Early stage venture capital fund, Orios Venture Partners, on Wednesday, January 17, announced the release of its Indian Tech Unicorn and Exits Report 2023. The report brought forth the decline in the average number of years required for a startup to become a unicorn. From taking 8.4 years in 2022, to now taking only 5.5 years in 2023 shows the abundant support available in form of mentorship and capital for the founders.
India witnessed a total of only two unicorns in 2023 but continues to be the third largest nation with most number of unicorns.
Startups raised $8.2 billion in 2023, highlighting a 72% decrease in funding from 2022, having $25 billion raised. The number of Startups IPOs increased to 8 in 2023 compared to 4 in 2022.
The year also saw 123 acquisitions in 2023 as opposed to 229 acquisitions in 2022.
In 2023, the Ecommerce sector outpaced SaaS in terms of the highest number of funding rounds. The report highlights that 25% of unicorn founders are seasoned entrepreneurs with prior successes, contributing valuable expertise and experience to their ventures. Bengaluru maintained its status as the foremost Unicorn hub in India, with Delhi and Mumbai following closely behind.
Commenting on the report, Rehan Yar Khan, Managing Partner, Orios Venture Partners said, "Though 2023 saw only 2 Unicorns, we are excited to note how in the last 4 years startups are taking 5 to 6 years to get to Unicorn status vs 8 to 10 prior to that. That shows the market has become large. We also love how many Unicorns are profitable and in our conversation with several Unicorn founders, profitability was a big focus area. Both these factors point to there being a significant number of tech IPOs in 2024 and the years to follow."
Some more key findings of the report are:
● The only two sectors that saw Unicorns emerge were Fintech and e-commerce (Incred and Zepto respectively.)
● There were 123 acquisitions in 2023 compared to 229 in 2022. Olx Autos acquired by Cartrade.com was the largest deal followed by Texts acquired by Automattic
● Zaggle, Mamaearth, IdeaForge are some of the startups that gained IPO status in 2023
● Edamama, Plix, Olx Autos, Goodera, Texts were some of the most prominent exits that took place in 2023
● 80% of Indian Unicorns are founded by Engineers. While 75% of Unicorns are founded by first-time founders
● Mensa Brands Took only 6 months to turn Unicorn in Nov '21 after raising the first $50 Mn round in May ‘21. Five Star Finance is the slowest Unicorn so far, taking 37 years to achieve Unicorn status. A total of 44 startups became Unicorns in less than 5 years.
Launched in 2013, Orios Venture Partners invests in India-focused startups and businesses. Notable portfolio companies include Pharmeasy, Country Delight, Battery Smart, Beato, Karbon, Unnati, Ixigo, Mobikwik, CarDekho, Vedantu, and Zupee among others.
