The Indian startup ecosystem has been ranked as the third largest in the world with a phenomenal growth in the last 10 years. The entrepreneurial spirit that has led to innovation in various sectors is so high that the country has more than 118 unicorn companies that are worth over 1 billion each. Startup Companies in India are transforming the conventional business practices and generating millions of jobs starting with fintech giants such as Paytm, food delivery champions such as Swiggy and Zomato. Many of these ventures have been founded by some of the top young entrepreneurs in India, who are redefining business models and inspiring a new generation of innovators.
Government favor, the development of digital infrastructure, the availability of large talent pool, and the growing investor confidence have created the ideal storm of India becoming a global startup hub with entrepreneurs and investors across the globe joining to become a part of this thrilling economic revolution.
Government Support & Digital Revolution Fueling Startup Growth in India
Government Support Initiatives:
- Startup India Initiative: This was introduced in 2016, providing tax-relief, simplified compliance, and fast-tracked IPR protection of recognized startups
- Fund of Funds: 10,000 crore corpus is set up to support the venture capital funds through SIDBI
- Angel Tax Exemption: Full exemption to angel tax to startups with angel investment benefits
- Single-Window Clearance: Simplified regimes that are facilitated online by reducing the bureaucratic challenges
- Incubation Support: Government supported incubators and accelerators that offer mentorship as well as infrastructure facilities
- Patent Fee Reduction: 80 percent cut in the patent filing fee to startups, encouraging innovation and protection of intellectual property
Digital Revolution Catalysts:
- Digital infrastructure: A good internet connectivity and more than 750 million internet users has provided huge market spaces
- Mobile Penetration: 1.2 billion mobile connections that allow the mass usage of digital services and mobile-first solutions
- Digital Payments: UPI transactions surpassed 100 million in a year and all digital commerce ecosystems are made simple through it
- Aadhaar Integration: Digital universal identity system that allows provision of secure, efficient delivery of services and financial inclusion
- Data Localization: Government regulations that encourage local storage of data, which presents business opportunities to cloud and cybersecurity startups
- 5G Rollout: The next-generation network infrastructure is creating new opportunities in the field of IoT, AR / VR and edge computing innovations
Table: Top Startup Companies Overview
| Name | Sector | Services |
| Byju’s | EdTech | Online learning platform and educational content |
| Swiggy | Food Delivery | Food delivery and quick commerce services |
| Zomato | Food Delivery | Restaurant discovery, food delivery, and dining services |
| Paytm | Fintech | Digital payments, financial services, and e-commerce |
| Flipkart | E-commerce | Online marketplace and retail platform |
| Ola | Transportation | Ride-hailing and mobility services |
| Razorpay | Fintech | Payment gateway and financial solutions |
| PhonePe | Fintech | Digital payments and financial services |
| BharatPe | Fintech | Payment solutions for merchants |
| Slice | Fintech | Credit cards and lending services |
| Practo | HealthTech | Healthcare platform and telemedicine |
| Cure.fit | HealthTech | Fitness and wellness platform |
| 1mg | HealthTech | Online pharmacy and healthcare services |
| Vedantu | EdTech | Live online tutoring platform |
| Unacademy | EdTech | Online education and test preparation |
| LEAD | EdTech | School management and learning solutions |
| Nykaa | E-commerce | Beauty and fashion e-commerce |
| Urban Company | Services | Home services marketplace |
| Lenskart | E-commerce | Eyewear retail and services |
| Zoho | SaaS/B2B | Business software suite |
| Freshworks | SaaS/B2B | Customer experience software |
| Chargebee | SaaS/B2B | Subscription management platform |
| Fractal | AI/ML | Analytics and artificial intelligence |
| Arya.ai | AI/ML | Computer vision and AI solutions |
| Mad Street Den | AI/ML | Retail AI and automation |
List of Top Startup Companies in India
A. Unicorns & Decacorns
1. Byju’s
- Founded: 2011
- Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka
- Why It’s Famous: World’s most valuable edtech company
- Sector: Educational Technology
This edtech giant was established by Byju Raveendran who transformed the landscape of online learning in India. It is still a leader in personalized learning experience and has courses ranging between K-12 to competitive exam preparation despite the recent setbacks. The platform relies on an interactive video content and adaptive learning technology to bring education to millions of students all over the world, and make their experience educational and fun. Byju’s also consistently ranks among the Top Startup Companies in India for its innovation and scale.
