After 2021 boom, how 2022 could be a year of reckoning for Indian startups

After the boom of 2021, when 44 Indian startups became unicorns, the markets are more selective and investors less enthusiastic in participating at unrealistic valuations

The year 2021 saw a host of large startups hitting the public market to cash in on their big private valuations. But the script went awry for most of these issues.

Software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup FreshWorks hit the jackpot when it listed on Nasdaq last September. The market capitalisation of the company, the first SaaS player to go in for a public issue, was $13 billion after listing. But the euphoria did not last long: Tech stocks fell amid inflation worries in the US, and company’s market value plunged to just $4 billion, but is now at around $5.7 billion, regaining