The record-breaking 2021 has already continued into the year 2022. In the first seven months of 2022, 19 firms from India joined the unicorn club. With this, there are now 105 Indian tech businesses that have joined the unicorn club thus far. These 105 Indian unicorns have a combined valuation of almost $340 billion and have raised more than $93.4 billion in investment.
In 506 transactions during the first quarter of the year, Indian startups raised $11.7 Billion. Compared to last year’s period, the funding amount and deal counts were 186 percent and 64 percent more incredible, respectively.
Fractal
Fractal, a firm providing advanced analytics and AI solutions, became the first member of the unicorn club in 2022, thanks to its most recent round of funding. TPG Capital Asia funded $360 million for the private equity transaction, and funds advised by Apax Partners purchased secondary shares.
Over five rounds, Fractal has secured $685 million in investment. Nearly two years have passed since it received $200 million from Apax Partners in 2019. Additionally, in 2016, Fractal received $100 million from the Khazanah sovereign fund of Malaysia.
LEAD
LEAD, a business based in Mumbai, became the first edutech company to join India’s unicorn club in 2022. The business was valued at $1.1 Bn after raising $100 Mn in a round led by WestBridge Capital and GSV Ventures in January.
The company has received funding five times, with the most recent round occurring in April 2021. Throughout five rounds, LEAD School has raised a total of $166 Mn in investment. Only the eCommerce ($10.7 Bn) and fintech ($8 Bn) sectors attracted more investment in 2021, making edutech startups the third-most financed Indian startup sector.
Darwinbox
The third Indian unicorn to be created in 2022 is Darwinbox, which has its headquarters in Hyderabad and raised $72 Mn in a capital round headed by Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV) in January. Salesforce Ventures, Sequoia India, Lightspeed India, Endiya Partners, 3one4Capital, JGDEV, and SCB 10X were among the round’s previous investors.
In January last year, it raised $15 Mn in the capital, with Salesforce Ventures serving as the funding lead. It has received $4 million in a Series A investment in 2017 and another $15 million from Sequoia Capital in 2019. It has so far secured $107 million in funding across seven rounds.
DealShare
By 2025, the Indian social commerce market is expected to reach $16 billion to $20 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV), growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 55 percent to 60 percent. Meesho’s admission to the unicorn club was the segment’s most significant achievement the previous year.
Dealshare joined the unicorn club in 2022 with a $1.62 billion valuation. The social commerce business with headquarters in Bengaluru raised $165 Mn in a Series E fundraising round. In the round, new investors Kora Investment, DF International Partners, and Twenty Nine Capital Partners joined current investors Tiger Global and Alpha Wave Incubation.
ElasticRun
ElasticRun, a firm with roots in Pune, was the first to join the unicorn club in February. A new round of funding for the Kirana commerce firm totaled $300 Mn, with SoftBank serving as the lead investor. Innoven Capital, New York-based Goldman Sachs, Prosus Ventures (formerly Naspers Ventures), and Abu Dhabi’s Chimera Investment, a unit of the Abu Dhabi Royal Group, all took part.
ElasticRun was valued at about $1.5 billion in the Series E round, according to Inc42’s estimations. It had raised $75 Mn in a Series D capital round headed by Avataar Venture Partners, roughly a year before the current investment. Prosus Ventures and Kalaari Capital, among others, also participated in the game. The startup was valued at about $400 million in financing. In other words, the startup’s valuation increased by 3.75X due to the most recent fundraising.
This article was drafted by Prittle Prattle News exclusively.
