India trumps China in unicorn creation for second consecutive year in 2022

Companies grow despite shrinking funding, regulatory challenges and lay-offs

India in 2022 created more new unicorns than China for the second year in a row despite macroeconomic uncertainty and recessionary fear affecting investments, said a report on Wednesday.

As many as 23 Indian firms crossed the $1-billion valuation mark for unicorn status, compared to China’s 11. Deal value in India shrunk 33 per cent from $38.5 billion in 2021 to $25.7 billion in 2022, said the report by IVCA-Bain & Company.

“Overall funding saw a drop in 2022—led by a drop in late-stage large deals. The ecosystem faced foundational shifts as VCs pivoted focus to unit economics and start-ups