India now ranks as the third-largest nation, after the US and China, for venture capital-backed tech initial public offerings (IPOs), the India Tech Unicorns & Exits 2024 report said. These IPOs have pushed the total market capitalisation of India’s listed tech firms to around $150 billion.
However, the report revealed an increase in the average time for Indian startups to achieve unicorn status, rising from 5.5 years in 2023 to 11 years in 2024. Similarly, the average time to go public went up from 12.5 years to 13.4 years during that period.
In 2024, India witnessed 327 IPOs, including 13 in the technology sector. The seven startups that achieved unicorn status during the year are Ather, Moneyview, Rapido, Perfios, Rategain, Krutrim and Porter.
The report also noted that 29 unicorns were profitable in 2024, including companies like Zerodha, MakeMyTrip and InfoEdge. However, one-fifth of Indian unicorns are headquartered overseas.
A growing number of these overseas-headquartered startups are exploring relocation to India to tap into the country’s robust growth potential, as previously reported by ET.
Discover the stories of your interest
On the funding front, Indian startups raised $11.4 billion across 1,547 deals in 2024, with 62% of the total investment going to late-stage funding rounds. Ecommerce led the sectoral distribution with 259 funding rounds, followed by enterprise tech, fintech and consumer services.
Acquisition activity also rose significantly, with 370 acquisitions recorded in 2024 compared to 123 in 2023. Among these, Zomato’s acquisition of Paytm Insider, Paytm’s movie ticketing and events business, was the largest.
