gazelles - start-ups that were founded in 2000 and have the potential to go to unicorn in three years - to cheetahs.
Meet the youngsters who rule India's social media.
India overtook China to add the most number of new unicorns--start-ups valued at $1 billion or more--in the first half of 2022 despite a funding winter haunting entrepreneurs in the south Asian nation. India added 14 new unicorns in the period (H1 2022) and China had 11, according to the Hurun Global Unicorn Index 2022. The US led the ranking by adding 138 start-ups in the unicorn club.
Swiggy had in June entered the elite Unicorn club after raising $210 million from a group of investors
These unicorns, or startups valued at over USD 1 billion, are across industries, beyond technology and tech-enabled sectors as well, like pharmaceuticals, and consumer goods, Credit Suisse India equity strategist Neelkanth Mishra told reporters in Mumbai.
Becoming a unicorn is surely a marker for a company in its growth story, but it's not a major achievement nor is it a turning point of any significant worth.
India added three 'unicorns' per month in 2021 to nearly double the overall number of startups valued at over USD 1 billion to 51 as of end-August, a report said on Thursday. Even as, cumbersome regulations are forcing startups to leave India and settle in other countries where they enjoy better treatment, as per the Hurun India, which prepared the list. It can be noted that over the last few years, dedicated efforts have been undertaken to hone the startups ecosystem by the government through flagship initiatives like 'Startup India'.
Indian startups received about $6.5 billion in funding in the April-June 2021 quarter, while 11 of them entered the coveted unicorn club, a report by Nasscom-PGA Labs said. During the second quarter, 160 funding deals were closed -- up 2 per cent from the January-March period. "Q2 2021 has been impeccable for the start-up growth story. From being the most funded quarter, it has also added the most number of unicorns. "Standing tall during the pandemic second wave headwinds, Indian start-up ecosystem has shown a strong resilience in this quarter," the report said.
'Remember to pick a mentor, with whom there are one or two degrees of separation.' 'Any more than that, you are wasting time.'
PharmEasy has acquired Medlife for an undisclosed amount, the e-pharmacy unicorn said on Tuesday. The deal will make PharmEasy the largest player in the domestic online pharmacy sector, with the combined entity set to serve 2 million customers a month.
The deal, which is expected to close in the next four to five weeks, will give exit to investors Alibaba, Abraaj Group and IFC. The parties are awaiting approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI).
Following their passion paid off for Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth with their fantasy sports platform Dream11 entering the unicorn club with a valuation of over $1 billion.
'Indian startups have raised $3.5 billion in funding in the first half of 2015'.
'Sure, we are teenagers who are doing this part time, but we feel we are making some sort of an impact.'
Shravin Mittal's venture capital firm, Unbound Advisors, has made investments worth over $500 million so far
The investor has now put together a fund of $3.75 billion to back private companies.
'India has over 300 million online sports fans, of which over 60 million use fantasy sports as their primary tool for engagement with their favourite sport.'
As 8 new startups join the 2018 club, average time taken to be a $1 billion firm now stands at 5-7 years, next only to China, says a Nasscom report
Ghosh, 43, will be reporting to 25-year-old Ritesh Agarwal, who founded OYO with a single hotel in 2013.
With funds from SoftBank, Delhivery plans to rapidly scale up its reach from 15,000 pin codes to 20,000 by the June quarter of 2019-20.
So what's up? Why are so many promoters heading for the door? It cannot be that all of them lost their appetite for a good fight at the same time.And if Naresh Goyal of Jet Airways and Subhash Chandra of Zee Entertainment do bow out, will it be seen as chickening out when the going got tough or the entrepreneurial instinct of surviving to fight another battle waned, wonders Shailesh Dobhal.
Higher advertising spends to grab customer eyeballs take a toll on startups across segments
From mass layoffs to acquisitions, here's how the Indian start-up industry kept us on our toes.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances