TOP 10 STARTUPS IN INDIA 2021
India is known for many things, a bustling tech support sector, one of the most populous countries on earth, and its amazing cuisine. Despite this, India has a very active and fast-growing startup ecosystem. The country is currently home to around 38,000 different Indian startups. The ecosystem in India is said to be the third-largest in the world, with the country having created 38 unicorns as of January 2021. This shows that there is a lot of top Indian startups to watch in 2021.
Down below, you can see a list of the 10 top Indian startups to watch in 2021.
10. ZESTMONEY
Year Founded: 2015
HQ: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Size: 101-250
Founder(s): Ashish Anantharaman, Lizzie Chapman, Priya Sharma
ZestMoney is a fintech startup that was founded in 2015 and is currently headquartered in Bangalore, India. The company wanted to make the process of shopping and paying in EMI much easier for those who didn’t have access to a credit card or maybe don’t have a good credit score. This made the process of using EMI available for millions of people across India.
ZestMoney has already seen a notable amount of investment in the six years since it was set up. At the time of writing, the company has managed to amass an investment total of $68.4 Million from a group of 14 investors. Notably, some of these investors include Goldman Sachs and the cryptocurrency platform Coinbase.
9. CRED
Year Founded: 2018
HQ: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Size: 251-500
Founder(s): Kunal Shah
CRED is an Indian startup that is based in Bangalore, India, and was founded in 2018. The company seeks to incentivize credit card users to pay their credit card bills on time. This is achieved through rewards of financial value being paid for each time this happens. There is also a range of features to help people manage their credit card spending. Finally, customers will also get access to a range of credit and products from leading brands.
CRED has received a massive amount of funding in the three short years that they have been operating. In total, this funding stood at $471.2 Million and was raised by a group of 28 different investors, which includes the American company Insight Partners. Rewarding people for managing their finances is a good USP, and these investors clearly believe that too.
8. YELLOW MESSENGER
Year Founded: 2016
HQ: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Size: 251-500
Founder(s): Anik Das, Jaya Kishore Reddy Gollareddy, Raghu Kumar, Rashid Khan
Yellow Messenger is an AI-based technology startup based in Bangalore, India, and was founded in 2016. The company’s primary offering takes the form of providing AI-driven customer engagement solutions to be used in conjunction with instant messaging platforms that the business may use. For instance, Google, WhatsApp, and Slack. They even provide advanced solutions for Virtual Assistants.
Since being founded in 2016, Yellow Messenger has amassed a respectable sum of investment, which stands at $24 Million. This money was raised from three investors, including Lightspeed Venture Partners and Microsoft Accelerator Bangalore. This investment and the reputation of the investors show their faith in the business model of Yellow Messenger.
7. MONEYTAP
Year Founded: 2015
HQ: Bangalore, India
Size: 101-250
Founder(s): Anuj Kacker, Bala Parthasarathy, Kunal Varma
MoneyTap is an Indian startup that is based in Bangalore, India. Since then, the company was founded in 2015 and has developed a solution that provides its customers with a flexible, personal credit line- all from the convenience of an app. You can have up to 36-months to pay it back in certain circumstances. This can be a really great help for people, and the company does it fairly.
So far, the company has managed to get a substantial amount of startup funding, with $40.3 Million being raised from a group of six investors. Convenience is key in the modern world, and MoneyTap has that in buckets, which will see them through 2021 and the future. Providing easy credit to the financially disadvantaged makes MoneyTap a premier example of India’s startups.
6. DIGIT INSURANCE
Year Founded: 2016
HQ: Bengalaru, Karnataka, India
Size: 1001-5000
Founder(s): Kamesh Goyal
Digit Insurance is an Indian startup in the insurance sector founded in 2016 and is currently headquartered in Bangalore, India. The company aims to make insurance much easier for the general population by restructuring how pricing works and changing the way people actually buy insurance products. So far, they have been achieving rave reviews, which shows that what they’re doing is working.
Digit Insurance has received a large amount of funding from a small group of four investors, including Fairfax Group. In total, Digit Insurance has raised $244.5 Million since being founded five years ago, and the company has had some activity in buying out other companies- taking over the fellow Indian insurance startup ITI Reinsurance for $72.8 Million in 2018. Although, they haven’t made any other moves since then.
