Bengaluru, June 29 (UNI) The number of Unicorns in India has increased by 65 percent in just one year, probably due to the accelerated disruption of traditional businesses and emergence of startups, according to ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Future Unicorn Index 2022 unveiled by Hurun Research Institute.

"While compiling the ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Future Unicorn Index 2022, we discovered that the country's startup ecosystem is expanding at an unprecedented rate. In just one year, the number of Unicorns has increased by 65 percent. Probably, the pandemic has accelerated the disruption of traditional businesses and fostered the emergence of start-ups. The ecosystem is gradually attaining the requisite maturity and resilience," Hurun India MD and Chief Researcher Anas Rahman Junaid told reporters here.

The index has classified companies as would-be Unicorns (those founded after 2000 and valued at least $1 billion), Gazelles (those most likely to become Unicorns in the following two years), and Cheetahs (start-ups that could go Unicorn in the next four years).

The number of Gazelles has increased by 59 percent to 51, and number of Cheetahs increased by 31 percent to 71, Junaid said.

"The prospective Unicorns featured on the list were founded on average in 2015, with the great majority selling software and services and only 17 percent selling physical goods. As much as 37 percent are business-to-business sellers, while 63 percent are consumer-facing. Financial services, logistics, healthcare, and education were being disrupted by Future Unicorns," he said.

Junaid said Hurun India beleives there could be a short-term blip in the growth story, but the Indian

start-up ecosystem's long-term potential remains excellent and resilient.

"There are some global economic concerns that could affect the valuations and capital-raising abilities of Indian start-ups’. Additionally, some Indian startups are implementing layoffs and cost-cutting measures, fuelling speculation of an ecosystem downturn. We believe there could be a short-term blip in the growth story, but the Indian startup ecosystem's long-term potential remains excellent and resilient. The pressure felt during the valuation process and the increased inspection of deliverables could help broaden the system's foundation," he said.

Hurun Research identified 122 future Unicorns in India from 25 cities and Bengaluru continues to be the unicorn-capital of India with 46 Unicorns, with Delhi NCR and Mumbai trailing at second and third spot with 25 and 16 Unicorns respectively, Junaid said.

ASK Wealth Advisors Pvt Ltd CEO and MD Rajesh Saluja said India has emerged as the third largest ecosystem for startups after the US and China, and saw a record 44 startups turning into Unicorns in 2021.

He said as many as 17 Gazelles and 7 Cheetahs from last year’s list hit Unicorn valuation this year.

The Gazelles on the ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Future Unicorn Index 2022 are projected to be worth between US$ 500mn and US$ 1bn, Saluja said.

The Gazelle pack is led by Shiprocket, a five-year-old LogisticsTech startup, followed by Zepto, Turtlemint, Ather Energy and Vivriti Capital.

This year, the Cheetah pack is led by Pepperfry, followed by Bengaluru-based Juspay and then

Ratan Tata-backed FinTech Mswipe Technologies, Saluja said.

The youngest startup founders in the index are Kaivalya Vohra (19) and Aadit Palicha (20), both co-founded Zepto, a 10-minute grocery delivery company based in Mumbai, he said.

"The oldest founder in the index is K Satyanarayana, aged 61, of Ecom Express. 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. As many as 15 companies featured in the ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Future Unicorn Index 2022 have a woman co-founder. FinTech contributed the most startups to the ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Future Unicorn Index 2022, with 27, followed by E-commerce with 14 and SaaS with 11," Saluja said.

Approximately half of the firms in the index are involved in FinTech, E-commerce, SaaS, and EdTech, he stated. Other potential fields in the Indian startup ecosystem include AgriTech, Artificial Intelligence, HealthTech, and Shared Economy, he added.

The Hurun Research Institute is valued at least US$200 million, not yet listed on a public exchange.

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