The startup ecosystem in India has transformed in the last 10 years, and unicorn startups are a representation of a thriving business and novel concepts. These billion-dollar corporations demonstrate that India is becoming more technologically, trade-related, and innovative over the Internet.
In the coming 2025, India has been ranked as the third largest startup community in the world just after United States and China. The emergence of unicorn startups in India indicates the economic objectives of the nation, technological capabilities as well as the ambition of most business starters to dream big in an arduous global market.
What Is a Unicorn Startup?
Definition
A unicorn startup is a privately based enterprise and has been valued at over a billion U.S. dollars and not publicly traded in the stock markets. This legendary status of success in business became symbolically known as the ununicorn coined by venture capitalist Aileen Lee in 2013. In India, unicorns need to remain as a private entity as they attain this excessive valuation, often in multiple venture-capital financing rounds.
These enterprises tend to transform classic industries into new business models, into the most recent technology, and the scalable solutions able to respond to the great market requirements. The unicorn designation is a prestigious measure that families attention to both of the investors and media companies, as well as, innovative personnel who are eager to become part of swiftly developing projects.
Criteria for Becoming a Unicorn
When it comes to valuation, it is a requirement that the company has a valuation of at least one billion dollars.
- Individual Significance: Corporation has to remain a private and not listed company.
- Growth Pattern: Yearly increase in revenue and market share of the company has been steady.
- Investor Confidence From popular venture capital and institutional investors big investment made into company.
- Scalable Model: There exists a business model in which a company can expand the business considerably without escalating costs keeping up with it.
Importance of Unicorns in the Indian Startup Ecosystem
- Economic Catalyst: Answer: This way you create a lot of employment and contribute towards the development of the economy in the country.
- Economic Solidarity (Investment Attractiveness): international investors and attract their funds to the country.
- Innovation Motor: Promotion of new technology to modify the old industries.
- Entrepreneurial Inspiration: Demonstrate to young entrepreneurs that they can achieve enormous strength in their countries of origin.
- Internationaloman: Become a place to have new ideas and equal big technology markets with India.
The Journey of Unicorn Startups in India
First Unicorn of India
InMobi was the first unicorn start up in India. InMobi is a unicorn and reached that milestone in 2011, accomplishing what Indian startups had yet to achieve. It is a mobile firm that creates advertising investment developed by Naveen Tewari, Mohit Saxena, Amit Gupta, and Abhay Singhal.
It demonstrated that Indian businessmen are capable of creating global business. The success of InMobi paved the way to other upcoming startups with signs that there is a possibility that Indian companies will receive huge foreign investment and able to compete within other global markets.
Milestone Unicorns
- First Mover: The initial wave developed a high level of trust that attracted external country investors to India.
- Fast Recent Growth: New unicorns increased in very rapid rates per year after 2015.
- Hundredth Milestone: OneCard reached the 100 th unicorn in July 2022, indicating that the ecosystem had reached maturity.
- Recent Success: As of October 2025, Raise Financial is the 116 th unicorn, and its growth continues.
- Sector Diversification: The trend shifted out of technologies alone to include a wide variety of industries, and corroborates the broadness of different types of unicorns.
Total Number of Unicorn Startups in India (2025)
India has 116 unicorn startups in the year 2025 and hence it is one of the top destinations of innovations globally. This successful case indicates that Indian business conditions have increased, there are expanded individuals who have access to venture capital, good government regulations, and that more individuals have adopted digital technology. There are also fewer unicorns who demonstrate that India is continuing to generate more revenue, generate employment, and develop technologies.