Website: https://byjus.com
Also Read: Learning Management System
2. Swiggy
- Founded: 2014
- Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka
- Why It’s Famous: Leading food delivery platform in India
- Sector: Food Technology
Swiggy is a food delivery service that redefined food delivery in India with hyperlocal logistics network co-founded by Sriharsha Majety, Nandan Reddy and Rahul Jaimini. In addition to food delivery, it also has grocery delivery via its Instamart and subscription services. Millions of users use the platform and has resulted in the generation of thousands of jobs across delivery partners in the country.
Website: https://swiggy.com
3. Zomato
- Founded: 2008
- Headquarters: Gurugram, Haryana
- Why It’s Famous: Restaurant discovery and food delivery pioneer
- Sector: Food Technology
Zomato was set up by Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah as a restaurant discovery service, and has grown to be a full food ecosystem. It is a publicly-traded company that provides the delivery of food and dining services and has gone global. Its unique capabilities such as real-time order tracking and restaurant reviews have become a must-have to foodies and restaurant entrepreneurs. Zomato is frequently featured in the List of Startup Companies in India for its innovation in the food-tech space.
Website: https://zomato.com
4. Paytm
- Founded: 2010
- Headquarters: Noida, Uttar Pradesh
- Why It’s Famous: Digital payments and fintech leader
- Sector: Financial Technology
Paytm is a digital payment enterprise founded by Vijay Shekhar Sharma, which transformed digital payment in India particularly following demonetization that occurred in 2016. The site provides payment gateway, digital wallets, banking, insurance and investment services. It is the biggest mobile payment platform in India, and it has been instrumental in financial inclusion and Indian economy digitization. As one of the most influential Startup Companies in India, Paytm has played a key role in redefining fintech across the nation.
Website: https://paytm.com
5. Flipkart
- Founded: 2007
- Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka
- Why It’s Famous: India’s largest e-commerce marketplace
- Sector: E-commerce
Flipkart was established by Sachin and Binny Bansal, and was the first e-commerce company in India, which began as an online bookstore and grew into an all-purpose marketplace. Purchased by Walmart in 2018, it remains on the top of the Indian e-commerce market as it introduced such innovations as cash-on-delivery, convenient returns, and support of vernacular languages, which allowed offering online purchasing opportunities to millions of Indians.
Website: https://flipkart.com
6. Ola
- Founded: 2010
- Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka
- Why It’s Famous: India’s leading ride-hailing platform
- Sector: Transportation Technology
Ola is an Indian firm that disrupted the transportation system in urban India by making booking a cab easy and cheap, founded by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati. The platform has diversified into auto-rickshaws, bikes, and electric vehicles with the help of Ola Electric. It has established itself in several cities and has provided millions of its driver-partners with livelihood opportunities as well as addressing the problem of mobility in urban areas. Ola is widely recognized among the Top Startup Companies in India for its impact on urban mobility and job creation.
Website: https://olacabs.com
7. Razorpay
- Founded: 2014
- Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka
- Why It’s Famous: Leading payment gateway solution provider
- Sector: Financial Technology
Razorpay is an online payment solution company founded by Harshil Mathur and Shashank Kumar that makes online payments easy for businesses of any size. The platform provides payment gateway services, bank solutions and business financial products. Its APIs and extensive payment platform that is developer-friendly have made Razorpay the go-to option when a startup or an enterprise wants to accept digital payments easily.
Website: https://razorpay.com
B. Fintech
8. PhonePe
- Founded: 2015
- Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka
- Why It’s Famous: UPI-based digital payment leader
- Sector: Financial Technology
PhonePe was co-founded by Sameer Nigam, Rahul Chari, and Burzin Engineer and was able to take advantage of India UPI infrastructure to become the biggest digital payment platform in India. It is a subsidiary of Walmart and it handles billions of transactions each month and it provides services such as bill payment, recharges, insurance as well as investing in mutual funds, which means that financial services can be made available to all smartphone users in India. PhonePe’s rapid growth and innovation also secure its position in the List of Startup Companies in India.
Website: https://phonepe.com
9. BharatPe
- Founded: 2018
- Headquarters: New Delhi
- Why It’s Famous: QR code payment solutions for merchants
- Sector: Financial Technology
BharatPe was started by Ashneer Grover and Shashvat Nakrani with an aim of offering payment solutions and financial services to small merchants and retailers. The platform has QR code-based payment services, lending, and business management tools. It has been serving millions of merchants in India and is a part of core digital payments and financial inclusion at the grass root level even though it has seen a change in leadership in the recent past.
