Fewer startups turning into Unicorns this year than last
Unicorns’ emergence has slowed down globally and in India in 2022 compared to last year. The numbers have shrunk by nearly 50 per cent amid looming fears of recession.
Globally, a total of 244 unicorns were created this year against the 542 companies that increased their valuation to over $1 billion last year, according to Tracxn Technologies.
The figure has fallen for India, too, where only 21 unicorns were born till September this year, while 44 were created in 2021.
The beginning of this year proved good for Indian startups as the country witnessed one company turning into a unicorn nearly every week or the rise of 14 unicorns in the first four months.
However, this growth took a hit in the new fiscal year or FY23 (2022-23), according to Moneycontrol.
India currently has over 107 unicorns with a total valuation of more than $340.79 billion.
Of those that emerged in 2022, two unicorns were Edtech firms, namely PhysicsWallah and LEAD, while three were fintech firms. These two sectors witnessed significant growth last year with the birth of several unicorns.
Today, India is home to 17 fintech and seven tech unicorns.
2022 saw six new SaaS (software-as-a-service) Indian startups growing into unicorns, whereas only four and one unicorns were born in 2021 and 2020, respectively.
There are currently 16 SaaS unicorns in India.
Three new logistic startups, Elastic Run, ShipRocket, and XpressBees, also made it to the unicorn club in 2022. No unicorn has come up in the Agritech sector yet in India.
India registered its 100th unicorn on May 2 this year.
In December, tech-enabled services provider BLS International Services (BLS) announced crossing the $1 billion mark to become India’s latest unicorn.
Around one unicorn was born annually in India until FY 2016-17.
The rate grew further in the past four years since FY 207-18, with 66 per cent Year-on-year growth in the number of other unicorns registered every year.
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