India became the second-largest originator of new unicorns globally in 2024, with six startups crossing the billion-dollar valuation milestone, driving the aggregate valuation of Indian unicorns past $220 billion, as per a report released on Thursday.
The report, authored by Nasscom and consulting firm Zinnov in conjunction with the 'Startup Mahakumbh' event, showed that unicorns represented 33% of the aggregate tech startup funding this year.
India's technology startup ecosystem picked up robust indications of recovery, recording a 23% growth in total funding, which rose to $7.4 billion in 2024. Deal making also rose by 27% over 2023 levels, led by a 2.1 times increase in the number of newly founded technology startups. The nation now has an estimated 32,000 to 35,000 technology startups.
Reflecting on the results, Nasscom President Rajesh Nambiar said, "The growth in mature and emerging industries, namely in DeepTech and AI, defines the increasing maturity of the Indian tech startup ecosystem, transitioning from merely being a hub of opportunities to becoming a strategic driver of India's digital economy.".
DeepTech startups are increasingly the drivers of shaping the innovation story of India. Our efforts today need to go towards bolstering the underlying pillars of this growth, ranging from improving access to capital to creating strong innovation infrastructure, enabling our startups to compete at a global level while addressing uniquely Indian problems," he further said.
Stage-wise, seed funding led the growth with a 29% share, followed by early-stage funding at 25%, and late-stage funding at 21%, all showing positive momentum compared to last year.
A majority—67%—of tech startup investments in 2024 targeted sectors classified as “mature,” defined by high total funding and deal volume. DeepTech, in particular, recorded a remarkable 78% year-on-year growth in funding, reaching $1.6 billion.
Pari Natarajan, Zinnov CEO, emphasized the larger significance of these trends: "At the core of India's growth, startups are driving innovation and economic transformation. India is not a consumer of high-end technology but a creator, a leader and an architect of innovation."
The projections for 2025 look favorable, with about 75% of Indian tech startups anticipating better funding conditions. Also, a full 98% of those polled are bullish on revenue growth over the next year.
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