10 Indian Startups On The Cusp Of Turning Unicorns, According To Hurun
The index has 11 companies from the fintech sector, six from SaaS, and four each from both e-commerce and agritech sectors.
Electric scooter maker Ather Energy, quick commerce firm Zepto, and edtech company Leap Scholar are among the ventures that could potentially become unicorns, even as startups face greater regulatory scrutiny and a funding winter.
The combined value of India's future unicorns has reached $57 billion, reflecting 16% growth as compared with the previous year, according to a study by Hurun India and ASK Private Wealth.
Several companies have emerged as potential future unicorns or startups with a value of at least $1 billion. These also include AI startup Observe.AI and AgriTech venture Ninjacart.
On Tuesday, the Hurun Research Institute released the ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Future Unicorn Index 2023. It provides a ranking of Indian startups founded in the 2000s that hold a minimum valuation of $200 million and have the potential to achieve unicorn status—valuation of $1 billion—within the next three to five years.
The list has names of 51 startups most likely to 'go unicorn' within three years and 96 startups that can potentially become unicorns within five years.
According to Anas Rahman Junaid, founder and chief researcher at Harun India, the economic slowdown has been tough for several companies. Nearly 20% of last year's companies have either dropped off the list or have experienced downgrades, he said. "Rising interest rates and geopolitical headwinds have combined to make it harder for startups to raise capital."
The index comprises 11 companies from the fintech sector, six from the SaaS sector, and four each from the e-commerce and agritech sectors.
"While rising interest rates and global uncertainties have dramatically reduced the appetite of investors to put money into startups in the past half year, there are nonetheless 147 companies—a new record—that Hurun Research believes are most likely to ‘go unicorn’ within five years," said Junaid.
The index provides a ranking based on the company's latest funding round valuations. The evaluation incorporates regulatory filings, feedback from other entrepreneurs, and insights from active India-focused venture capitalist funds and angel investors.
"Valuations are based on news reports. The objective of the list is to identify the future unicorns. Some of the companies at the bottom of the table could become unicorn faster, too, as there have been cases earlier," said Junaid.
Top Investors
Among the top investors, Peak XV Partners—formerly known as Sequoia Capital India and SEA—secured the leading position with 37 investments, followed by InnoVen Capital, Tiger Global Management, Accel, Blume Ventures and others, according to the report.
In terms of angel investors, Anand Chandrasekaran, partner at General Catalyst, emerged as the leader with 16 investments in the index. Kunal Shah followed with 12 investments in future unicorns, while Rohit Bansal and Kunal Bahl each made eight investments in future unicorn companies.
