Dr APJ Abdul Kalam: Success Story,...
Learn the APJ Abdul Kalam story and walk away feeling inspired by the country’s missile man.
13 Jul, 2022
5 min read
1165 Views
The term ‘unicorn’ was first coined in 2013 by venture capitalist Aileen Lee. Finding credence within the start-up ecosystem, it is used to highlight those start-ups that are valued at over USD 1 billion, which at the time was rare. Fast forward a decade, and the presence of unicorns in India isn’t as rare as you’d imagine. In fact, as of June 2022, India is home to 100 unicorns with neo-banking start-up Open occupying the 100th position. Continue reading to learn about 10 of the unicorn start-ups in India that achieved this status in the past two years.
This start-up provides tools for linear, live and on-demand channels operating on OTT, cable and ad-supported streaming TV platforms. It was founded in 2008 by Srividhya Srinivasan, Srinivasan KA and Baskar Subramanian.
It has raised USD 95 million in a funding round that was spearheaded by Accel.
This start-up was founded in 2015 and helps forge connections between businesses, truck owners and freight operators. Its founders are Chankya Hridaya, Rama Subramaniam and Rajesh Yabaji. Truck services are listed on this platform and customers can take advantage of intelligent matches keeping in mind their requirements.
CarDekho was founded in 2007 by Anurag Jain and Amit Jain. It serves as an Indian search and eCommerce platform that has an insurance vertical and is used for used and new vehicles. This start-up has tied up with several auto manufacturers, financial institutions, and car dealers across the country such that the vehicles that are listed on its platform can be purchased with ease.
This start-up secured USD 250 million in its series E financing round as of October 2021. Harbor Spring Capital and Canyon Partners are some of the many venture capitalists that directed funds towards CarDekho.
This start-up was founded over a decade ago in 2011 by Thiyagarajan T, Krish Subramanian, Saravanan KP and Rajaraman Santhanam. It serves as a revenue management platform that is responsible for automating revenue operations. Its services are presently enjoyed by over 4000 high-growth subscription-oriented companies.
As of 2022, this start-up’s valuation amounts to USD 3.5 billion following a USD 250 million funding round led by venture capitalists Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global. Thus far Chargebee has raised USD 470 million in funding.
As the name might suggest, this is a fitness-oriented start-up that was founded in 2016 by Ankit Nagori and Mukesh Bansal. It employs an online-offline model such that its patrons can access the tools needed to be physically fit (via Cult.fit), mentally fit (via Mind.fit) and eat nutritious meals (Eat.fit).
Cure.fit’s unicorn status is owed to Zomato having invested in it in 2020. The food-tech giant sold Fitso – its fitness wing to Cure.fit for USD 50 million and then directed another UDD 50 million towards Cure.fit as a result of which Zomato has 6.4 per cent of the start-up’s shareholding.
This cloud-based HRTech start-up was founded in 2015. Its founders are Rohit Chennamaneni, Jayant Paleti and Chaitanya Peddi. Its offerings help companies fulfil their HR obligations in areas that relate to onboarding, recruitment and payroll.
It was able to raise USD 72 million in a funding round that was most ardently supported by Technology Crossover Ventures.
This advanced analytics solutions and artificial intelligence start-up was founded over 2 decades ago by Pranay Agrawal, Nirmal Palaparthi, Srikanth Velamakanni, Ramakrishna Reddy, and Pradeep Suryanarayan. It offers a host of products that help assist a wide range of professionals including CEOs and radiologists.
It acquired an investment of USD 360 million via TPG Capital Asia at the start of 2022.
With Livspace it is possible for users to take advantage of an end-to-end home design experience. Ramakant Sharma and Anuj Srivastava are credited with founding this start-up in 2014. Software tools available on its marketplace are geared to help homeowners and designers design interiors.
As of February 2022, Livspace has raised USD 180 million in a funding round.
This personal care brand was launched in 2016 by Ghazal and Varun Alagh. Although it originally sold baby care products, it’s evolved over the past 6 years and now offers a wide range of personal care products. As per this start-up’s claims, its products are FDA approved, dermatologically tested and have ‘Made Safe’ certifications.
Some of Mamaearth’s many marquee investors include Fireside Ventures, Sequoia India and Stellaris Ventures.
Thus far it has raised USD 111 million across varied funding rounds.
This neo-banking fintech start-up was founded in 2017 and provides expense management, payments and business banking services to small and midsize businesses across India.
Thus far Open has raised USD 140 million in funding and has Trifecta Capital Advisors, BEENEXT and Temasek account for its key investors.
In order for more Indian start-ups to be deemed unicorns, the government will need to step and remove some of the hurdles that currently exist. Some of these include structural issues within the economy, imposing restrictions on the migration of Indian start-ups to foreign lands and enhancing facilities such that businesses can run with greater ease. Learn more about Indian businesses and understand financial markets on the Angel One website.
Disclaimer: This blog is exclusively for educational purposes and does not provide any advice/tips on investment or recommend buying and selling any stock.
How would you rate this blog?
Related Blogs
Translate the power of knowledge into action. Open Free* Demat Account
Subscribe to #SmartSauda Newsletter