6 Unicorn in 4 days a boom for India Tech Market

India marks a historic boom in technological market in the space of 4 days. The country reported at least six new startups with a valuation of USD 1 billion or more. Groww, an investment network, was valued at more than USD 1 billion, Gupshup, a messaging bots startup, was valued at USD 1.4 billion, digital pharmacy API Holdings Pvt. was valued at close to USD 1.5 billion, software developer Mohalla Tech was valued at more than USD 2.1 billion, social commerce startup Meesho Inc. was valued at USD 2.1 billion, and financial-technology provider Cred was valued at USD 2.2 billion.

Global investors such as Japan's SoftBank Group Corp. and South Africa's Naspers Ltd. see the country's startup market as being increasingly attractive. In recent years, the 1.3 billion-strong country has seen a surge in smartphone usage, as well as the rapid growth of low-cost internet services and a new wave of enterprising entrepreneurs.

Several startups have shown a rapid growth in the market recently to signal the potential in the South Asian country. Digital payments major Paytm reached a valuation of USD 16 billion, making it the most valuable in the county. Online-education startup Byju’s is rasing money at a USD 15 billion valuation.

The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of online technologies in India, perhaps even more than in other countries. During the coronavirus pandemic and the stringent lockdowns of last year, more than 1,600 new startups were founded, taking the total in the country to over 12,500, according to a January report by Nasscom, the country’s technology industry trade body.

“The surge of funding and the breeding of unicorns is not a surprise because India has the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world and the third-largest market for such startups," said Pranav Pai, managing partner at 3one4 Capital Advisors LLP.