India came in third on the global firm Hurun Research Institute’s Global Unicorn Index 2023 with 68 new unicorns, trailing only the US with 666 and China with 316. None of the Indian companies, however, made the top 10 list.
According to the report, India surpassed the UK and Germany for third place internationally with 68 new unicorns, an increase of 14 unicorns in a year and a 47 percent growth since pre-COVID.
The top unicorn in India is the online education business BYJU’S, valued at $22 billion. Swiggy, a platform for food delivery, and Dream11, a platform for fantasy sports, are next, each valued at $8 billion.
“Outside of the US and China, countries that have seen a boom in unicorns were led by India and followed by the UK and Germany,” Hurun Report chairman and chief researcher Rupert Hoogewerf said.
India has also seen the third-highest number of gazelles, a firm that has funding but hasn’t yet gone public and is most likely to become a unicorn in three years. Apart from San Francisco, Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, and Bengaluru, the nation’s startup capital is among the top five cities expected to contribute more to the Hurun Global 500s in the next five years.
The paper also notes that India and China have higher proportions of gazelles and unicorns than other countries, predicted to result in a higher frequency of Hurun Global 500s during the following five years. With a lower percentage, France, Canada, and Australia will probably drop off the Hurun Global 500 list.
India and China are producing the highest number of offshore unicorns
The research company also points out that China and India have the highest number of offshore unicorns, with Indian creators co-founding 70 unicorns outside of India compared to 68 inside of it. However, as opposed to 316 outside of China, 32 were co-founded by Chinese founders.
According to the research, 271 localities and 48 nations (up from 42 last year) is home to unicorns worldwide. With 666 unicorns—an increase of 179—the US topped the list, followed by China with 316.
With 16 IPOs and seven acquisitions, there were 23 “promotions” from the Hurun index in the US. 35 of the 36 promoted in China were initial public offerings. With 68 unicorns, India maintained its third-place ranking, while an additional 70 unicorns were formed by Indian co-founders outside of India, bringing the total number of unicorns founded by Indians worldwide to 138.
The research also emphasizes that, after Europe, the USA, notably Silicon Valley, attracted the most foreign unicorn founders. Emigrant unicorn founders were most likely from India, China, Israel, and Russia.
Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman and Chief Researcher of the Hurun Report, congratulated India for the current unicorn boom and observed that nations and towns have begun to “wake up” concerning unicorns, particularly since the COVID outbreak.
