The unicorn report card: A snapshot of how India’s top startups fared over the past 5 years

Over the past five years, India's startup scene has seen many highs and lows. If 2018 and 2019 were a time of feasting for startups, the early days of the pandemic were a time of funding famine. And while funding subsequently poured in through the rest of the pandemic, the last two years have been marked by a frigid funding winter.

These ups and downs have meant that India's startup landscape today looks vastly different compared to 2019. Across this period, investors minted 70 new unicorns—startups valued at over a billion dollars—and four decacorns—valued at over $10 billion. Today, India’s startup and unicorn ecosystem is the third largest globally, with several tech startups even going public.

For all this success, though, Indian startups are under more scrutiny than ever. The ongoing funding winter has seen a shift in investors’ mindsets, with their focus moving from growth to sustainability. This shift has spared no one. Byju's and Pharmeasy, two of India’s most vaunted startups, for instance, have suffered significant drops in their valuations, with both having to resort to rights issues at fractions of their previous valuations to stay afloat. Additionally, instances of fraud emerged even among some of the most valuable startups.