5. PHARMEASY
Year Founded: 2016
HQ: Mumbai, India
Size: 501-1000
Founder(s): Dharmil Sheth, Dhaval Shah, Mikhail Innan
PharmEasy is a healthcare technology startup currently based in Mumbai, India, and was founded in 2015. The company’s offering revolves around providing its customers with medicine delivery services, collecting tests from diagnostic samples, and healthcare consultations that are carried out remotely. This is currently an important offering in India as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the country massively.
The company has seen massive success in terms of attracting outside investment. So far, the company has received $651.5 Million in funding from a group of 25 investors. The company has also had one count of activity in the acquisitions market, completing a takeover of fellow Indian medical startup Medlife in 2020 for $235 Million.
4. RAZORPAY
Year Founded: 2014
HQ: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Size: 1001-5000
Founder(s): Harshil Mathur, Shashank Kumar
Razorpay is an Indian startup that was founded in 2014 and is currently headquartered in Bangalore, India. The company provides a platform for businesses to make and take payments through their online platform. Users will be able to make payments in various modes, including debit and credit cards, online banking, and various payment wallet platforms. This makes the process of taking payments much easier for business.
Razorpay’s business model and product offering have been validated by the mammoth investment they have received. The company has received $366.6 Million from a group of 29 investors to further the growth of its startup. The company has also been active in the acquisitions market, taking over Opfin and ThirdWatch in 2019. Razorpay has become one of the most exciting and rapidly growing examples of the success of Indian startups.
3. DUNZO
Year Founded: 2015
HQ: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Size: 1001-5000
Founder(s): Ankur Aggarwal, Dalvir Suri, Kabeer Biswas, Mukund Jha
Dunzo is a delivery and e-commerce startup that is currently based in Bangalore, India. The company’s offering features a delivery app that aims to focus on a hyper-local level. This means that customers will be linked with local delivery providers and businesses to expand their online presence. For instance, customers can get groceries, medicine, pet supplies, and much more delivered to their homes.
Dunzo has attracted a great deal of investment from a large group of well-known investors. Dunzo has managed to raise a significant $128.4 Million from a group of 24 investors that include Google and Lightbox. With the current COVID-19 pandemic, delivery services are seeing more use than ever, and this trend will surely help Dunzo grow shortly as one of the premier Indian startups.
2. OLA
Year Founded: 2010
HQ: Kormangala, Karnataka, India
Size: 5001-10,000
Founder(s): Ankit Bhati, Bhavish Aggarwal
Ola is an Indian startup that is based in Kormangala, India. You might be thinking that they’re just another Uber clone, but you couldn’t be further from the truth. While the company offers cab-hailing as one of its features, they also offer a way to hire bikes, busses, and much more. All of this can be done from the convenience of the company’s mobile app, making getting around India and other locations much easier for customers.
Ola has been very active in attracting investment and even making its own acquisitions. The company has received $3.8 Billion in investment funding from 44 different investors through a series of different funding rounds. So far, the company has also made six acquisitions over the years, with other transport and tech startups becoming a part of the company’s brand. The level of funding and current success makes Ola one of the most interesting startups in India during 2021.
1. UDAAN
Year Founded: 2016
HQ: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Size: 5001-10,000
Founder(s): Amod Malviya, Sujeet Kumar, Vaibhav Gupta
Udaan is an Indian startup that is currently based in Bangalore, India. Their platform is making the B2B environment in India easier and more convenient. The company’s offering centers around creating an environment for goods manufacturers, tradespeople, and wholesalers under one roof. This means that a business can access most of the services they need, all in one place. Their platform even comes with a live chat feature that allows the users to interact with each other in various languages.
Since being founded in 2016, Udaan has attracted a lot of attention from a variety of investors. A total of thirteen investors have collectively pledged a massive $1.2 Billion to the business during its five years in operation. One of these investors includes the Chinese technology company Tencent. The company has also made its own investment, putting money into the restaurant startup Petpooja at the start of 2020, making Udaan one of the most exciting startups in India.
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