India is likely to become the global leader in the field of Startup Unicorn club

INDIAN COMPANIES JOINED THE UNICORN LIST IN 2022

India is a country with over 1.3 billion people and has become home to several of the world’s hottest startups, some of which are in the billion-dollar club to be known as Unicorn startups as they have reached a valuation of over $1 billion. Further, a startup is a company that has been in business for less than 10 years. The term was coined in 2013 by venture capitalist Aleen Lee to define the high-growth tech companies that were emerging at an increasing rate and transforming the business landscape. India’s first Unicorn couple. The term "unicorn" is used to describe these companies because they are rare with only very few businesses reaching this milestone. These startups are important because they represent the future of the economy. They represent innovation, hope, and progress. India has a strong startup culture and is home to 105 unicorn startups as of now (July 2022). In fact, today, 1 out every 10 unicorns globally have been born here. India has evolved from being the IT, services, and business process outsourcing hub of the world to being a significant R&D Centre for multinationals and many Silicon Valley Startups It has been possible because of a great team, an innovative product, great funding, The founders are passionate about the idea, and they are committed to making it work, the founders are focused on their customers, and they listen to what their customers say without being defensive or dismissive, and the founders are not afraid to hinge if needed, so they can focus on what works instead of what does not.

?India has an exceptionally large market which is very underutilized potential, which provides a great chance for very well prospects which looks lucrative for startups. With the initial investment from investors being much smaller than in Silicon Valley, Indian startups have been able to grow at a rapid pace and become profitable companies. The Indian startup ecosystem is unique in that it is very collaborative and inclusive. This means that there are many people willing to lend a hand and everyone shares their knowledge. Indian entrepreneurs seem to have an inherent understanding of what it takes to build something sustainable, which makes them great leaders in the business world. They tend to be humbler as well which helps them build trusting relationships with others. Because of the above, 90 founders amongst 500 US Unicorns were created in India. ?India is a growing economy that has seen many startups like Flipkart, Snapdeal, Uber, Swiggy, Zomato, Ola, and many more rise to international fame. Indian unicorns are also great at solving India-specific problems. For example, Olacabs solved the problem of unreliable taxi services in India by connecting passengers to drivers via a mobile app.

As per?Forbes, 42 unicorns having a total valuation of $82.1 billion emerged in India's startup ecosystem last year. It is a no-brainer that 2021 was a mega year for startups in India with many unicorns being born and numerous companies like Paytm, Zomato, Nykaa, etc. But 2022, too, is showing no signs of a slowdown yet for unicorn births, with 17 companies already entering the $1 billion club now. From the first entrant Mamaearth to the latest ones including Physics Wallah (101st Unicorn of India) and Purplle, (102nd Unicorn of India) here is a list of companies in India that have entered the unicorn club till now this year. Livspace (103rd Unicorn of India) is a home interior and renovation startup. As we enter the second half of 2022, the Indian startup ecosystem has already added 21 new entrants to the coveted $1 billion valuation club.

This year, the country has seen new unicorns emerging from across sectors—

Fractal ?(advanced analytics),? LEAD ?(edtech),? Darwinbox ?(Hitech),? DealShare ?(social commerce),? Polygon ?(blockchain),? Livspace ?(home interior and renovation),? ElasticRun ?(B2B e-commerce),? Xpressbees (logistics),? Uniphore ?(conversational AI),? Hasura ?(GraphQLdeveloper),? CredAvenue ?(fintech),? Amagi (Meditech),? Oxyzo ?(fintech),? Games,24x7 (gaming),? Open ?(fintech),? PhysicsWallah ?(edtech),? Purplle ?(beauty),? LeadSquared ?(SaaS),? OneCard ?(fintech),? 5ire ?(blockchain), and the latest,? Sprocket . According to a PwC report, over 50 Indian startups have the potential to enter the unicorn club—startups valued at over $1 billion each—in 2022.

?The followings are some of the lists of startup companies that became Unicorn in 2022:

1. MamaEarth (Beauty, cosmetic & personal care products)

?The first unicorn of 2022. Honasa Consumer, which is the parent company of personal care brands including Mamaearth and The Derma Co had reportedly announced on January 1, 2022, that it has raised $52 million in a round led by Sequoia, leading to its valuation soaring to $1.2 billion.

