Have you heard of Swiggy, Zomato, Ola, Uber, Byjus, Flipkart, etc.? All these companies were startups qualified for unicorn status with a valuation in excess of $1bn. These unicorns are now writing a new chapter in India’s startup story. Did you know that our nation is home to 108 unicorns?
This article is all about the top 15 unicorn startups of India:
1. Flipkart
Flipkart is one of the biggest ‘Made In India’ online stores selling almost everything from a pen worth Rs. 20 to an air conditioner worth Rs. 45,000 on the internet in India. It was founded by Sachin and Binny Bansal in the year 2007 with a total funding of $7.3bn, and it became a unicorn in 2012. Flipkart’s journey from a small book e-retailer to India’s largest e-commerce platform is an inspiration to the upcoming generation of startups.
2. Zomato
Zomato is known to be the leader in the food tech space in India. It was founded by Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah in the year 2008 with a total funding of $775bn. Its headquarters is in Delhi NCR. Zomato delivers food, runs a popular Zomato Gold loyalty program, and even delivers fresh ingredients to restaurants. It has been a unicorn startup since 2015 and is now valued at approximately $2.18 billion.
3. Swiggy
Swiggy was founded by Nandan Reddy, Rahul Jamini, and Sriharsha Majety in the year 2014 with a total funding of $1.27bn. Yet in less than four years, Swiggy became a part of the much-vaunted league of ‘unicorn’ startups. Within a year of its launch, it managed to create a buzz in the food delivery space.
4. Paytm
Paytm is one of the most ubiquitous startups in India. You can find its payment QR codes at shops, either big or small; it sells everything from movie tickets to gold, and the cashbacks it pioneered have been adopted by the entire industry. It was founded by Vijay Shekhar Sharma in the year 2010 with a total funding of $2.5bn, and it has been a unicorn since 2015.
5. Oyo Rooms
Oyo is another startup in India that is fairly ubiquitous. From Delhi to Dalhousie, its hotel boards are visible wherever you go. It was founded by Ritesh Agarwal in the year 2013 with a total funding of $1.7bn. It has been a unicorn startup since 2018. Oyo is the world’s 3rd largest hotel chain.
6. BYJU’S
BYJU’S was launched in the year 2008 with a total funding of $819M. It was founded by Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath, and it entered the unicorn club in 2018. The platform offers a learning app, which was launched in the year 2015, and has learning programs for students in classes IV-XII along with courses to help students to prepare for competitive exams like JEE, NEET, CAT, IAS, etc.
7. Ola
Ola was launched in the year 2010 by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati with a total funding of $3.8bn. It became a unicorn startup in 2014. Ola is the first Indian cab aggregator company that has made easy access to cab services. Instead of buying and renting out their own cars, Ola partners with taxi drivers and owners to provide cab services.
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8. Delhivery
Delhivery was launched in the year 2011 by Bhavesh Manglani, Mohit Tandon, Sahil Barua, and Suraj Saharan with a total funding of $670M. It became a unicorn startup in the year 2019. It is a supply chain service provider that initially started as an offline service provider, but with the expansion of e-commerce, it started providing online services also.
9. PhonePe
PhonePe was launched in the year 2015 by Burzin Engineer Rahul Chari and Sameer Nigam with total funding of $291M, and within three years, it entered the unicorn club in 2018. It is an Indian e-commerce payment system and digital wallet company headquartered in Bangalore, India.
10. BigBasket
BigBasket, a leading online grocery store, was launched in the year 2011 by Abhinay Choudhari, Hari Menon, Vipul Parekh, and VS Sudhakar with a total funding of $1.02bn. It became a unicorn startup in the year 2019. It is one of those successful Indian startups that became India’s largest supermarket within a few years.
11. Quikr
Quikr was launched in the year 2008 by Jiby Thomas and Pranay Chulet with a total funding of $430M, and it entered the unicorn club in the year 2015. It is a Bengaluru-based online classifieds marketplace.
12. Udaan
Udaan was launched in the year 2016 by Sujeet Kumar, Vaibhav Gupta, and Amod Malviya with total funding of $285M, and within such a short time span of two years, it entered the unicorn club in the year 2018. It is a B2B (Business to Business) e-commerce platform designed to solve core trade issues for small, medium, and large businesses all across India.
13. BillDesk
BillDesk was launched in the year 2000 by Ajay Kaushal with a total funding of $257M. It became a unicorn startup in the year 2018. It was launched to solve the frustrations of most of us when it comes to paying bills. It provides an electronic medium to better organize and manage our payments while escaping some of the pitfalls of traditional bill payment services.
14. Ola Electric
Ola Electric is a product by Ola launched in the year 2018 by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati with a total funding of $306M. Within a year, it became a unicorn startup in 2019. The project brought together industry and government to pioneer electric vehicles for public and shared mobility.
15. MakeMyTrip
MakeMyTrip was launched in the year 2010 by Deep Kalra, Keyur Joshi, and Rajesh Magow with a total funding of $548M, and in the same year, it became a unicorn startup which in itself shows the success of this startup. It provides online travel services, including flight tickets, domestic and international holiday packages, hotel reservations, and rail and bus tickets.
The Indian startup ecosystem has never been better. Which is the most inspiring company or product, according to you?
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