Hurun India released the Hurun India Future Unicorn List 2021 on September 2, 2021 which ranks start-ups founded in 2000s, with a worth of at least US$200mn, or INR 1,500 crores. India is listed as the third largest Unicorn system in the world with 51 Unicorns, 32 Gazelles and 54 Cheetahs.
According to the Hurun India Research institute, the Unicorns are those start-ups which are founded after 2000 and have a valuation of US$1bn, the start-ups Gazelles are expected to reach the Unicorn status in 2 years while Cheetahs are expected to reach the Unicorn status in 4 years. Regulatory filings and feedback are received from entrepreneurs, active India focused VC funds and angel investors.
According to Times Now, Hurun India report said, “Although the Indian start-up ecosystem is growing, some of the start-ups, who reach a certain scale migrate from India, in search for better regulatory incentives and risk capital availability. For instance, some of the best Enterprise SaaS companies are born in India but “flipped” to the USA. This is a lost opportunity for India and it is important that these start-ups are incentivized to stay back in the country.”
Anas Rahman Junaid, MD and Chief Researcher, Hurun India said on the matter, “Preparing the Hurun India Future Unicorn List 2021 has been one of the most daunting tasks, primarily due to the positive hyperactivity in Indian start-up ecosystems. For instance, 5 start-ups that we had as Cheetahs at the beginning of our research, jumped straight to Unicorn valuations. The list has inputs from India’s start-up investor ecosystem including some of the top VC funds and hence could serve as a good source for investors and family offices to understand more some of the most exciting start-ups in the country.”
He also added, “2021 also registered start-up IPOs, starting with Nazaara Tech, followed by Zomato and others who have filed including Paytm, Freshworks, Nykaa and so on. IPOs present exit opportunities for investors and encourage more Indian High Networth Individuals to allocate a meaningful portion of their investment into start-ups.”
“India is home to more than 600 million internet users and is expected to have 900 million users by 2025. The adoption of internet in rural areas will further compliment the rise of technology start-ups. Fintech companies operating in mobile payments, insurance, blockchain, stock trading and digital lending will grow further to capitalize the internet penetration,” Junaid said.
PM Narendra Modi had taken the initiative to promote start-ups when he announced the “Start Up India” on August 15, 2015, an initiative to establish India as a start-up hub.
