In India, there are presently 67 unicorns, down from 68 the year before, according to the most recent Hurun Global Unicorn Index 2024. Nonetheless, the nation continued to hold its ranking as the third-largest unicorn center globally.
This is significant news for Indian startups.
Contrary to the worldwide trend, India has experienced a decline in the number of unicorns for the first time. For the uninitiated, a unicorn is a privately held startup business that has raised capital of more than $1 billion.
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In India, there are presently 67 unicorns, down from 68 the year before, according to the most recent Hurun Global Unicorn Index 2024. Nonetheless, the nation continued to hold its ranking as the third-largest hub for unicorns globally.
With 703 unicorns, up 37 from 2022, the United States topped the list, followed by China with 340 unicorns. Fourth and fifth on the list, respectively, were the UK and the EU.
What went wrong with unicorns from India? Should we be concerned about the declining trend? How international startups are doing. Let’s take a deeper look.
How the numbers add up
According to Hurun’s most recent report, the overall number of unicorns in the world has increased by 171 over the past year to 1,453, setting a new record and a 7% increase.
Just in the US, there were seventy new unicorns. 56 is the number for China. But the US and China also experienced the highest percentage of dropouts, with 21 and 11 companies, respectively, ceasing to be unicorns.
Despite its third-place ranking, India is showing an alarming trend. The nation co-founded 109 unicorns outside of India as opposed to 67 inside, making it the nation that produced the most offshore unicorns per capita.
What causes this slowness, and why? Even after the recent record highs in the stock market, according to Hurun India’s founder and chief researcher Anas Rahman Junaid, a lack of investment in startups is the main cause of the country’s slowing startup ecosystem.
According to him, of the unicorns that were formed outside of India, 95 were in the US, with the Bay Area at the top. The other five unicorns were founded in the UK, Singapore, Germany, and the United States.
The research claims that the valuations of over 430 unicorns increased, 171 of them were new faces. About 170 had their valuations lowered, and 42 of those were “demoted” as a result of their worth falling below the $1 billion mark. Out of the list, about 37 were “promoted,” with 29 going public and 8 being purchased. 895 reported no change in their assessments. They were worth $4.6 trillion in total.
Why did India trip up?
According to the Hurun analysis, Byju’s saw the most valuation decline of any business globally. Currently worth less than $1 billion, the edtech company, which was valued at nearly $22 billion a year ago, plummeted off the list due to a number of challenges.
The article stated that Byju’s, which was established in 2008, lost its highly sought-after status as it reorganized operations and reduced expenses due to growing losses. Additionally, it stated that “the former unicorn missed its revenue target for the financial year ending in March last year and is working to resolve a $1.2 billion debt.”
Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman of the Hurun Report and principal researcher, responded to Byju’s post by stating that while some startups do fail and garner a lot of media attention along the way, these businesses are essential to a country’s economy.
The most valuable unicorns from India are food delivery service Swiggy and fantasy sports-focused Dream11, both valued at $8 billion, with Razorpay coming in second at $7.5 billion, according to the research. On the global list, Razorpay is placed 94th, and the two most valuable Indian unicorns are ranked 83rd.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX, valued at $180 billion, and Microsoft-backed OpenAI, valued at $100 billion, were the next two unicorns on the list. Bytedance, the company that developed Tiktok in 2012, topped the list with a $220 billion valuation.