Website: https://bharatpe.com
10. Slice
- Founded: 2016
- Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka
- Why It’s Famous: Credit card and lending platform for millennials
- Sector: Financial Technology
Slice is a credit product and financial services company that targets the young Indian population of the country by offering innovative credit products. The company provides credit cards, instant lending, and spending analytics with a mobile application. Having specialised in credit history creation to the first-timers in the business, as well as offering cheap and clear credit options, Slice has captured the attention of millions of young users in India.
Website: https://sliceit.com
C. HealthTech
11. Practo
- Founded: 2008
- Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka
- Why It’s Famous: Healthcare platform connecting patients and doctors
- Sector: Health Technology
Practo is a healthcare provider in India and was founded by Shashank ND and Abhinav Lal. The platform provides access to doctor consultations, allows scheduling appointments, managing health records, and telemedicine services. Practo has revolutionized quality healthcare by ensuring that millions of people have access to it through its comprehensive healthcare ecosystem, which has been vital in the COVID-19 pandemic, where telemedicine has played a significant role. As one of the pioneering healthtech Startup Companies in India, Practo continues to shape digital healthcare delivery.
Website: https://practo.com
12. Cure.fit
- Founded: 2016
- Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka
- Why It’s Famous: Comprehensive fitness and wellness platform
- Sector: Health and Fitness Technology
Cure.fit is an integrated platform that was founded by Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori and has a holistic approach to health and fitness. The firm offers fitness programs, healthy food delivery, diagnosis and mental support. Cure.fit is both online and offline, and it has developed an entire wellness ecosystem that covers different dimensions of healthy living among urban Indians.
Website: https://cure.fit
13. 1mg
- Founded: 2015
- Headquarters: Gurugram, Haryana
- Why It’s Famous: Online pharmacy and healthcare marketplace
- Sector: Health Technology
1mg, founded by Prashant Tandon, Gaurav Agarwal and Vikas Chauhan, changed the way pharmacies can be experienced in India by allowing online ordering of medicines and booking of lab tests. The site provides real medicines, health products, and diagnostic services on home delivery. 1mg has become the most accessible and convenient healthcare to millions of Indians after being acquired by Tata Digital.
Also Read: Tata 1mg Franchise
Website: https://1mg.com
D. EdTech
14. Vedantu
- Founded: 2011
- Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka
- Why It’s Famous: Live online tutoring platform
- Sector: Educational Technology
Vedantu is a live online learning platform that provides live interactive online classes to K-12 students, founded by Vamsi Krishna, Pulkit Jain, and Saurabh Saxena. The platform offers individual learning journeys with real-time doubt solving and performance tracking. By integrating the idea of live teaching and interaction with students, Vedantu has enabled millions of students to receive quality education through the help of skilled teachers all over India. Its innovative approach has earned Vedantu a place among the Top Startup Companies in India in the edtech sector.
Website: https://vedantu.com
Also Read: EdTech Companies in India
15. Unacademy
- Founded: 2015
- Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka
- Why It’s Famous: Online education and test preparation platform
- Sector: Educational Technology
Unacademy was started by Gaurav Munjal, Roman Saini, and Hemesh Singh and it democratized education by giving free and paid courses to prepare competitive exams. The platform provides courses in different entrance exams, preparation of government jobs, and skills. Unacademy with its community of experts in various fields and detailed study content has emerged as an ideal study portal by millions of aspirants.
Website: https://unacademy.com
16. LEAD
- Founded: 2012
- Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
- Why It’s Famous: School management and learning solutions
- Sector: Educational Technology
LEAD is a company founded by Sumeet Mehta and Smita Deorah that offers integrated school management systems and learning solutions to affordable private schools. The platform provides curriculum, teacher training, student assessment and parent engagement services. With its collaboration with thousands of schools in India, LEAD has revolutionised the education delivery process and enhanced the learning levels of millions of students in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. LEAD’s scalable model and impact on education make it one of the most promising Startup Companies in India.
Website: https://leadschool.in
E. E-commerce
17. Nykaa
- Founded: 2012
- Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
- Why It’s Famous: Beauty and fashion e-commerce leader
- Sector: Beauty and Fashion E-commerce
Nykaa is an Indian beauty retailer founded by Falguni Nayar, transforming the landscape of beauty retailing in India, high-quality product, expert advice, and personalized shopping. It offers national and international beauty brands as well as its own brands. The combination of the web and brick-and-mortar stores has made Nykaa the most confident beauty brand in India and even able to IPO in 2021.
Website: https://nykaa.com
18. Urban Company
- Founded: 2014
- Headquarters: Gurugram, Haryana
- Why It’s Famous: Home services marketplace platform
- Sector: On-demand Services
Urban Company was initiated by Abhiraj Bhal, Varun Khaitan, and Raghav Chandra and revolutionized the home services sector by offering trained professionals in the beauty, cleaning, and repair services and other services. The system guarantees high-quality service delivery using intensive partner education and customer feedback processes. Incorporating a huge number of service professionals across various countries, Urban Company has provided livelihood opportunities to thousands of people.