Growth Trajectory Comparison
| Year | Number of Unicorns | Year-over-Year Growth |
| 2020 | 38 | – |
| 2022 | 100 | 163% increase |
| 2024 | 110 | 10% increase |
| 2025 | 116 | 5.5% increase |
Complete List of Unicorn Startups in India
| Name | Sector | Year Became Unicorn | Headquarters | Key Investors |
| Raise Financial | Fintech | 2025 | Mumbai | 3ONE4 Capital, Beenext, Blume Ventures, Mirae Asset |
| Jumbotail | E-Commerce (B2B Groceries) | 2025 | Bangalore | Arkam Ventures, Invus Group, VII Ventures |
| Drools | Packaged Foods (Pets) | 2025 | Bangalore | L Capital Asia |
| JSW One Platforms | Marketplace (Steel) | 2025 | Mumbai | Mitsui PE |
| The Porter | Marketplace (Truck Booking) | 2025 | Mumbai | Peak XV Partners, Lightrock India, Mahindra Partners |
| Juspay | Mobile App (Payments) | 2025 | Bangalore | Accel India, Kedaara Capital, SoftBank Corp |
| MoneyView | Mobile App (Consumer Loans) | 2024 | Bangalore | Accel India, Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global |
| Ather Energy | Mobility (Electric) | 2024 | Bangalore | NIIF, GIC, Navam Capital |
| Rapido | Mobile App (Taxi Booking) | 2024 | Bangalore | WestBridge, Nexus Venture Partners |
| Perfios | Fintech (Credit Assessment) | 2024 | Bangalore | Bessemer, Kedaara Capital, Warburg Pincus |
| Krutrim | Conversational AI | 2024 | Bangalore | Z47 (Formerly Matrix Partners India) |
| InCred Finance | NBFC | 2023 | Mumbai | OAKS, FMO, Moore Strategic Ventures |
| Zepto | E-Commerce (Groceries) | 2023 | Mumbai | Nexus Venture Partners, Glade Brook Capital |
| BoAt | IT Products (Electronics) | 2022 | Mumbai | Warburg Pincus, Fireside Ventures |
| Molbio Diagnostics | Healthtech (Diagnostics) | 2022 | Goa | Temasek, Motilal Oswal |
| Shiprocket | Aggregator (Logistics) | 2022 | Delhi | Lightrock India, Info Edge, Temasek |
| OneCard | Fintech (Credit Cards) | 2022 | Pune | QED Investors, Z47, Peak XV Partners |
| Leadsquared | SaaS (CRM) | 2022 | Bangalore | Stakeboat Capital, Gaja Capital, WestBridge |
| Purplle | E-Commerce (Cosmetics) | 2022 | Mumbai | JSW Ventures, IvyCap Ventures, Kedaara Capital |
| PhysicsWallah | Edtech | 2022 | Noida | GSV Ventures, WestBridge |
| Open Financial Technologies | Fintech (Neo Bank) | 2022 | Bangalore | 3ONE4 Capital, Tiger Global, Temasek |
| Games24x7 | Gaming | 2022 | Mumbai | Tiger Global, Malabar Investments |
| Oxyzo Financial Services | Fintech (SME Lending) | 2022 | Gurgaon | Alpha Wave Global, Z47, Tiger Global |
| Amagi Media Labs | SaaS (Local Ads) | 2022 | Bangalore | Avataar Venture Partners, PremjiInvest, Accel India |
Top 10 Unicorn Startups in India
1. Flipkart
Sector: E-Commerce
Headquarters: Bangalore
Founders: Sachin Bansal, Binny Bansal
Year Became Unicorn: 2012
Key Investors: Walmart, Tiger Global, Accel Partners, SoftBank
Products and Services:
- Online shopping marketplace
- Fashion and lifestyle products
- Electronics and appliances
- Grocery delivery services
- Digital payment solutions
Flipkart transformed the Indian online shopping. It has developed a dependable Web site that addressed such local issues individual of troubles as individuals who desired to settle their debts after delivery and challenging delivery routes. It began in 2007 as an e-bookstore, and grew to be India’s largest online market, which Walmart acquired in 2018 at $16 billion, the largest acquisition deal of its scale.
Flipkart provided convenient returns, secure payment and is cheap. Nowadays it serves millions of peopleце Indian cities and towns and sells numerous varieties of goods. Startups such as Flipkart transformed the way Indians shop and it is now realized that people in town and the city buy online.
Why It’s in the Top 10: Market leadership position, massive user base, transformation impact
2. Paytm
Sector: Fintech
Headquarters: Noida
Founders: Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Year Became Unicorn: 2015
Key Investors: SoftBank, Alibaba Group, Ant Financial, Berkshire Hathaway
Products and Services:
- Digital wallet services
- UPI payment solutions
- Banking and insurance
- Investment and wealth management
- E-commerce marketplace
Paytm began when online money gained momentum as India eased some notes in 2016. Vijay Shekhar Sharma founded it in 2010 as a phone top-up service. It expanded into a complete range of financial services. It was simple in design with the strength of its advertising, making digital money accessible to millions of people who did not have bank accounts previously.
