Startups

TODO: source required — confirm total recognised startups from DPIIT portal. Startup India scheme launched January 2016. India has the third-largest startup ecosystem globally by number of unicorns.

India is the 3rd largest startup unicorn hub globally (after US and China) as of 2024. The $1B+ unicorn threshold is a widely used VC benchmark. InMobi (2011) was India's first unicorn; the cohort grew almost entirely post-2014 with digital infrastructure (UPI, Aadhaar, cheap data) enabling scale. Note that unicorn valuations are private-market marks and may not reflect public-market realisable value — several 2021-vintage unicorns have seen valuation markdowns.