When it comes to startups, India has experienced remarkable growth. It is exciting to see so many people make a risky move. This has made life easier for us because there are so many inventions available, and it has also inspired people to pursue their passions. In 2022, the 100th Indian business joined the unicorn club, marking a significant achievement for the country’s startup ecosystem. We have a large number of VC-funded firms that are growing into well-known brands and corporations, although some startups are bootstrapped and others are run by a single individual. In India, there are an amazing 108 firms that have become unicorns. “Unicorn” and “Startup” are the two words that make up Unicorn Startup. A startup with a valuation of more than $1 billion is referred to in the business world as a unicorn. According to reports, Indian entrepreneurs raised more than $42 billion in capital in 2021. About 60,000 new companies have been founded in India since 2016 in more than 56 different industries, contributing to the creation of more than 6 lakh new jobs in the nation. President Ram Nath Kovind made a specific mention of this in his speech on January 31, 2022, where he highlighted the tremendous potential that Indian startups are bringing forth.
Let’s have a look at the names of the Unicorn Startups in India in 2022.
PhysicsWallah
A web-based edtech platform is called PhysicsWallah. It is intended for those who desire thorough courses that are also reasonably priced. Alakh Pandey founded this unicorn that was worth 777 crores while beginning his career as a teacher and earning 5000 rupees. The edtech platform only concentrates on competitive test preparation for NEET and IIT/JEE, and it offers a wide range of courses on its website, mobile app, and YouTube channel. PW, as it is called informally, asserts that more than 10,000 of its students in 2020 and 2021 passed the NEET and JEE. PhysicsWallah, an edtech platform, raised $100 million in a series a round from investors including Westbrige and GSV Ventures, turning it into a unicorn. Following completion of the acquisition, the company will be worth $1.1 billion.
Onecard
OneCard is a Pune-based fintech firm that sells Visa credit cards. It was founded in 2018 by Anurag Sinha, Rupesh Kumar, and Vaibhav Hathi. In July 2022, after raising $100 Mn in a round backed by Temasek, the business joined the unicorn club, becoming India’s 104th unicorn. The startup’s valuation, as calculated by Inc42, increased with the most recent round of funding to $1.25 billion. In addition to issuing credit cards, OneCard also operates a free credit score checking portal called OneScore.
DealShare is a social e-commerce platform. It makes it possible for people who have never used the internet before to shop online. The start-up provides grocery and essentials for the home via social media and messaging services like WhatsApp. The Bengaluru-based social commerce business raised $165 million from investors, including Tiger Global and Alpha Wave Global, at the start of 2022, making it the fifth Indian unicorn of the year.
Purple
Purplle is a Mumbai-based e-commerce firm with a focus on equipment and products for the beauty industry that was founded in 2012 by Manish Taneja and Rahul Dash. At a valuation of $1.1 billion, it raised $33 million in a Series E investment round from new and current investors to become India’s 102nd unicorn. It provides information on skin care, wellness, and personal care. It took off quickly and is currently one of the best-selling beauty brands in India. With more than 1,000 brands and over 60,000 products featured on its platform, Purplle offers a variety of goods from both established and emerging beauty businesses.
Games24x7
Games24x7, a gaming firm that was founded in 2006 by Bhavin Pandya and Trivikraman Thampy, is home to well-known brands like the online card game RummyCircle and the sports fantasy game My11 Circle. U Games, a collection of casual games, is the startup’s third offering. In March, Games24x7 raised $75 Mn in a fundraising round headed by Malabar India Fund with a valuation of $2.5 Bn, turning it into India’s 99th unicorn.
LeadSquared
Nilesh Patel, Sudhakar Gorti, and Prashant Singh founded LeadSquared in 2011, a provider of CRM, marketing, and sales software. The business, which has offices in both India and the US, secured $153 million from WestBridge Capital in June, making it the 103rd unicorn in India. The start-up provides goods for industries like edtech, healthcare, BFSI, real estate, automotive, and hospitality. LeadSquared is a cloud-based marketing automation and customer relationship management (CRM) solution for businesses of all sizes.
Fractal
In 2000, a group of five individuals, including Ramakrishna Reddy, Nirmal Palaparthi, Pradeep Suryanarayan, and IIM Ahmedabad graduates Srikanth Velamakanni and Pranay Agrawal, launched Fractal Analytics. Fractal offers solutions for advanced analytics and artificial intelligence. The AI and advanced analytics solutions startup has employees working at 16 sites around the world, including India, the US, the UK, and Singapore, among others. In January 2022, Fractal joined the list of unicorn companies after receiving a $360 million investment from the private equity firm TPG Capital Asia.
LeadSchool
LeadSchool is an edtech startup based in Mumbai that was founded in 2012 by Sumeet Mehta and Smita Deorah with the goal of enhancing school instruction using technology. LeadSchool is used to manage educational infrastructure. It largely offers academic information. Also, it offers instructor and student performance tracking, among other things. It aims to provide Indians access to international education. When Leadschool raised $100 million at a valuation of $1.1 billion in 2022, it became the first Indian firm to reach unicorn valuation. Among others, WestBridge Capital, Elevar Equity, and GSV Ventures support the edtech startup.
Open
Founded in 2017 by Anish Achuthan, Ajeesh Achuthan, Mabel Chacko, and Deena Jacob, Open is a neobanking fintech business. Small and medium businesses (SMBs) all around the country can take advantage of the business banking, payments, and expenditure management services that Open provides. By financing $50 Mn at a $1 Bn valuation, Open achieved unicorn status in April 2022, becoming the 100th Indian unicorn.
Shiprocket
A logistics aggregator called Shiprocket seeks to make online shopping more accessible to all. It is among the top businesses for end-to-end logistics. It just bought Pickrr, one of its competitors. The business model is B2B2C. Shiprocket is a third-party logistics service provider with headquarters in Gurugram and is supported by companies including Zomato, Temasek, and Bertelsmann. It was founded in 2017 by Saahil Goel, Vishesh Khurana, Gautam Kapoor, and Akshay Gulati. As the 3PL player raised $33.5 Mn in a round headed by Lightrock India in August 2022, it became the country’s 106th unicorn.