Paytm has included banks, insurance, investments, its store, and Credit Card Payment Apps in a single platform for all money tasks. It acted as the seller of shares in 2021 during India’s largest stock offering in 25 years, which faced regulatory issues. Nevertheless, Paytm continues to assist India by achieving financial inclusion.
Why It’s in the Top 10: Digital payment revolution, financial inclusion, comprehensive ecosystem
3. BYJU’S
Sector: Edtech
Headquarters: Bangalore
Founders: Byju Raveendran, Divya Gokulnath
Year Became Unicorn: 2018
Key Investors: General Atlantic, Peak XV Partners, Tiger Global, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Products and Services:
- Interactive learning applications
- Test preparation programs
- Personalized learning paths
- Live online classes
- Educational content creation
BYJU transformed the learning process of Indians. It involves videos and a mobile application which becomes accommodating to every student. Byju Raveendran, a teacher who realized the extent to which his classroom enjoyed his teaching, began the company in an attempt to provide good education to all individuals at large.
BYJU makes study enjoyable in Maths and science which are two subjects that most people study but find it difficult. It generated millions of learners and was the most valuable tech-education business on the planet at its time. It has been damaged by recent financial and management issues but BYJU demonstrates the ability of online education to substitute conventional schooling under such circumstances as the pandemic.
Why It’s in the Top 10: Education technology pioneer, massive student reach, learning innovation
4. Ola Cabs (ANI Technologies)
Sector: Mobility
Headquarters: Bangalore
Founders: Bhavish Aggarwal, Ankit Bhati
Year Became Unicorn: 2015
Key Investors: SoftBank, Tiger Global, Steadview Capital, Accel Partners
Products and Services:
- Ride-hailing services
- Auto-rickshaw booking
- Electric vehicle manufacturing
- Financial services integration
- Outstation travel services
Ola transformed traveling in India. It developed a ride-hailing application that provided individuals with a reliable and technology-oriented method to attain a ride that was one step over conventional cabs and employed drivers. In 2010, Ola was founded by Bhavish Aggarwal, who thought that the existing taxis were slow and as a result, he had a bad experience because of local traditions such as paying money and riding in auto-rickshaws.
It then began Ola Electric and produces electric vehicles to assist India in shifting to clean transportation. Ola demonstrates that a global firm can fit the Indian market by offering Indian firms better solutions than using global firms.
Why It’s in the Top 10: Transportation transformation, driver empowerment, sustainability focus
5. Swiggy
Sector: Food Delivery
Headquarters: Bangalore
Founders: Sriharsha Majety, Nandan Reddy, Rahul Jaimini
Year Became Unicorn: 2018
Key Investors: Prosus Ventures, Accel Partners, Elevation Capital, SoftBank
Products and Services:
- Restaurant food delivery
- Grocery delivery services
- Quick commerce platform
- Cloud kitchen infrastructure
- Membership subscription programs
PSwiggy transformed the food delivery pattern among Indians. It had developed intelligent delivery lanes and collaborated with numerous eateries across numerous cities. It was launched in 2014 and became one of those who had some of the most reliable times, a great number of restaurants, and policies that made their customers trust this car service.
To maintain quality, Swiggy incurred an expense of a large amount on both drivers and technology. It also initiated Instamart that provided grocery on demand that became more popular because of the lockdown.
Nowadays it receives millions of orders daily, enables restaurants to make more money, and provides millions of delivery people a job. Swiggy provides an example of how Indian technology companies identify common issues and create massive systems to address them. Additionally, it serves as a model for an Online Money Earning App, where users can generate income through delivery and related services. Paytm continues to assist India by achieving financial inclusion.
Why It’s in the Top 10: Food delivery dominance, logistics excellence, quick commerce
6. Zomato
Sector: Food Delivery
Headquarters: Gurgaon
Founders: Deepinder Goyal, Pankaj Chaddah
Year Became Unicorn: 2018
Key Investors: Info Edge, Ant Financial, Temasek, Kora Management
Products and Services:
- Restaurant discovery platform
- Food delivery services
- Dining out reservations
- Quick commerce grocery
- Restaurant management software
Zomato began as an application where individuals could verify restaurants, navigate through menus, read reviews and examinations of ratings. It was later expanded to a complete food-delivery business transmitting food to several millions of clients each day. Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah are the founders of the company who were established in 2008. Zomato had entered other countries first, and after that concentrated on India and emerged to be the leader of the market.
