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India’s unicorn story compares pretty well to the tale of how cricket, the country’s favorite sport, has evolved.
In the past, the most popular format for the sport was Test matches, which are slow and methodical – a match takes place over five days. Now, Twenty20 cricket – a much shorter version of the game – rules the roost with high-octane, fast-paced action over about three hours.
As for billion-dollar startups in the country, they previously developed slowly and steadily like a Test match. Then in 2021 to 2022, they exploded with Twenty20-like energy as funding flowed easily.
That burst of energy has slowed somewhat, and we’re back to a more Test-like format for unicorns being on top, as today’s featured story explores.
Today we look at:
- India’s unicorn tally
- Funding for solar-powered irrigation startup Agros
- Other newsy highlights such as Deliveroo exiting Hong Kong and bitcoin futures coming to the SGX.
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Unicorn hunting in India
Image credit: Timmy Loen
It seems that when it comes to billion-dollar startups in India, when it rains, it pours.
Tech in Asia data reveals that while it took a decade to create the country’s first 30 unicorns, 70 more were minted between 2021 and 2024.
- Boom times: The majority of India’s unicorns hit the US$1 billion mark in 2021 and 2022, back when investments were easier to come by.
- How the mighty have fallen: Some of the country’s unicorns have struggled in recent years. Edtech firm Byju’s, once India’s most valuable startup, now faces insolvency.
- My kingdom for an exit: Indian unicorns seem to offer investors more exit options than their Southeast Asian equivalents. Four of the country’s billion-dollar firms went public via IPOs last year.
Read more: 100 and counting: India’s growing unicorn roster
Funding in the sun
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