India's startup ecosystem boasts 67 unicorns, positioning it as the third-largest unicorn market globally, according to a report by Hurun Research. While the US and China lead the unicorn ecosystem, India's significant presence is driven by sectors like Fintech, Software as a Service (SaaS), and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
However, the report highlights India's lag in AI unicorns compared to the US and China, with only one AI unicorn, Krutrim, in India, contrasting with 60 in the US and 37 in China. Anas Rahman Junaid, Founder and Chief Researcher at Hurun India, attributes the slowdown in India's unicorn growth to a lack of investment in startups despite record highs in the stock market.
Furthermore, Indian founders have produced more offshore unicorns than any other country, with 109 unicorns co-founded outside of India, primarily in the USA (95), followed by the UK, Singapore, and Germany. This trend underscores the need for increased domestic investment and innovation to bolster India's unicorn ecosystem.
The absence of unicorns in sectors like aerospace and spacetech, where the US and China have advanced, presents a significant gap and potential opportunity for India. Similarly, China leads in sectors such as new energy and semiconductors, highlighting areas where India needs to focus on domestic innovation to avoid falling behind.
Among the notable Indian unicorns mentioned in the report are Swiggy and Dream11, each worth $8 billion, and Razorpay, worth $7.5 billion. While the rise of Krutrim as India's first AI unicorn is encouraging, Junaid emphasizes the need for India to focus on sectors like new energy, semiconductors, and aerospace to bridge the gap with global leaders.
Despite a slight decline from the previous year, Bengaluru remains one of the top cities for unicorns in India, with 32 unicorns based there. San Francisco retains its position as the world's unicorn capital, followed by Singapore.
Hurun Research's report, titled 'Most Successful Unicorn Investors in the World 2024,' identifies 1,453 unicorns globally, with Tiger Global Management leading as the most successful unicorn investor. The report underscores the disruptive impact of unicorns in financial services, business management solutions, and healthcare, with ByteDance retaining the top position with a valuation of $220 billion, followed by SpaceX and OpenAI.
