Taming the unicorns: Attention to institution building is critical

As India's unicorns race to become decacorns, they must absorb the less glamorous sobriety of institution-building too

Indians are justly proud that the country has emerged as the world’s third-largest ecosystem for startups with the number of unicorns growing exponentially. Between 2017-18 and 2022-23, the number of unicorns, or startups with a valuation of over $1 billion, went up by 66 per cent, with India now boasting 111 unicorns with a valuation of $349.67 billion. Apart from achieving rapid growth, the kind of interest many of these have received from global venture capitalists (VCs) and private-equity (PE) funds is remarkable in a country with a poor reputation for ease of doing business. The flip