Unicorns help boost jobs, stakeholder value

NEW DELHI: India’s 44 tech unicorns have generated $106 billion worth of value for their founders, employees, investors and the wider economy and created more than 1.4 million direct and indirect jobs a year over a decade.

These unicorns—valued at more than a billion dollars each—include Makemytrip, Inmobi, Paytm, Byjus, Cars24 and Ola, according to the Indian Tech Unicorn Report 2020 by Orios Venture Partners, an earlystage venture capital fund.

While the financial payments sector accounts for most of the unicorns, retail and Saas (software as a service) come a close second, the report said.

Other verticals are logistics, data analytics, travel, food and gaming.

In 2020, a dozen startups, including Razorpay, Pinelabs, Zerodha and Postman, joined the coveted unicorn club, the highest in any one year.

At $16 billion, Paytm continues to be the most valuable unicorn, followed by edtech startup Byju’s.

“The Indian startup ecosystem has generated tremendous value for founders, employees, investors and the economy. Most of these are backed by technology, and that is the key differentiating factor between unicorns of the 21st century versus the prior era,” said Rehan Yar Khan, managing partner, Orios Venture Partners.

Orios has invested in unicorns, including Ola, Druva and Pharmeasy, since their early days and aims to be part of another 3-5 unicorns over the next few years, added Khan.

As many as 41% of unicorns are from Bengaluru, followed by Delhi (34%) and Mumbai (14%).

“In fact, many former executives who have exited these successful startups have continued onto their second ventures and have become angel investors of some repute, bringing their experience and cheques to help grow the burgeoning ecosystem to help create the next unicorn,” said Ankur Pahwa, partner and national leader, e-commerce and consumer Internet, EY India.

The technology startup ecosystem continues to see a significant growth trajectory on the back of rapid digitalization and tech adoption.

“Startups are at the forefront of this widescale digital disruption. Segments such as edtech, healthtech, agritech, B2C (business-to-consumer) channels, social commerce, gaming and enterprise tech companies that are spurring the growth are just a few of the sub-segments witnessing double-digit growth and adoption, and are expected to bring in the next wave of unicorns,” Pahwa said.

This year is likely to see a rush of initial public offerings (IPOS) by startups, aided by improving profitability and scale in verticals.