India mints only five unicorns so far; investors say 2021-style boom unlikely to return

At the half-year mark, India has minted just five new unicorns, a pace slower than expected despite the recent thaw in the “funding winter” that enveloped the startup ecosystem after Covid-19.

The year started with a boom, with Netradyne crossing the $1 billion valuation mark just days into the new year. However, this momentum has tapered off, with only a handful more startups achieving the unicorn status.

In 2025, after Netradyne, logistics platform Porter, pet food startup Drools, omnichannel jewellery retailer BlueStone and business-to-business…