India Added 3 Unicorns Per Month, 30 Startups Enter One Billion Club

Startups Enter One Billion Club: Unicorns are aplenty in India this year. There are just two months left in the year 2021, and at least 30 businesses have already joined the exclusive unicorn club. According to research by Hurun India, India added three "unicorns" each month in 2021, nearly doubling the entire number of companies valued at over $1 billion, to 51 as of end-August. India is now third on the list of nations with the most unicorns, behind the United States (396) and China (277), but ahead of the United Kingdom (32) and Germany (18), according to the report.

Startups with a valuation of $1 billion or more are known as unicorns. With over 60 unicorn firms, India is quickly becoming the world's fastest-growing startup ecosystem. Gaming platform Mobile Premier League, grocery website Grofers, cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX, and finance company BharatPe are among this year's unicorns.

The number of unicorns produced in India has been steadily growing throughout the years. Bengaluru is India's Silicon Valley, with nine unicorns this year hailing from the city. Mumbai is just behind it, with seven unicorns in its possession. Three unicorns follow in Gurgaon's footsteps. As of September 30, Delhi, Noida, and Pune each had two unicorns, but Thane only had one.

The following is a list of additional Indian businesses that made it into the unicorn club this year.

Licious: This direct-to-customer firm from Bengaluru is presently valued at $1 billion. Licious is a fresh meat and seafood business founded by Abhay Hanjura and Vivek Gupta in 2015.

Vedantu: The Edtech startup, founded in 2011, has a $1 billion value. Vamsi Krishna, Pulkit Jain, Saurabh Saxena, and Anand Prakash, four IIT graduates, started the company in Bengaluru.

Mobile Premier League: It is a three-year-old business with a $2.3 billion valuation. The Bengaluru-based firm, founded by three IIT graduates, is the second gaming platform to join the unicorn list after Dream11.

Grofers: In 2013, Albinder Dhindsa and Saurabh Kumar created Grofers, an e-commerce grocery delivery platform. The Gurgaon-based firm is currently valued at $1 billion.

CoinDCX: CoinDCX is a cryptocurrency exchange platform with a market capitalization of $1.1 billion. In only three years after its beginnings, the Mumbai-based business established by Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal has joined the unicorn club.

UpGrad: This Mumbai-based higher education platform was founded in 2015 and is now valued at $1.2 billion. Mayank Kumar and Phalgun Kompalli, both IIT Delhi grads and Ronnie Screwvala, a well-known entrepreneur, created the company.

BharatPe: This financial company located in Delhi is currently valued at $2.8 billion. Ashneer Grover and Shashvnat Nakrani founded the firm.

Cred: Known for its effective advertising, Cred joined the unicorn club in 2021 with a $2.2 billion value. Kunal Shah started this fintech (payments and credit card rewards) company in Bengaluru.

Below is a list of other firms that have joined the unicorn club this year, Digit $3.5 billion, Innovaccer $1.3 billion, Market $2.5 billion, Five Star Business Finance $1.4 billion, FirstCry $1.7 billion, Meesho $4.9 billion, PharmEasy $4 billion, Groww $1 billion, ShareChat $2.8 billion, GupShup $1.4 billion, ChargeBee $1.4 billion, Urban Company $2.1 billion, Moglix $1 billion, Zeta $1.4 billion, BrowserStack $4 billion, Blackbuck $1 billion, Droom $1.2 billion, OfBusiness $3 billion, MindTickle $1.2 billion, Eruditus $3.2 billion, Zetwerk $1 billion, and Apna.co $1.1 billion.