BENGALURU: Logisticstech start-ups Shiprocket, Zepto, Turtlemint, Ather Energy and Vivriti Capital are expected to become unicorns in the next two years, according to a new report.
The Hurun Research Institute on Wednesday released the ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Future Unicorn Index 2022, and identified 122 future unicorns in the country from 25 cities.
The report defines 'Gazelle' as a start-up that was created after the year 2000 and has the potential to become a unicorn (start-ups that are valued at least $1 billion) within two years. It classifies Zepto and Shiprocket among others as Gazelles.
The Gazelles are projected to be worth between $500 million and $1 billion.India's future unicorns are currently worth $49 billion, with an increase of 36% as compared to last year.
Bengaluru continues to be the start-up capital of India as the city is home to 46 probable unicorns, followed by Delhi NCR (25) and Mumbai (16).
The prospective unicorns featured on the list were founded on average in 2015, with the great majority selling software and services and only 17% selling physical goods.
The average age of Indian start-up founders in the index is 38. There are 18 start-up founders aged under 30 and 19 aged above 50.
Rajesh Saluja, CEO and MD, ASK Wealth Advisors said, "India has emerged as the third largest ecosystem for start-ups after the US and China, and saw a record 44 start-ups turning unicorns in 2021."
Interestingly, 15 companies that are featured in the Index have a woman co-founder. Fintech contributed the most start-ups to the Hurun India Future Unicorn Index 2022, with 27, followed by E-commerce with 14 and SaaS with 11.
The report also talks about 'Cheetah', a start-up that was created after 2000 and has the potential to become a unicorn within the following four years.This year, the Cheetah pack is led by Pepperfry, followed by Bengaluru-based Juspay and Ratan Tata-backed Fintech Mswipe Technologies.
It added that 17 Gazelles and 7 Cheetahs from last year's list hit unicorn valuation this year.
Having invested in 39 probable unicorns, Sequoia is the most active investor in the Index 2022, and is followed by Tiger Global with stakes in 27 future unicorns.