From AI to FinTech: India's Unicorn boom gets 11 new billion-dollar players

The fresh entrants span diverse sectors including FinTech, AI, AutoTech, Shared Economy, SaaS, E-commerce, and Consumer Goods. Leading the list is Ai.tech, valued at $1.5 billion

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Despite global funding slowdowns and regulatory headwinds, India has emerged resilient in 2025, producing 11 new Unicorns and welcoming 54 new entrants to the startup ecosystem, according to the ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Unicorn and Future Unicorn Report 2025.

 

Unicorns are companies founded in or after 2000 with valuations of $1 billion or more. With these new additions, India’s unicorn tally has climbed to 73 in 2025.

 

Leading this year’s unicorn wave is Ai.tech, a pioneering startup studio and holding company founded in January 2022 by entrepreneur Divyank Turakhia. Valued at $1.5 billion, Ai.tech focuses on building businesses powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning. Its portfolio already includes Advertising.Tech and Media.net, employing over 1,600 people worldwide.

 

FinTech Dominates

FinTech continued to drive India’s unicorn surge. Major additions include:

• Navi Technologies ($1.7 Bn), co-founded by Sachin Bansal
• Moneyview ($1.2 Bn), founded by Puneet Agarwal and Sanjay Aggarwal
• Vivriti Capital ($1.3 Bn)
• JusPay ($1 Bn)
• Veritas Finance ($1 Bn)

 

Diverse Sectors Shine

 

Shared Economy: Bike-taxi platform Rapido reached a $3 Bn valuation.

 

AutoTech: Netradyne (USD 1.4 Bn) strengthened India’s role in AI-driven automotive safety.

 

E-commerce & SaaS: Jumbotail and DarwinBox crossed the billion-dollar threshold.

 

Consumer Goods: Pet food company Drools ($1 Bn) reflected scalability in traditional categories. 

India’s Startup Juggernaut: 11 New Unicorns Join the $1B+ Club in 2025. All figures are USD billion

 

Future Unicorns in the Making

 

The Hurun Research Institute categorises startups into:

 

Unicorns: Valued at $1 Bn+

 

Gazelles: Valued between $500 Mn – $1 Bn, likely to hit Unicorn status in three years.

 

Cheetahs: Valued between USD 200 Mn – $500 Mn, potential Unicorns in five years. In 2025, India is home to 46 Gazelles (unchanged from last year) and 104 Cheetahs (slightly down from 106). Importantly, 54 companies entered the pipeline this year—12 Gazelles and 42 Cheetahs—compared to 38 last year, reflecting continued momentum.

 

Some notable movements:

 

Cloudnine Hospitals, Turtlemint, Mintifi, and InVideo AI graduated from Cheetah to Gazelle.

 

Juspay, Jumbotail, and Veritas Finance made the rare leap directly from Cheetah to Unicorn, skipping the Gazelle stage entirely. 

Sector Leaders: FinTech, SaaS, and E-commerce

 

The FinTech sector continues to dominate both the present and future of India’s Unicorn economy:

 

19 FinTech Unicorns valued at $50.1 Bn

 

29 FinTech Future Unicorns valued at $12.9 Bn

 

Other strong sectors include:

 

SaaS: 11 Unicorns worth $26.9 Bn, plus 22 future Unicorns valued at $7.4 Bn

 

E-commerce: 12 Unicorns valued at $33.1 Bn, plus 14 future Unicorns valued at $5.1 Bn

 

Emerging fields are shaping the future economy:

 

Artificial Intelligence: 8 Future Unicorns (e.g., InVideo AI)

 

Aerospace: 5 (including Agnikul and Skyroot)

 

CleanTech: 6 (such as Battery Smart and LOHUM)

 

This shift marks India’s evolution from consumer internet-led startups to deep tech and frontier innovation.

 

India’s Most Valuable Unicorns

 

Zerodha – Valued at $8.2 Bn, leading as India’s largest homegrown brokerage.

 

Razorpay – Payments leader at $7.5 Bn.

 

Lenskart – Omni-channel eyewear major at $7.5 Bn, also one of India’s largest startup employers with 17,607 employees.

 

Other big names include OfBusiness (17,000 employees) and PhysicsWallah (14,000 employees in just five years), proving Unicorns are not only creating wealth but also large-scale employment.

 

Investors, Angels, and Family Offices

 

India’s startup ecosystem has seen a sharp rise in investor participation, growing from 182 in 2021 to over 1,014 in 2025.

 

Peak XV Partners leads with 68 bets across Unicorns, Gazelles, and Cheetahs.

 

Stride Ventures has grown from zero to 20 in just four years.

 

Early-stage specialists like Blume Ventures have also scaled significantly.

 

On the angel side:

 

Kunal Shah tops the rankings with 22 investments.

 

He is followed by Anand Chandrasekaran (15) and Kunal Bahl (11).

 

Interestingly, family offices are emerging as patient, long-term backers. Their participation grew from 7 in 2021 to 55 in 2025, bringing strategic depth and stability to funding cycles. 

The People Driving India’s Unicorn Revolution

 

The IITs and IIMs remain fertile breeding grounds for founders:

 

IIT Delhi leads with 42 undergraduate founders, followed by IIT Kharagpur and IIT Bombay.

 

At the postgraduate level, IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Calcutta, IIT Bombay, and ISB stand out.

 

Notable founder highlights:

 

Zepto’s Kaivalya Vohra and Aadit Palicha, at just 22, are India’s youngest Unicorn founders.

 

Women founders such as Ruchi Kalra (OfBusiness, Oxyzo), Vineeta Singh (SUGAR Cosmetics), and Garima Sawhney (Pristyn Care) are increasingly reshaping India’s startup landscape.

 

In total, the ecosystem employs 3,74,415 people, with Unicorns accounting for 2,06,741 and future Unicorns employing 1,67,674. 

Exits and Public Market Success

 

2025 also saw spectacular exits:

 

Northern Arc’s IPO was oversubscribed 111x.

 

Ather Energy raised $352 Mn in a blockbuster issue.

 

Smartworks attracted a 13.45x bid frenzy.

 

Bluestone staged a strong rebound with a 2.7x oversubscription.

 

Challenges and Regulatory Shifts

 

The report also flagged challenges. The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025 caused the exit of real-money gaming giants like Dream11, MPL, Gameskraft, Games24x7, Zupee, and WinZO from the index. Stricter licensing and tax compliance have dampened valuations, though analysts believe the long-term result will be a more transparent and trusted sector.

 

Global Footprints

 

More Indian startups are now headquartered overseas while maintaining strong operations in India. Examples include GreyOrange, Whatfix, Twin Health, Icertis, ChargeBee, Postman, Druva, Moglix, and Ai.tech.

 

From 6 overseas HQs in 2021 to 25 in 2025, this represents 317% growth in Indian-origin companies scaling globally.

 

Rajesh Saluja, Co-Founder, CEO & MD, ASK Private Wealth:

“As we mark five years of this index, it is inspiring to see India’s startup ecosystem mature into an engine of innovation and economic value creation. What is particularly encouraging is the growing focus on profitability, sustainable models, and capital efficiency—hallmarks of businesses that endure and scale globally.”

 

Anas Rahman Junaid, Founder and Chief Researcher, Hurun India:

“Tracking Unicorns is critical because they represent India’s most valuable and disruptive companies. Together with Gazelles and Cheetahs, they provide a complete picture of India’s innovation pipeline. Our Index has proven to be a strong predictor of future Unicorns, with names like Zepto, Mamaearth, and CarDekho validated in recent years.”