In 2021, Zomato was listed on a publicly traded company at the initially resisted Indian unicorn startups. The new services provided by Zomato included the acquisition of Blinkit that offers quick commerce, a separate project to provide restaurants, as well as an investment in event ticketing. It has thousands of restaurants it collaborates with and it has a massive delivery workforce.
Why It’s in the Top 10: Public market success, restaurant ecosystem, diversified offerings
7. Dream11
Sector: Gaming
Headquarters: Mumbai
Founders: Harsh Jain, Bhavit Sheth
Year Became Unicorn: 2019
Key Investors: Steadview Capital, Tiger Global, Think Investments, Multiples Alternate Asset Management
Products and Services:
- Fantasy sports platform
- Cricket fantasy leagues
- Football fantasy games
- Kabaddi fantasy competitions
- Basketball fantasy contests
Dream 11 became offerings of fantasy games of sport in India. It exploited the passion of the people of the country towards the game of cricket by establishing a virtual team building site where users could win their competitions according to the performances of real players. The company began in 2008 and it had to contend with strict regulations regarding games and gambling although it has grown to be a big and popular brand. Dream11 also allows the fans to experience the game like in actual condition, by selecting players and playing with friends.
The reason is that gaming can make a good business as Indian paying mobile company B hooks up already as a unicorn. Dream11 had to spend a substantial amount of money on marketing including service as a sponsor of major cricket tournaments, which gave it the status of a household name. Dream11 was inspired by other gaming companies in many other ways.
Why It’s in the Top 10: Gaming sector pioneer, sports fan engagement, regulatory navigation
8. PhonePe
Sector: Fintech
Headquarters: Bangalore
Founders: Sameer Nigam, Rahul Chari
Year Became Unicorn: 2020
Key Investors: Walmart, General Atlantic, Tiger Global, Ribbit Capital
Products and Services:
- UPI payment services
- Merchant payment solutions
- Mutual fund investments
- Insurance products distribution
- Bill payment services
By simplifying and making UPI and other payment procedures simple and easy to everyone, PhonePe became the first to become the highest digital payment app in India. Flipkart became the owner of PhonePe in 2016, yet it became an independent company once again with Walmart purchasing Flipkart and obtained more funds to remain competitive.
PhonePe expanded considerably in providing huge cashback offers, incorporating large numbers of merchants and collaborating with banks and other financial conglomerations. It has billions of transactions per month that the Indian unicorns may become huge by working and ensuring the user experience is simple and trustworthy.
Why It’s in the Top 10: Transaction volume leadership, UPI dominance, accessibility focus
9. Razorpay
Sector: Fintech
Headquarters: Bangalore
Founders: Harshil Mathur, Shashank Kumar
Year Became Unicorn: 2020
Key Investors: Peak XV Partners, Tiger Global, GIC, Y Combinator
Products and Services:
- Payment gateway services
- Business banking solutions
- Automated payroll systems
- Lending products
- Vendor payment automation
Razorpay transformed the way business is accepted in India. It simplified the process of collecting money related to various online shops among other companies with the full payment system and tools that the developers find easy to operate. Harshil Mathur and Shashank Kumar who are students of IIT Roorkee initiated it in 2014.
Razorpay has developed robust technology that forwards the ability of the customer to have the use of their cards, UPI, wallet, and net banking. It has also incorporated services such as new form of bank, loans, and business software hence making it a full fledged financial system to companies. In the modern times, it processes billions of dollars annually and assists hundreds of thousands of businesses.
Why It’s in the Top 10: Business payment solutions, developer focus, financial infrastructure
10. Zepto
Sector: E-Commerce (Groceries)
Headquarters: Mumbai
Founders: Aadit Palicha, Kaivalya Vohra
Year Became Unicorn: 2023
Key Investors: Nexus Venture Partners, Glade Brook Capital, StepStone Group, Contrary Capital
Products and Services:
- Quick grocery delivery
- Fresh produce supply
- Household essentials
- Personal care products
- Snacks and beverages
Zepto transformed grocery delivery as the company would deliver the groceries to customers within an approximate of ten minutes. It does it on the one hand with small warehouses that are near people and the calculated delivery system. Zepto was founded by Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, two early twenties graduates of Stanford.
