MUMBAI: Eleven more startups have joined the unicorn club in India this year, taking the total number to 73. The country is the third largest startup ecosystem in the world in terms of unicorns.
Startups like Navi Technologies, Ai.tech, Darwinbox, Netradyne, Rapido and Jumbotail are amongst the new set that have been added to the list this year so far.
In terms of valuation, India's unicorns are led by discount brokerage Zerodha with $8.2 billion, followed by Razorpay and Lenskart at $7.5 billion each, and the largest brokerage Groww at $7 billion, Hurun India said in a report Thursday.
The others in the top 10 list include the quick commerce platform Zepto with $5.9 billion, the B2B enterprise services marketplace Ofbusiness and the mobile advertising firm Inmobi Adtech, Saas player Icertis and hotel aggregator Oyo at $5 billion each, and delivery platform Meesho at $3.9 billion.
Collectively, these high-growth startups employ over 2,06,000 people, with Lenskart, OfBusiness, and Physicswallah emerging as the largest employers.
The report also highlights the increasing diversity in the ecosystem, pointing to women founders such as Ruchi Kalra (OfBusiness), Vineeta Singh (Sugar Cosmetics), and Garima Sawhney (Pristyn Care). Among the youngest unicorn founders are the 22-year-olds Kaivalya Vohra and Aadit Palicha of Zepto.
On the geographical front, Bengaluru continues to dominate with 26 unicorns worth a combined valuation $70 billion, followed by Delhi-NCR and Mumbai. Sector-wise, fintech remains the strongest segment, leading both in terms of the number of unicorns and their valuations.
The startup ecosystem saw marginally higher funding activity from multiple investors and Peak XV Partners has emerged the largest backer with 42 bets across startups in the year so far.