ENA Sectors 2024-04-10 15:44:03 <p><span style="font-size:14px"><strong>New Delhi, Apr 10 (KNN)</strong> India's booming startup ecosystem hit a speed bump in 2024, with the number of unicorns (companies valued at USD 1 billion or more) declining for the first time since 2017, according to the Hurun Global Unicorn Index 2024 released on Tuesday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">The report revealed that the number of Indian unicorns dropped from 68 in 2022 and 2023 to 67 this year.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">However, Indian founders have been increasingly successful in creating unicorns outside the country, with 109 unicorns co-founded by Indians globally compared to just 67 within India itself.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px"> Indian founders produced more offshore unicorns than any other country, said Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman and Chief Researcher at Hurun Report.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">Most of these overseas unicorns (95) are based in the United States, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">Among the leading unicorns based in India are on-demand delivery startup Swiggy, fantasy sports platform Dream11 (valued at $8 billion each), and fintech company Razorpay (USD 7.5 billion).</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">The United States continues to dominate the global unicorn landscape with 703 unicorns, followed by China (340) and India (67).</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">However, China and India have a higher percentage of promising startups likely to become unicorns within the next three to five years.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">The report noted a decline in valuations for some unicorns, with 42 companies globally losing their unicorn status due to valuations falling below USD 1 billion.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">The largest drop was seen in Indian edtech giant Byju's, valued at USD 22 billion last year.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">San Francisco (190 unicorns), New York (133), and Beijing (78) emerged as the world's leading unicorn hubs.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">In India, Bengaluru ranked 7th globally with 32 unicorns, while Mumbai came in at 19th with 14 unicorns.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">Despite the recent slowdown, India's startup ecosystem continues to showcase its potential, with a growing number of founders making their mark both at home and abroad.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px"><em><strong>(KNN Bureau)</strong></em></span></p> 37371 https://knnindia.co.in/news/newsdetails/sectors/indias-startup-ecosystem-sees-first-unicorn-decline-since-2017 2024-04-10 15:44:03 knnindia.co.in