India’s unicorns of tomorrow

Good Morning,

2021 has been a landmark year for India's startup ecosystem. Not only did the country raise close to $26 billion in VC funding between January to August, India also saw an average of almost three new unicorns per month. 

Then, there were, of course, outliers like the 'Unicorn Week' in mid-April, when six unicorns were birthed in a span of seven days. 

But we're not done yet. 

The Hurun Research Institute has released its inaugural 'Hurun India Future Unicorn List 2021' to rank startups that are knocking at the doors of a billion-dollar valuation. 

These companies are valued at over $200 million, not yet listed on a public exchange, and "most likely to go unicorn’ in two years (Gazelles) or four years (Cheetahs). 

The report stated, "India’s unicorns are now worth $168 billion, more than the GDP of Telangana at current prices.”

The Interview

Many social media influencers create content on the sidelines of their day job or just to put their thoughts out there. 

On Influencer Inc by YourStory, Ruhee Dosani explains that Instagram is the best place to be a content creator and that it feels great to make people feel better or happy, especially during COVID-19.

Editor’s Pick: App Friday

Released in September 2017 on the Google Play Store, LingoDeer helps users learn Korean, Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, French, and German, among other languages.  

With over 10 million downloads on Play Store, the app claims that if users spend 15 minutes every day on it, they would be able to master a new language. Read more.

Startup Spotlight

Helping people secure gold loans

Ankur Gupta, Akshita Gupta, and Yashwardhan Aeren realised that while gold is an asset, many people are worried about the social stigma attached to taking gold loans.

This led the trio to found Ruptok Fintech, a Delhi-based startup that aims to remove the various pain points that any individual normally faces while securing a gold loan. Read more.

News & Updates

• Social commerce unicorn Meesho has declared a company-wide break for its employees from November 4 to 14, in what it calls a “Reset and Recharge” policy. The break aims to prioritise employee well-being and encourages them to completely unplug from work.

• Paytm is looking to hive off its payment aggregator business into a new subsidiary Paytm Payments Services Limited, according to a notice sent to shareholders. The new entity will include Paytm's online payment gateway business.

• According to the LinkedIn India Labour Market Update (July 2021), hiring activity in India has been on a steady recovery, and the hiring rate in July this year was around 65 percent above the pre-COVID level.

Before you go, stay inspired with… 

“Preparing the Future Unicorn List 2021 has been one of the most daunting tasks, primarily due to the positive hyperactivity in Indian startup ecosystems. Five startups that we had as Cheetahs at the beginning of our research, jumped straight to unicorn valuations."

— Anas Rahman Junaid, MD and Chief Researcher, Hurun India

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