Tech30: Thirty most promising Indian startups of 2023
YourStory presents Tech30—our annual list of young and promising startups with high potential to define the spirit of entrepreneurship in The Great Indian Techade—at TechSparks 2023.
Once relegated to the margins of India’s growth story, Indian startups are now called the ‘spine of new India’.
The ecosystem has come a long way—from 350 startups registered with the DPIIT in 2014, it is growing at an unprecedented pace with over 92,000 startups registered this year. These new-age companies are disrupting traditional industries with innovation to solve real-world problems and become the changemakers of ‘The Great Indian Techade’, putting India on the global map with the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem.
For the last 15 years, YourStory has played a pivotal role in highlighting and presenting these entrepreneurs across fields.
One way we tell stories of new, small companies bringing big change is at the startup-tech summit TechSparks when we release Tech 30—a list of India’s 30 most promising startups that we believe have the potential to be major disruptors.
Tech 30
With Tech30, we don’t just empower early-stage tech startups that can become the next generation of changemakers, but also give them a platform to tell their stories, meet investors, collaborate with ecosystem stakeholders, raise funding, and take their startups to the next level.
With this vision to percolate the spirit of entrepreneurship from big players to budding enterprises, Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO, YourStory unveiled the Tech30 list of up-and-coming companies this year at the largest congregation of innovators at TechSparks 2023.
“We believe we will have 1 million startups in India, if not more. Every year, we select 30 companies that are creating innovative solutions. Let’s celebrate and recognise these companies that we believe will be big tomorrow," Sharma said.
Handpicked from over a thousand applications, these startups were chosen by a jury comprising veterans from the startup ecosystem, and YourStory's team of senior editorial and research staff.
This year, AI/ML startups ruled the roost with nearly one-third of winners building in that space, highlighting the growth of GenAI.
B2B startups are attracting the most funding and have the largest potential to fuel growth and innovation over the next few years. In this year’s list, 28 out of 30 companies have a B2B component in their operations, with 10 operating on a pure B2B model.
While Bengaluru continues to be the most important startup hub in India, Tier II and III towns are also well-represented on the list. Also, half of the Tech30 startups have been operating for three years or more.
You can download the Tech30 2023 report here.
Here are the top 30 promising innovators for 2023:
Anatomech
specialises in providing wearable devices to individuals suffering from lymphedema. Its bionic wearable smart device mimics natural lymphatic circulation, reducing swelling and alleviating pain.
Includ
Aspiring Brands operates in the kidswear segment and utilises technology like AI/ML to serve customers directly while collaborating with manufacturers. Selling through the Includ brand, the company uses a D2C approach while simultaneously creating a marketplace for manufacturers.
Assert AI
is a computer vision focused SaaS company that provides AI-based video analytics solutions for enterprises. It provides solutions to ports, manufacturing and logistics companies, banks/ATMs, and retail chains in the country.
BluJ Aero
is working on cutting-edge Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) technologies powered by sustainable energy sources to reduce travel time for cargo and humans.
ClearFeed
uses AI and NLP to bridge the information gap and convert unstructured data into actionable insights. It simplifies task management across various data sources. Companies like CoreWeave, Atlan Data, and Teleport use ClearFeed to streamline employee and customer request management on Slack.
CodeMate
is an auto-correcting tool tailored for programmers to streamline coding. It enhances efficiency by fixing errors as developers type, enabling faster and more precise code creation. The startup aims to reduce turnaround time and cost for businesses.
Eugenie AI
Technologies is an emissions intelligence platform that allows manufacturing companies to track, trace, and reduce their greenhouse emissions while simultaneously achieving production goals.
Evate
Technologies enables petrol/diesel-based vehicles to convert to EVs by connecting them with verified retrofit technology players. This end-to-end EV retrofitting marketplace also facilitates loans for retrofits through partnerships with NBFCs.
Fanztar
enables fans to actively engage in the creator economy instead of being passive observers. It allows fans to become co-owners of a creator’s journey, sharing their growth and the value they generate.
Hyperlab.life
is a sports technology company dedicated to advancing athlete training and performance. The company specialises in groundbreaking fitness and training solutions that merge state-of-the-art technology with sports science.
