India is a market in constant innovation, with thousands of new startups every year. In this article, we select the 5 most promising startups in India.
The Indian market is ripe for new investors. In 2023, India has not only become the world’s most populated country, surpassing China, but it also overtook the United Kingdom as the fifth-largest economy. As for every quickly developing economy, India saw a rising number of new startups, from 471 in 2016 to a whopping 26,542 in 2022 (Statista).
India hosts many successful startups too. As of last year, the number of unicorns (startups with a $1 billion or more evaluation) in India was 114. By comparison, rich Western countries like France and the UK have far less, with 29 and 49 respectively.
This scenario is certainly promising, but could also cause some headaches to new investors who wish to take part in the Indian startup landscape. For this reason, in this article, we will look at the 5 most promising Indian startups in 2023.
How to invest in startups in India
Before taking a look at the list of the most promising Indian startups, we should quickly explain how investments in this sector work.
Startups, by definition, are not public companies. Investors cannot operate on a financial stock exchange like traditional securities. In order for an Indian startup to be publicly traded (and therefore ceasing to be a startup) it must have a minimum share capital of 500,000 rupees and three consecutive years of profit.
There are two main ways of investing in startups:
- Venture capital: this is the easiest and most common way, and is also is preferred method to invest in any of the startups on this list. Venture capital organizations collect funds from different investors and then support the selected startup.
- Angel investing: this is a very high-risk high-reward investment. Angel investors support the creation of a startup in its early stages, usually when just a vague business model idea is outlined. Startup founders always look for angel investors at the start and is a much more personal relationship than a business one. Typical angel investors include family and close friends of the startup founder.
Top 5 most promising startups in India
1) Cred
Year founded: 2018
Funding rounds: 9
Total funds: $801.5 million
Cred is an incredible fintech startup rewards its clients for meeting their credit card bills on time. In just five years, Cred was joined by over 9 million members, increasing investors’ confidence and reaching a whopping evaluation of $6.5 billion.
2) Zepto
Year founded: 2020
Funding rounds: 6
Funds raised: $566.5 million
Zepto is an e-commerce site specializing in grocery deliveries. Its motto is “15-minute deliveries”, which is rather impressive for a dense and vastly populated country like India. So far, 15 high-end investors placed their trust in Zepto, making it one of the most interesting startups in India!
3) Apna
Year founded: 2019
Funding rounds: 5
Funds raised: $193.5 million
After just 4 years of existence, Apna established itself as “India’s LinkedIn”. Apna is the country’s largest job-searching site and is projected to grow exponentially.
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4) Blusmart
Year founded: 2019
Funding rounds: 10
Funds raised: $184 million
Blusmart Mobility is an electric car-sharing company operating in New Delhi and Bengaluru. Electric mobility is the future, and Blusmart decided to take it into their own hands. The company’s fleet is projected to rise to 10,000 electric vehicles by the end of the year.
5) Skit.ai
Year founded: 2016
Funding rounds: 5
Funds raised: $31.1 million
Skit.ai, formerly known as Vernacular.ai, is one of the first companies in the world to invest in vocal artificial intelligence. Its voice-recognition and voice-creation software are recognized as some of the most sophisticated in the world and will likely improve in the future.