2. Fractal Analytics (Advanced analytics)

The second unicorn of 2022, is Fractal Analytics. Founded in Mumbai in the year 2000, Fractal is currently a US-based artificial intelligence firm that helps global Fortune 100 companies power every human decision in the enterprise by bringing together analytics and AI to the decision. The $360 million funding from the private equity firm TPG Capital Asia helped Fractal’s valuation hit the $1 billion mark in January 2022. This also made Fractal only the second firm in India’s pure-play analytics space (after Mu Sigma) to reach unicorn status.?

3. LEAD School (Edtech)

The third in January 2022 become Unicorn is Edtech firm LEAD School had raised $100 million in January 2022 from investors led by GSV Ventures and WestBridge Capital. This resulted in a doubling of its valuation in less than a year to $1.1 billion in January 2022. Established in 2021, the Mumbai-based company provides tech-enabled solutions to schools, with a focus on digital learning through an online or hybrid model of physical and digital classrooms.

4. Darwinbox (HRTech)

Software as a service (SaaS)-based HR Tech platform Darwinbox had managed to raise $72 million in funding in a series D round in January 2022. This made it the first unicorn in the SaaS sector in 2022. The funding was led by Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV) along with existing investors Salesforce Ventures, Sequoia India, Lightspeed India, Endiya Partners, 3One4Capital, JGDEV, and SCB 10X. Founded in 2015, Darwinbox competes with global leaders like SAP, Oracle, and Workday, and had aimed to utilize this funding for global expansion.

5.DealShare (Social commerce grocery startup)

Social commerce grocery startup Dealshare too entered the unicorn club this year by raising $165 million from investors led by Tiger Global and Alpha Wave Global in January 2022.?The company’s valuation was stated to be more than $1.6 billion after the funding. New investors in the company include Dragoneer Investments Group, Kora Capital, and Unilever Ventures. The raised funds are expected to be utilized as an investment in technology and data science, besides a ten-fold expansion in Dealshare’s logistics infrastructure and increase in geographic reach.?

6. Livspace (Home interior and renovation)

Another addition to this unicorn list of 2022 was Livspace, which is a home interior and renovation startup. In Feb 2022, it had raised $180 million in a Series F round led by KKR, a global investment firm. The round had also witnessed participation from existing investors including Ingka Group Investments (holding company of IKEA), Jungle Ventures, Venturi Partners, Peugeot Investments, etc.??

7.ElasticRun (B2B ecommerce)

SoftBank Vision Fund 2 had led a $300 million investment in Pune-headquartered commerce platform ElasticRun, valuing the startup at $1.5 billion and entering it into the unicorn club. As per Forbes, ElasticRun enables businesses to reach Kirana stores—mom-and-pop shops selling everyday needs, in the deep rural parts of India, by deploying a network of delivery services. Goldman Sachs and existing investor Prosus had also participated in the startup’s Series E funding round. Major multinationals that have partnered with ElasticRun include Amazon, Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s, Procter & Gamble as well as Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail, as per?Forbes.

8. Xpressbees (Logistics)

Pune-based logistics start-up Xpressbees had reportedly raised $300 million in a Series F funding round earlier this year, making it another startup to join the unicorn list in 2022. That fundraise valued the firm at $1.2 billion.?The funding round was reportedly led by private equity funds Blackstone Growth, TPG Growth, and ChrysCapital, and includes a primary capital infusion of $100 million and a secondary share sale worth $200 million.

9. Uniphore (Conversational AI)

Conversational automation?startup Uniphore joined the unicorn list of 2022 after raising $400 Mn in funding at a valuation of $2.5 Bn in February 2022. The startup’s Series E round was led by NEA in participation with its existing investors March Capital and others.?With that funding, Uniphore had raised around $610 Mn from external investors till February 2022.?Uniphore provides software for conversational analytics, conversational assistants, and conversational security.

10. Hasura (GraphQL developer)

San Francisco and Bengaluru-based software company Hasura had raised $100 million in a fresh funding round led by Greenoaks Capital. The round also saw participation from existing investors Nexus Venture Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Vertex Ventures, as per ET. With that fundraising, Hasura’s valuation climbed to $1 billion, thus making it to the list of India's unicorns of 2022. The company had planned to use the funding to accelerate research and development and expand go-to-market activities globally for its flagship GraphQL Engine.?