Introbot
uses AI to connect startup founders and business executives to build professional relationships at events and through business or alumni communities. The platform uses an AI-based recommendation engine built on WhatsApp for matchmaking.
Kshana.ai
is an AI-driven asset management co-pilot targeted at asset and wealth management companies, as well as Registered Investment Advisors (RIA). The earnings analysis platform uses AI to annotate updates by publicly listed companies and helps customers parse data on stocks faster than manual processes.
Let’s driEV
is a sustainable and eco-friendly electric vehicle (EV) sharing platform operated by Techsofin. It addresses urban commuting challenges like traffic congestion and air pollution with a convenient, economical, and environmentally conscious alternative.
MakeForms.io
is an online form builder that allows users to create, share, and manage custom forms. The platform also offers conditional logic, workflows, custom branding, and team collaboration.
Minus Zero
is India’s first startup building fully autonomous vehicles. It hopes to create a human-like AI driver that can navigate the trickiest of traffic scenarios—like those in India—safely.
Monet Work
provides a platform to help companies hire mid- and senior-level talent or acquire users through professional networks built by so-called super networkers. These super networkers are influencers in their respective fields and are rewarded for connecting people to opportunities.
Naam
is a made-in-India app that enables users to identify unknown phone calls and spammers without syncing their contacts. It aims to become India’s biggest caller identification app by facilitating safe and secure communication.
Navanc
Datasciences helps lenders give out loans by assessing the borrower’s property valuation for mortgage-based lending. It pioneers a data-driven approach in property assessment to reshape the mortgage lending landscape.
Nawgati
operates a vertical SaaS platform and a consumer-facing app that acts as a bridge connecting fuel stations and drivers. The primary goal of the startup is to reduce wait times and congestion at fuel stations.
NeuralGarage
The issue of visual synchronisation loss in dubbed content has long been perceived as an insurmountable challenge. addresses this gap and aims to make communication seamless across all languages through AI intervention.
NexStem
leverages neuroscience to enhance human-machine interactions. The startup has developed a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) which aims to revolutionise neuroscience, healthcare, education, and gaming.
Ongil.ai
is an analytics platform built for AI-driven decision-making. The instant messaging platform helps senior management across industries to speed up analytics tasks by up to 95%—from data collection to insights. It also has features like real-time visualisation and predictive analytics to fetch insights faster.
PierSight Space
is building Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites to enable easier and more effective monitoring of human activity at sea. The startup’s solutions are aimed at shipping, insurance, defence, coastguard, oil and gas, and other companies that rely on maritime intelligence.
Plotch.ai
is a cloud-based infrastructure and tech stack provider for brands that want to be part of the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) protocol. It aims to break down the complexities of digitising commerce by helping brands set up node infrastructure for node-to-node payments, and supporting network grievance management.
Segwise
is an AI-powered observability platform for product and growth teams. Its B2B SaaS platform runs a no-code script across datasets given by product and growth teams to determine opportunities as well as identify issues that require the team’s focus.
SHG Technologies
’ flagship product, SMART Vision, is a wearable device that leverages AI, ML, and machine vision to provide a sensory feel to a visually impaired person. It is designed to address the needs of individuals suffering from conditions including blindness, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy etc.
Sivi
is a generative AI startup that converts text content into visual designs for ads, product banners, posts and so on. It has built its own proprietary generative model for visual design generation which can generate 16 variations of a prompt in under two minutes.
The ePlane Company
is an Urban Air Mobility (UAM) company that aims to ease on-road traffic congestion in cities by offering safe, sustainable, and affordable flying services. It hopes to deliver immersive intra-city flying experiences by transporting people from their doorstep to their end destination 10X faster.
Verdant Impact
is a full-stack animal husbandry platform that offers farmers backwards and forward linkage for livestock purchase and sales. The SaaS platform’s genetic traceability system has an AR/VR solution and Universal Animal Ancestry Animal Mark, which allows farmers to trace their livestock’s ancestry using advanced DNA analysis and unique identification techniques.
Vitra.ai
is an AI-based video translation platform which helps users translate videos into over 70 languages with just a click. The company’s technology has the ability to provide translations from across different formats of media including videos, images, websites, podcasts, and text.
You can download the Tech30 2023 report here.
(The copy was updated to correct the name of a startup.)
Edited by Kanishk Singh