5 Indian Startups To Join The Elite Unicorn Club In 2022
Summary: Seven months into 2022 and India has already added 19 new unicorns.
While 2021 was a blockbuster year for unicorns, the year 2022 has started just on the right track. Just seven months into the year, India has seen 19 startups that have entered the elite unicorn club. The total count of Indian tech startups to enter the unicorn club stands at 105.
Let’s take a look at the number of startups that have made it to the club:
1. FRACTAL
Founded in 2000 by a five-member team, Fractal is an AI and advanced solutions startup. The core team of Fractal is an IIM Ahmedabad alumni- Pranay Agrawal and Srikanth Velamakanni along with Nirmal Palaparthi, Pradeep Suryanarayan, and Ramakrishna Reddy.
Its latest round of funding made it the first entrant into the unicorn club in 2022. Fractal has raised a total of $685 Mn funding over 5 rounds. The Private Equity round saw $360 Mn raised from TPG Capital Asia and secondary share purchases from funds advised by Apax Partners.
This startup of India has also raised $100 Mn from the Malaysian sovereign fund Khazanah in 2016. The 21-year-old startup provides artificial intelligence and advanced analytics solutions to Fortune 500 companies. Fractal Analytics is among a handful of companies that have taken over two decades to enter the unicorn club.
2. LEAD
By raising $ 100 Mn in a round led by WestBridge Capital and GSV, LEAD School has raised a total of $166 Mn in funding over 5 rounds. Founded by Sumeet Mehta and Smita Deorah in 2012, this Mumbai-based startup was the first Ed-tech startup to enter the Indian unicorn club in 2022.
In 2021, edtech startups raised over $4.7 Bn to emerge as the third-most funded Indian startup sector 2021, with only eCommerce ($10.7 Bn) and fintech sectors ($8 Bn) attracting more investment.
This edtech startup of India enables schools to combine technology, curriculum, and pedagogy into an integrated teaching and learning system. It is the country’s sixth edtech unicorn after BYJU’s, Unacademy, Eruditas, UpGrad, and Vedantu. LEAD claims to have more than 5,000 schools from across 500 Indian cities on board, serving more than 2 Mn students across the country.
3. DEALSHARE
2022 saw this Bengaluru-based startup Dealshare entering the unicorn club at a valuation of $1.62 Bn. The Bengaluru-based social commerce startup raised $165 Mn in a Series E funding round. The round saw participation from existing investors, Tiger Global and Alpha Wave Incubation, alongside new investors, Kora Investment, DF International Partners, and Twenty Nine Capital Partners. The segment’s biggest milestone last year was Meesho’s entry into the unicorn club.
DealShare was founded by Vineet Rao, Sourjyendu Medda, Sankar Bora, and Rajat Shikhar in September 2018. Targeting the middle-class population, enables first-time internet users to shop online. The startup’s gross revenue has increased by 10X over the last year with an ARR of $750 Mn for FY22. It sells grocery and household essential products through social media and messenger platforms like WhatsApp.
4. LIVSPACE
With its series F round, Livspace became the sixth unicorn of the year. The Bengaluru-based startup raised $180 Mn from American investment giant KKR & Co, Jungle Ventures, Swedish retail giant Ikea, Venturi Partners, and Peugeot Investments.
Founded by Anuj Shrivastav and Ramkant Sharma in 2014, Livspace is a home renovation and interior platform. It provides an end-to-end home design experience. The startup’s online marketplace also offers software tools that can help designers and homeowners design interiors. Livspace has raised close to $450 Mn across 10 funding rounds. It has raised $90 Mn in a series D round, led by Switzerland-based investment firm Kharis Capital and consumer space-focused Venturi Partners.
5. XPRESSBEES
With its Series F funding round led by private equity funds Blackstone Growth, ChrysCapital, and TPG Growth; the Pune-based startup Xpressbees is the latest entrant to the Indian unicorn club of 2022. The round also saw participation from existing investors Investcorp and Norwest Venture Partners, thus helping the startup’s valuation soar close to $1.2 Bn. With this investment, Xpressbees total funding has touched $500 Mn.
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