Two Indian unicorns this week joined the growing number of subcontinental startups with valuations of over $1bn. Both big data healthcare specialists Innovaccer and the online building materials procurement hub Infra.market have their roots in India, although Innovacer is headquartered in Silicon Valley. Infra.market operates out of Mumbai.
Both companies have been to market to raise funds over the past few days. Innovaccer confirmed a $105m Series D (the fourth step in the seed financing cycle), taking the company’s valuation up to $1.3bn, while India’s booming real-estate market helped Infra.market’s valuation quintuple from $200m in December after its recent Series C funding round.
Over the past ten years, according to the Indian Tech Unicorn Report 2020 from Orios Venture Partners (OVP), 44 Indian unicorns have generated more than $106bn value for their founders, employees, and investors – and for the economy as a whole by creating an estimated 1.4 million jobs each year and probably more. These include MakeMyTrip, InMobi, Paytm, Byjus, Cars24, and Ola. With a valuation of $16bn, Paytm has been the most successful and, while the financial payments sector has generated the most start-ups. both retail and SaaS are close behind.
“The Indian startup ecosystem has generated tremendous value for founders, employees, investors and the economy.,” says OVP Managing partner Rehan Yar Khan. “Most of these are backed by technology and that is the key differentiating factor between unicorns of the 21st century and those of previous eras,”
41% of Indian unicorns are based in Bengaluru, followed by 34% in Delhi and 14% in Mumbai.