India already has 8 new unicorns in 2022

As we head into the second month of 2022, the Indian startup ecosystem has already seen eight startups enter the coveted billion-dollar unicorn club.

Thursday February 10, 2022 , 3 min Read

Good Morning,

It is just over 40 days into 2022 and the Indian startup ecosystem has already added eight new startups to the coveted unicorn club.

India’s newest unicorns include Fractal (advanced analytics), LEAD (edtech), Darwinbox (HRtech), DealShare (social commerce), Polygon (blockchain), Livspace (home interior and renovation), ElasticRun (B2B ecommerce), and the latest Xpressbees (logistics).

And, there is more to come. According to a PwC report, over 50 Indian startups have the potential to enter the unicorn club — startups valued at over $1 billion each — in 2022.

The year 2021 saw the emergence of 44 startup unicorns against a cumulative number of 33 unicorns from 2011 to 2020.

Given the record-breaking year of 2021, in terms of fund inflow and the emergence of unicorns from the Indian startup ecosystem, 2022 is expected to continue the momentum. Let’s have a look at the eight unicorns of 2022.

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News & Updates

Third-party logistics provider Xpressbees has raised $300 million in a Series F funding round at a valuation of $1.2 billion. Entering the coveted unicorn club, Xpressbees will use the fresh capital to become a full-service logistics organisation.

Nykaa reported a net profit of Rs 27.9 crore for Q3 of FY22, a decline of 59.5 percent from the corresponding quarter of the previous year. This was driven by a 155 percent increase in marketing expenses and a 72 percent jump in fulfilment expenses, year-on-year.

Rollup ecommerce unicorn GlobalBees has acquired the fitness equipment and accessories brand, Reach. The company is GlobalBees’s second investment in the sports category.

Amazon India announced the launch of its second season of Global Selling Propel startup accelerator – an initiative designed to provide dedicated support to emerging Indian brands and startups to reach customers around the world.