Were you aware that the Indian startup system is the third-largest in the world right now?
Yes, investors are spending billions in multiple ventures in the Indian economy, hoping to tap into the growing industries and vast future possibilities. According to reports, the amount stands at 7.9 billion dollars, the highest ever in the past five years.
Wondering where did all the money go? Here’s a list to help:
1) Oyo Rooms
Oyo got a high amount by Softbank, standing at 1.5 billion dollars along with founder Ritesh Agarwal going for a share buyback at 700 million dollars. It has been sad to see Oyo reduce its staff and be stuck in a myriad of troubles, especially after such a high investment pool.
2) Paytm
Founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma was definitely pleased to get a funding of 1 billion dollars from four big names, Softbank, Discovery Capital, T Rowe, and Alibaba’s Ant Financial. This was a major boost to Paytm’s initiative to pump in a Rs 10,000 crore investment in the Indian economy and encash on its online e-commerce business.
3) Udaan
Udaan got a backing of 585 million dollars from multiple investors at the end of 2019 including Tencent, Footpath, and Hillhouse as investors. This has increased the startup’s value to 2.8 billion dollars.
4) FirstCry
The online platform which was launched in Pune to promote child and mothercare saw funding of 400 million dollars by star investor Softbank, in multiple rounds. Infact, now Firstcry is just 200 million dollars short of claiming the unicorn status in the start-up vicinity.
5) Delhivery
With big names like Tiger Global already existing as its investors, Delhivery added Softbank and Fosun International to the list. The funding was at 395 million dollars, leading the logistics startup to join the unicorn club.
6) Cred
Kunal Shah came up with this online application after his venture with freecharge. Even though Cred is just a year old, it has got two rounds of funding already, 125 million dollars and 150 million dollars respectively.
7) Pharmeasy
The online medicine delivery service got 220 million dollars from lead investor Temasek. Temasek also valued the startup at 700 million dollars, a major boost to existing investors like Nandan Nilekani.
8) Grofers
Grofers took over the online retail industry with its design, offers and service quality. It got a series F funding in 2019 of 200 million dollars from Softbank itself, pushing it closer to unicorn status.
9) Bounce
Wickedride, the owner of Bounce, got a Series C funding from Sequoia capital in 2019 and is rumoured to get a Series D funding in 2020 already. The Series C funding was of 150 million dollars.
10) Hero Future Energies
The company also got 150 million dollars from Masdar towards the end of 2019 via which it has received support for its expansion plans in India. After being established in 2012, this is one of the major monetary backings that it has received so far.
Also Read: 8 Indian Startups That Joined The “Unicorn” Club In 2019
