India Home to Third Highest Number of Billion Dollar Startups, Reports Say

India now boasts of a record number of 18 unicorns, i.e. startups with a valuation of $ 1 billion or more, according to a new report.

According to CB Insights, India has produced 14 unicorns in the last five years, from just three in 2013.

Bloomberg Quint said India has produced more billion-dollar startups than Germany and the U.K. put together and according to a recent Nasscom study, in 2018 alone, India saw eight new unicorns including Oyo, Freshworks, Udaan, Zomato and others while U.K. and Germany have produced just four and two respectively.

“The year was marked with dramatic increase in number of unicorns, resurgence in investments, and rapid growth in advanced technology in start-up ecosystem. India continues to be the 3rd largest start-up ecosystem in the world, with the overall start-up base in India expected to cross 7500, a growth of 12-15% from last year,” according to the Nasscom report.

The latest unicorn to join the list of a billion-dollar list is Oyo rooms which has seen immense success expanding overseas in countries like China, U.K., and UAE. Also, Udaan, a B2B marketplace has been named as the fastest growing unicorn in the country.

The study further suggested that start-up funding in 2018 has almost doubled from last year and the growth in late-stage funding has resulted in eight Indian startups becoming unicorns in 2018. India has the third largest number of startups and the third highest number of unicorn startups after the U.S. and China with 18 unicorns out of over 250 unicorns globally. Also, eight Indian startups turned unicorn in 2018 (till Sept.) has been considered as the highest addition in a single calendar year, as per the Nasscom report says.

Moreover, the study has predicted that the by 2020, the Indian unicorn list will swell with the addition of more than 10 new startups. Some of them are Druva, Rivigo, Big Basket, Delivery, Mobikwik, and Practo.

Considering the growth of Asian countries, the study has pointed out that China’s share of global unicorns has risen from 14 percent to 35 percent while a 30 percent increase in funding to Asia Pacific countries in the past four years has been recorded.

Currently, the U.S. has over 126 unicorns, the highest in the world with China ranking second with 77 unicorns. Of these 20 received unicorn status in 2018 alone. After India’s 18 startups, U.K. ranks fourth with 15 billion-dollar startups.