The company was unicorn within a short period demonstrating the fact that young entrepreneurs are capable of developing huge business among a short timeframe. The tiny warehouses incur a lot of money to subject Zepto to deliver fast. Due to its quick service, most investors and other companies became interested. Zepto can be a representative of other similar types of Indian unicorns that employ technology to find local markets needs in a short time.
Why It’s in the Top 10: Quick commerce innovation, rapid growth, young founder success
Unicorn Startups in India 2025 — Sector & Trend Analysis
Sector Distribution Analysis
- Fintech Dominance: Tech firms are largest Groups driving change digitally with unicorn titles.
- Evolution of E-Commerce: Internet stores are expanding to specialty niches outside of the ordinary stores.
- SaaS Emergence: Sometimes, SaaS firms demonstrate that India is capable of developing technology solutions to companies.
- Healthcare Innovation: Healthcare access in America is addressing the solid issue of healthcare access by providing high-value medical and diagnosis firms.
- Transformative Mobility A Transportation and logistics Big transportation and logistics businesses are significantly altering the way individuals and products travel more efficiently.
Industry Breakdown
- Fintech Sector: Paying with phone: PhonePe, Paytm, Razorpay are reconsidering the method of paying, making financial services available to more people in the country.
- E-Commerce Industry: Flipkart, Zepto, Meesho facilitate the shopping experience by being convenient through the delivery of goods within a short period.
- Edtech Space: BYJU, PhysicsWallah allows more and more individuals access to education through affordable and online courses throughout the country.
- Mobility Solutions: Ola, Rapido, Ather Energy are penetrating the transportation business with going green and eco-friendly options.
- Technology in the healthcare: Molbio Diagnostics, Perfios makes testing as well as credit checks simpler and more readily available.
Emerging Sectors
- Artificial Intelligence: Krutrim presents the possibilities of how India may develop its AI solutions.
- Fast Delivery: Despite being a well-established company, Zepto and Blinkit redefine the aspects of speed and convenience delivery, altering the way buyers anticipate delivery.
- B2B Marketplace: Jumbotail and JSW One Platforms transform the traditional B2B supply chains into digital processes, however, effectively.
- Electric Vehicles: Ather Energy is at the forefront in transforming into the greener category of transports through creative electric bike designs.
- Gaming Industry: Dream11 and Games24x7 prove that the fantasy sports platform provides the games industry a chance to earn money.
Conclusion
The Unicorn Startups India is an incredible entrepreneurial experience story in the world. It reveals how having a vision, novel concepts and powerful implementation can transform a progressing economy into the most advanced technology nation within two decades. Since InMobi was 1st big hit in 2011, until Raise Financial emerges as the 116th unicorn in India in 2025, the nation has turned out to be an escalation around building companies worth billions.
These Unicorn startups in India have created millions of jobs, transformed entire industries, assisted ordinary folks, and had inspired many others to pursue big dreams by leveraging Great Online Tools for innovation, scalability, and digital growth.
The ecosystem has expanded such that there are numerous other areas on tech based startups such as manufacturing, health care and sustainability. This demonstrates that the scene is manly and broad. With India continuing to establish its digital connection, simplify doing business and develop new talent, this list of unicorns only increases. This will contribute to the development of the economy of the nation and bring India to the lead in the innovation sphere throughout the world.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many unicorn startups are currently in India?
As of 2025, India has 116 Unicorn Startups in India, making it the third-largest unicorn ecosystem globally after the United States and China, demonstrating sustained entrepreneurial momentum.
Which was India’s first unicorn startup?
InMobi became India’s first unicorn in 2011, pioneering the mobile advertising space and proving Indian startups could achieve billion-dollar valuations, inspiring subsequent generations of entrepreneurs nationwide.
Which sector has the most unicorn startups in India?
Fintech sector dominates with the highest concentration of Unicorn Startups in India, including companies like PhonePe, Paytm, and Razorpay, driven by India’s digital payment revolution and financial inclusion.
What is the fastest unicorn startup in India?
Zepto achieved unicorn status within approximately two years of founding, representing one of the fastest journeys among Unicorn Startups in India, powered by quick commerce innovation and strong investor backing.