11.CredAvenue (Fintech)

Online debt marketplace CredAvenue had become a unicorn in March 2022, after raising $137 million in a fresh round led by New York-based Insight Partners, B Capital Group, and Dragoneer. That funding round raised the company’s valuation to $1.3 billion. Previously, the startup was valued at $410 million in September 2021.?The company was expected to use the proceeds from the latest round to scale its platform and improve the depth of its offerings. It also reportedly planned to use the funds to expand its business across key global markets, while looking to grow inorganically through acquisitions.

12. Amagi (Mediatech)

Media tech firm Amagi had raised $95 million in a funding round led by Accel, with participation from existing investors Norwest Venture Partners and Avataar Ventures. The new funding valued the firm at over $1 billion in March 2022. Bengaluru-based Amagi started in 2008 as a cloud-based geo-targeted TV advertising company but pivoted in 2018 to build a global leadership position in SaaS-based broadcast and connected TV. It has reportedly enabled TV networks and content owners to launch, manage, distribute, and monetize live, linear, and on-demand channels across cable, OTT, and free ad-supported streaming TV platforms, globally.

13. Oxyzo (Fintech)

Oxyzo Financial Services raised its first external funding of $200 million in March 2022, which has reportedly been the largest series-A funding ever for an Indian startup. With a valuation of $1 billion after that funding, Oxyzo became a unicorn, with the new financing co-led by Alpha Wave Global and Tiger Global with participation from Norwest Venture Partners, Matrix Partners, and Creation Investments, as per Oxyzo CEO Ruchi Kalra. She, along with her husband Asish Mohapatra, became India’s first couple to have a unicorn?each. Asish’s OfBusiness, formally known as OFB Tech Pvt., supplies bulk raw materials such as steel, diesel, food grains, and industrial chemicals to small and medium-sized businesses. Its valuation had surpassed $1 billion when SoftBank and others reportedly invested in April 2021, as per Mohapatra.

14. Games 24x7 (Gaming platform)

Multi-game platform Games24x7 had raised $75 million in March 2022, taking it to a $2.5 billion valuation, in a funding round led by Malabar Investments. The report stated that Games24x7 is the third gaming start-up after Dream 11 and Mobile Premier League to achieve a billion-dollar valuation. Founded in 2006 by Trivikraman Thampy, an engineering alumnus of IIT Bombay, and Bhavin Pandya, an engineering alumnus of Purdue University, Games24x7 is headquartered in Mumbai with offices in Bengaluru, New Delhi, Miami, and Philadelphia. The company’s offerings include RummyCircle, which is an online rummy game, My11Circle (a fantasy platform), and U Games (a portfolio of casual games), as per the report.

15. Open (Neobanking startup)

Last month, Bengaluru-based neo-banking startup Open hit the billion-dollar valuation mark?after it raised $50 million in its Series D investment round led by IIFL. The funding also had participation from existing investors such as Temasek, Tiger Global, and 3one4 Capital. Neobank Open had said in a statement that it was now valued at $1 billion, thus making it the?100th unicorn in India. The Google and?Visa-backed company Open was founded in 2017 by former PayU and Citrus Pay member Anish Achuthan, along with his wife Mabel Chacko and brother Ajeesh Achuthan.

16. Physics Wallah (Edtech)

Last week, India got its?101st unicorn when edtech when edtech firm Physics Wallah raised $100 million in its maiden funding round. The company is valued at $1.1 billion as per a statement last week. The edtech startup Physics Wallah, also referred to as PW, was founded by Alakh Pandey and Prateek Maheshwar in 2016 as a youtube channel, and then later developed the app and website in 2020. PW plans to utilize the funds for business expansion, branding, opening more offline learning centers, and introducing more course offerings.

17. Purplle (Beauty & personal care products retailer)

Just two days after the edtech platform Physics Wallah turned 101st unicorn, online beauty and personal care products retailer?Purple became India’s 102nd unicorn.?Last week, Purplle raised $33 million from Paramark Ventures to reach a valuation of $1.1 billion. Existing investors Premji Invest, Blume Ventures, and Kedaara Capital also participated in the round. The company has raised $215 million so far, including the latest round. Its previous investors include Goldman Sachs and Verlinvest. Purple said it would utilize the funds for marketing, advertising, and strengthening its brand and technology.

Conclusion

Indian talent has started to show their intellect in a very broader way. It will help our country to inclusive growth and bolster the Indian economy tremendously. One year from now is to be believed very miraculous possibilities. The dream of India is to become a superpower economy seems possible. Let us wish for the best.