India Will Have 122 New Unicorns In 4 Years, Says Hurun India Future Unicorn Index

Hurun Research Institute’s ranking said that Indian start-ups founded in the 2000s, valued at least $200 million, and not yet listed on a public exchange

Hurun India’s findings showed that Bengaluru continues to be the start-up capital of India. The city is home to 46 probable unicorns, followed by Delhi NCR.

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India will have 122 new unicorns in the next two to four years, according to the Hurun India Future Unicorn Index 2022 released by Hurun Research Institute on Thursday. The Hurun Research Institute’s ranking said that Indian start-ups founded in the 2000s, valued at least $200 million, and not yet listed on a public exchange, according to news reports.

According to the index, companies as would-be unicorns (those founded after 2000 and valued at least $1 billion), gazelles (those most likely to become unicorns in two years), and cheetahs (start-ups that could go unicorn in four years).

Anas Rahman Junaid, MD and chief researcher, Hurun India, said, “In just one year, the number of unicorns has increased by 65 per cent, the number of Gazelles has increased by 59 per cent to 51, and the number of Cheetahs has increased by 31 per cent to 71. Probably, the pandemic has accelerated the disruption of traditional businesses and fostered the emergence of start-ups.”

A majority of the prospective unicorns sell software and services, and only 17 per cent sell physical goods. As many as 37 per cent are business-to-business sellers, while 63 per cent are consumer-facing.

Hurun India’s findings showed that Bengaluru continues to be the start-up capital of India. The city is home to 46 probable Unicorns, followed by Delhi NCR (25) and Mumbai (16). E-commerce, FinTech, and SaaS comprise 43 per cent of the Future Unicorn Index 2022.

“India has emerged as the third-largest ecosystem for start-ups after US and China,” said Rajesh Saluja, CEO and MD, ASK Wealth Advisors Pvt Ltd. "The country saw a record 44 start-ups turning unicorns in 2021."

However, Junaid said there are some global economic concerns that could affect the valuations and capital-raising abilities of Indian start-ups’, while adding, that some Indian start-ups are implementing layoffs and cost-cutting measures, fuelling speculation of an ecosystem downturn.