The age of resilient development is already here and we are experiencing it to the fullest of our abilities. Technology and innovation are thriving in our habitable space and the credit goes to entrepreneurialism and its magnificent leaders. So, let’s discuss these profitable unicorn startups.
Over the past few years, we are seeing a huge influx of investors drawing a huge amount of attention to the Indian market. After all, India is the largest democracy in the world and has a massive portion of the young population.
Businesses are slowly building pace with the help of government schemes and startup funding. Also, venture capital funding is flowing the operational models of a business to turn out as ‘unicorn startups’. You might wonder what a unicorn startup is! To that Business Outreach Magazine brings you a clear description of the not-so-new concept.
Unicorn startups are companies that are operated under private ownership and have attained a net valuation of $1 billion or above. The objective of a startup is sometimes to be innovative and establish new markets. Currently, there are startups in domains like e-commerce, edtech, healthtech, agritech and several others.
The gradual rise in entrepreneurs and talents is helping India become more self-reliant in its economy. In the last decade, the scenario of startup establishments hugely changed in India. With the help of policies and schemes by the Indian government for businesses, several sectors have seen growth. Along with this, venture capital funding and rising skilled individuals just add to the positives.
Let us check some of the most successful unicorn startups in India-
- Swiggy
- Dream 11
- Upstox
- Ola Cabs
- Ola Electric Mobility
- Unacademy
- CRED
- Digit Insurance
- OYO Rooms
- Razor Pay
- OfBusiness
- Pine Labs
- ShareChat
- Meesho
- Lenskart
Swiggy-
Swiggy has made quite a name for itself in the supply chain and food delivery industry. The company, headquartered in Bengaluru, was founded in 2014 by Sriharsha Majety, Nandan Reddy, and Rahul Jaimini.
Swiggy gathered unicorn status on 21st June 2018. The overall valuation of Swiggy is about $10.70 billion. Investors like Accel India, Norwest Ventures along with SAIF Partners have put funds into the startup.
OYO Rooms-
OYO was founded by Ritesh Agarwal and belongs to the travel industry. The company provides hotel rooms at a very affordable rate. The seamless experience for travelers and customers allowed OYO Rooms to gain unicorn status within 5 years. In 2018, on 25th September, OYO Rooms recorded a valuation of about $5 billion.
Currently, OYO has a total valuation of about $9 billion and is considered one of the most successful travel companies in India. Some of the investors of OYO are SoftBank Group, Lightspeed India Partners along with Sequoia Capital India.
DREAM 11-
DREAM 11 belongs to the fantasy sports industry and has gained impressive popularity over the past few years. The startup was founded by Harsh Jain and Bhavit Seth. Dream 11 allows its users to create an online virtual team of players that are connected to real life. Then the game scores points which are based on the performance of these players in real matches.
Whichever user gets the highest score with these tactics gets to rank on the leaderboard. In April 2019, Dream 11 got unicorn status. They are the first startup in this domain to reach such a successful mark. Currently, Dream 11 is valued at $8 billion and got support from investors like Kalaari Capital, Steadview Capital along with Tencent Holdings.
Ola Cabs-
Ola Cabs as the name suggests belongs to the travel and transportation industry. The startup was founded by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati. The company provided tax and transportation services to customers at a very affordable rate. In just four years, Ola Cabs became a unicorn on 27th September 2014.
In today’s time, Ola Cabs holds a valuation of about $7.5 billion. Ola Cabs is one of the most profitable transportation companies in India. Some of the investors of Ola Cabs are Accel Partners, Sequoia Capital, and also SoftBank Group.
Razorpay-
Razorpay is from the fintech industry and was founded by Harshil Mathur and Shashank Kumar. This startup operates with payment gateways and became a unicorn in just 7 years. On September 11th, 2020, Razorpay gained a valuation of $1 billion.
Today, Razorpay is valued at $7.5 billion making it one of the most successful startups in India. Some of the investors of Razorpay are Tiger Global Management, Matrix Partners India along with Sequoia Capital India.
CRED-
CRED has gained success in the fintech sector over the last few years. The fintech startup was founded by Kunal Shah and in just three years, CRED bagged a valuation of about $4.4 billion on June 4th, 2020.
CRED has formed a community that gives rewards and incentives to users, who pay credit card bills on time. The platform also allows users to check through several credit cards and understand the points on their credit scores.
Currently, CRED is valued at about $6.40 billion, which makes it one of the most valuable fintech companies in India. Some of the investors of CRED are Tiger Global Management, Sequoia Capital India, and also DST Global.
OfBusiness-
OfBusiness belongs to the e-commerce industry and the D2C (direct-to-customer) sector. The startup was founded by Asish Mohapatra, Ruchi Kalra, Bhuvan Gupta, Vasant Sridhar, and Nitin Jain. OfBusiness provides loans to SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) with the help of NBFC- Oxyzo Financial Services.
These loans are unsecured and can be availed up to an amount of about Rs. 2 crore. On July 31st, 2021, OfBusiness became a unicorn with a valuation of about $1.5 billion. They were able to gain unicorn status in just 6 years of operation.
