A new study by investor-startup tracker Prosus and Dealroom puts a striking number on India’s entrepreneurial potential. Founders who grew up in India account for $560 billion of founder-attributed company value across 205 unicorns abroad. The comparable figure for India-based 100 unicorns is a substantial $349 billion. It’s not a measure of personal wealth or actual founder ownership, but company value attributed to founders under the study’s methodology. Yet India’s startup ecosystem is gaining depth: fewer startups received funding this year, but the total amount invested rose to $10.3 billion. So, the average funding deal became larger, indicating increasing capital concentration. The challenge is to convert this ecosystem into more value at home.
