Unicorn refers to a privately held startup that has achieved a $1 billion valuation. A mandatory criterion of being termed a ‘unicorn’ is that the entity has to be only privately owned. The term ‘unicorn’ originally refers to the single-horned mythical animal and is used to emphasize the rarity of startups having a $1 billion valuation.
A December 2021 report by the Hurun Research Institute had said India is the third-largest host to unicorns globally but trails the US and China by a wide margin. A report by PwC said $35 billion was raised by Indian startups in over 1,000 rounds of funding in 2021, which was 1.5 times higher than the previous year. Edutech, software as a service and fintech sectors witnessed the highest activity.
Here are eight start-up companies that have potential to earn the coveted ‘unicorn’ status in 2022:
- Livspace
Livspace is an interior design startup that offers a platform that connects people to designers, services, and products. Livspace has raised a total of $251.7M in funding over 9 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Nov 10, 2021. Livspace is funded by 18 investors including Saint-Gobain and Trifecta Capital Advisors. The omnichannel home interior and renovation platform has been operating in 13 Indian cities, along with an office in Singapore since 2019. The seven-year-old company was valued at $500 million when it raised $90 million in December 2019. However, the company is in talks with investors to raise $200 million, which will increase its post-money market valuation to $1.3 billion, thereby entering the unicorn club in early 2022.
2. Ecom Express
Ecom Express is a logistics solutions company that allows for customization, scalability, and delivery service processing.This New Delhi-based firm has raised a total of $485.4M in funding over 6 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Mar 9, 2021. Converted to a public company in November, 2021, their IPO had an approximate $1.8 billion evaluation.
Ecom Express is funded by 4 investors, CDC Group and Partners Group being the most recent. Ecom Express invested in Paperfly on Jan 13, 2021.
3. Practo
Practo is a medical health platform that connects patients with healthcare providers through booking appointments, check-ups, and consultations. With a $228.2 million funding, the company has 14 investors, pegged at a market valuation of $905 million.
4. Ninjacart
Ninjacart is a business-to-business fresh produce supply chain that connects farmers, manufactures, and brands to retailers directly. Ninjacart has raised a total of $358.2M in funding over 14 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Dec 13, 2021. Funded by 20 investors, Flipkart and Qualcomm Ventures are the newest. Backed by Walmart, this Bengaluru-headquartered startup has hit a valuation of approximately $700 million.
5. Khatabook
Founded in 2018, Khatabook is a company providing an accounting service for small and medium-sized businesses. It operates the Android-based Khatabook app that enables companies to keep a digital log of their financial transactions and accept payments online. With a market valuation of more than $600 million, this Bangalore-headquartered company has 36 investors with a funding of $186.5 million. The digital-ledger app had 10 million-plus downloads within a year of launch, along with more than 3 million active merchants on its platform and has around 7 million registrations. The M.S.Dhoni-backed fintech startup has gained a total revenue of INR 19.1 Cr in the financial year ending on March 31, 2021.
6. Whatfix
Whatfix is a digital platform that helps businesses simplify their training and support efforts with accessible contextual information. Founded by Vara Kumar Namburu and Khadim Batti in 2013, its customers include beer-maker Heineken, online fashion retailer Myntra and online retailer Takealot. The San Jose-headquartered company raised a funding of $139.8 million, with Japanese group Softbank being its latest investor. Whatfix did not disclose its market valuation but a person close to the matter pegged it at $600 million.
7. Inshorts
Inshorts is an aggregator app that summarizes news articles in 60 words and covers a wide-range of topics, including tech and business.Founded in 2013 by Azhar Iqubal, Deepit Purkayastha and Anunay Arunav, the company has a market valuation of $550 million. Vy Capital and Tanglin Venture Partners are its most recent investors, increasing its funding to $164.9 million. The app has more than 15M downloads across Android and iOS, and 3B page views per month (Android).
8. Pepperfry
Pepperfry is an online home and lifestyle shopping store selling products with cash on delivery facilities, based in Mumbai. Pepperfry was valued at around $462 million as per Fintrackr’s estimates. The decade-old company was founded by Ambareesh Murty and Ashish Shah has raised a total of $285.3M in funding over 10 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Nov 23, 2021. Pepperfry is funded by 13 investors, with V. Ravichandar and Burjorjee Family Trust being the latest.
Note: These are predictions based on approximations and publicly available data. They do not hold any value in the market. All figures are obtained from Crunchbase.