Currently, OfBusiness is valued at about $5 billion which makes it one of the most profitable e-commerce and D2C companies in India. Investors like SoftBank Group, Matrix Partner India along with Falcon Edge Capital have supported the company.
Ola Electric Mobility-
Ola Electric Mobility belongs to the transportation industry and was founded by Bhavish Aggarwal. The company manufactures electric scooters which have pretty good performance and range. In just two years, Ola Electric Mobility gained unicorn status on July 2nd, 2019.
Currently, Ola Electric Mobility is valued at about $5 billion making one of the most valued transportation companies in India. Some of the investors of Ola Electric Mobility are SoftBank Group, Matrix Partners India along with Tiger Global Management.
Pine Labs-
Pine Labs belongs to the fintech industry and was founded by Lokvir Kapoor, Rajul Garg, and Tarun Upadhyay. This fintech startup offers an inclusive platform that collaborates technology with solutions in the finance domain. Since its inception, Pine Labs gathered its own steady timeline and became a unicorn on 24th January 2020.
Currently, Pine Labs has a valuation of about $5.5 billion making it one of the most profitable fintech companies in India. Investors like Sequoia Capital India, Temasek, and a few others have supported the company.
ShareChat-
ShareChat is an internet software company that was founded by Ankush Sachdeva, Bhanu Pratap Singh, and Farid Ahsan. This startup is a social media space, where users express their views and document their life experiences.
ShareChat allows its users to interact with other users on the platform and also choose their language of communication. In just 6 years, ShareChat gained unicorn status on 8th April 2021, with a valuation of $2.1 billion.
At this age, ShareChat has a valuation of about $5 billion making it one of the most successful software startups in India. Elevation Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and some others are the investors of ShareChat.
Verse Innovation-
Verse Innovation comes from the telecommunication industry and was founded by Virender Gupta. The startup empowers content technology systems, where users get access to several contents in their preferred language on the website, Dailyhunt. On December 22nd, 2020, Verse Innovation became a unicorn with a valuation of $1.1 billion.
Currently, Verse Innovation is valued at an amount of about $5 billion. It is considered one of the most successful companies in the mobile and telecommunication sector. Falcon Edge Capital, Omidyar Network along with Sequoia Capital India are the investors of Verse Innovation.
Meesho-
Meesho is an internet software company that provides services to small-scale businesses. The company was founded by Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal. The social commercial-focused platform helps in the retail distribution of the products of these small businesses. Such products are delivered to target customers and offer more reach with an efficient social media system.
On April 5th, 2021, Meesho became a unicorn with a valuation of about $2.1 billion. Currently, Meesho is valued at about $4.9 billion which makes it a valuable internet software startup in India. Prosus Ventures, Sequoia Capital India, and Venture Highway have invested in Meesho.
Lenskart-
Lenskart is an e-commerce startup founded by Peyush Bansal and Amit Chaudhury. The startup offers a range of spectacles at a very attractive price. In just five years on 20th December 2019, Lenskart became a unicorn with $1.5 billion in valuation.
Today, Lenskart has an estimated valuation of $4.5 billion which makes it one of the most profitable optical startups in India. Investors like Premji Invest, SoftBank, and several others have put capital into Lenskart.
Digit Insurance-
Digit Insurance is a fintech company that provides car insurance, two-wheeler insurance, travel insurance, and many other services. The company was founded by Kamesh Goyal. In just six years of getting operational, Digit Insurance became a unicorn on January 15th, 2021, with a valuation of $1.9 billion.
Currently, Digit Insurance is valued at about $4 billion and has investors like Fairfax Financial Holdings, TVS Capital, and many others.
Unacademy-
Unacademy is an ed-tech startup that was founded by Gaurav Munjal, Roman Saini, and Hemesh Singh. Unacademy offers a diverse learning online experience for students who are aiming to appear for exams like UPSC, CAT, and several other competitive exams. In just five years of inception, Unacademy became a unicorn on September 2nd, 2020 with a valuation of $1.45 billion.
Currently, Unacademy has a valuation of about $3.4 billion and is one of the most popular ed-tech companies in India. The startup has investors like Nexus Venture Partners, Blume Ventures along with Sequoia Capital India.
Upstox-
Upstox is a fintech startup in India that was founded by Ravi Kumar, Shrini Viswanath, and Kavitha Subramanian. The company allows its users to invest in stocks, mutual funds, commodities, and several other assets through the online portal. On November 29th, 2021, Upstox became a unicorn with a valuation of about $3 billion.
Currently, Upstox has a valuation of about $3.4 billion and has investors like Tiger Global Management along with Kalaari Capital.
Conclusion:
The Indian startup ecosystem is thriving and we are witnessing enormous growth. The coming decade is for India and our Bharat will have her flag hoisted even higher on the global front. With startups disrupting domains like tech, fintech, healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing, internet services, and several others, opportunities are emerging at a phenomenal pace. It is for us to hold onto this remarkable consistency of economy through our efforts and resilience and take India to a $1 trillion digital economy benchmark.
