ASK Private Wealth and Hurun India have released their fifth ‘Unicorn and Future Unicorn Report 2025’ that ranks Indian startups founded in the 2000s, which are worth at least ₹ 1,710 crore, and not yet listed on a public exchange.
The report categorises startups valued at $1 billion and more as unicorns, while those between $500 million-$1 billion are termed as ‘gazelles’, and companies valued between $200-500 million are ‘cheetahs’. Notably, cheetahs are those with potential to go unicorn in five years, while gazelles could take three years to reach the billion dollar valuation, it added.
A snapshot of India’s start-up ecosystem: 73 unicorns, 150 potentials
The report has ranked India’s most valuable private equity or venture capital-funded startups according to their latest funding round valuation. Hurun Research found 150 Indian future unicorns and 73 unicorns, it said.
According to Rajesh Saluja, Co-Founder, CEO & MD of ASK Private Wealth, said, India’s start-up ecosystem journey “into a powerful engine of innovation and economic value creation” has been inspiring. Adding that the growing focus on profitability, sustainable models, and capital efficiency are particularly encouraging aspects.
“The increasing depth across fintech, artificial intelligence (AI), Software as a service (SaaS), and consumer sectors not only underscores the ingenuity of Indian entrepreneurs but also positions India at the forefront of shaping the next wave of global disruptors,” Saluja added.
Anas Rahman Junaid, Founder and Chief Researcher at Hurun India said that tracking unicorns is important as “they represent India’s most valuable and disruptive companies that are already shaping industries, creating large-scale employment, and attracting global capital”.
“(Unicorns) together with future unicorns, provide a complete picture of India’s innovation pipeline and the long-term potential of the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem,” Junaid added.
India’s unicorns and future unicorns – Top 10 highlights
- Over the past year, almost 11 new unicorns have entered the ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Unicorn and Future Unicorn Report 2025. Among these, Ai.tech emerged as the fastest unicorn, achieving the milestone in just three years.
- Other prominent additions include Navi Technologies, Vivriti Capital, Rapido, Netradyne, Jumbotail, DarwinBox, Moneyview, Veritas Finance, Juspay and Drools. With these new entrants, India’s unicorn tally now stands at 73 in 2025, spanning diverse sectors from technology and mobility to finance and sustainability.”
- Real money gaming startups such as Dream11, MPL, Gameskraft, Games24x7, Zupee, and WinZO have exited the list as of now, following the impact of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025.
- The number of cheetahs and gazelles has expanded from 82 to 150, while cumulative valuations grew 79 per cent to $62 billion.
- Investor participation has broadened significantly, rising from 182 in 2021 to 1,014 in 2025. Peak XV Partners leads the field with 42 bets.
- Cumulative revenues of cheetahs and gazelles have grown more than six times, from ₹9,955 crore in 2021 to ₹68,277 crore in 2025.
- Employment has nearly doubled, with 1.67 lakh people now working in these companies.
- The rise of new-age sectors is striking, with AI, SpaceTech, and New Energy expanding from nine companies in 2022 to 19 in 2025. New Energy startups alone has grown its valuation by 1,389 per cent in just three years, while SpaceTech has built a $1.8 billion presence.
- Bengaluru continues to anchor India’s start-up geography with 26 Unicorns cumulatively valued at $70 billion and 41 Cheetahs and Gazelles cumulatively worth $16 billion. Delhi NCR and Mumbai, host 12 Unicorns and 31 Future Unicorns, and 11 Unicorns and 28 Future Unicorns respectively.
- IITs and IIMs remain the strongest breeding grounds for India’s start-up founders. IIT Delhi leads with 42 undergraduate founders, while IIM Ahmedabad tops the postgraduate list with 27.
Top 20 unicorns in India 2025 – Check full list
Notably, Zerodha (worth $8.2 billion), Razorpay ($7.5 billion), and Lenskart ($7.5 billion) are India’s most valuable unicorns. While in terms of sectors, fintech dominates the startup space with 19 companies valued at a cumulative $50.1 billion, followed by e-commerce (12 companies worth $33.1 billion) and SaaS (11 companies worth $26.9 billion).
Among the founders, Kaivalya Vohra and Aadit Palicha the 22-year-old co-founder of Zepto are India’s youngest unicorn founders; while for the women, leaders such as Ruchi Kalra (OfBusiness and Oxyzo), Vineeta Singh (SUGAR Cosmetics), and Garima Sawhney (Pristyn Care) lead the pack.