Website: https://urbancompany.com
19. Lenskart
- Founded: 2010
- Headquarters: Faridabad, Haryana
- Why It’s Famous: Eyewear retail and online services
- Sector: Eyewear and Healthcare
Lenskart is a company that was founded by Peyush Bansal, Amit Chaudhary, and Sumeet Kapahi to break the status quo in the eyewear industry and offer online and offline selling of glasses coupled with unique services such as home eye tests and virtual try-ons. The company sells prescription glasses, sunglasses and contact lenses throughout the country by home delivery and an expanding chain of retail outlets.
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Website: https://lenskart.com
F. SaaS/B2B
20. Zoho
- Founded: 1996
- Headquarters: Chennai, Tamil Nadu
- Why It’s Famous: Comprehensive business software suite
- Sector: Software as a Service
Zoho is an Indian software company founded by Sridhar Vembu, which provides more than 45 business applications including CRM, email, project management, and accounting. Bootstrap company has been developed without the use of any external funding and has millions of businesses on its client list. Zoho is a low cost product yet with a full featured set, which has made it an alternative to costly enterprise software products.
Website: https://zoho.com
21. Freshworks
- Founded: 2010
- Headquarters: San Mateo, California (Indian origin)
- Why It’s Famous: Customer experience software platform
- Sector: Software as a Service
Freshworks is a customer experience software company founded by Girish Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnasamy that offers CRM, customer support and marketing automation software. The publicly-traded company offers solutions to businesses of any size that are easy to use and affordable. Freshworks has a wide market presence across the world thereby making India a major contributor in the international SaaS market.
Website: https://freshworks.com
22. Chargebee
- Founded: 2011
- Headquarters: San Francisco, California (Indian origin)
- Why It’s Famous: Subscription management and billing platform
- Sector: Software as a Service
Chargebee is a subscription billing and revenue operations platform founded by Krish Subramanian, KPS Raghavan, Rajaraman Santhanam and Thiyagarajan T. The company assists subscription-based companies to perform recurring billing, subscription analytics and revenue recognition. Chargebee is a subscription management software that has customers in over 60+ countries and has grown to be a global leader.
Website: https://chargebee.com
G. AI/ML Startups
23. Fractal
- Founded: 2000
- Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
- Why It’s Famous: Analytics and artificial intelligence solutions
- Sector: Artificial Intelligence and Analytics
Fractal was started by Srikanth Velamakanni, Pranay Agrawal, and Nirmal Palaparthi and offers AI and analytics services to Fortune 500 firms. The firm uses machine learning, behavioral economics, and design thinking in order to address complicated business issues. As an AI enterprise consultancy and solution provider, Fractal has made its presence felt in a number of countries and has its offices in several countries.
Website: https://fractal.ai
24. Arya.ai
- Founded: 2013
- Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka
- Why It’s Famous: Computer vision and AI solutions provider
- Sector: Artificial Intelligence
Arya.ai is a computer vision and artificial intelligence startup founded by Chetan Rexwal, Krishna Teja Penamakuri and Harsh Patel. Among the areas where the company offers AI-powered solutions are retail, manufacturing, healthcare, and security. Having the concept of practical applications of AI in mind, Arya.ai assists businesses in automating the workflow and receiving valuable insights about visual data.
Website: https://arya.ai
25. Mad Street Den
- Founded: 2013
- Headquarters: Chennai, Tamil Nadu
- Why It’s Famous: Retail AI and automation solutions
- Sector: Artificial Intelligence and Retail Technology
Mad Street Den is based in Australia and was founded by Ashwini Asokan and Anand Chandrasekaran and provides AI-based solutions to retail and fashion markets. The products of the company are visual search, personalization engines and automated styling solutions. Mad Street Den is a technology company that uses computer vision and machine learning to enable retailers to improve customer experience and optimise operations with smart automation.
Website: https://vue.ai
How to Register a Startup Company in India: A Step-by-Step Guide
- Business Structure Selection: Select between the Private Limited Company, Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) or One Person Company (OPC) depending on your business requirements, capital requirements and preferences in relation to compliance. The most popular one in terms of investment and scalability of growth is Private Limited.
- Digital Signature Certificate (DSC): After signing all directors and partners get DSC by authentic agencies. This e-signature is obligatory in all online filings and registrations with the government portals and regulatory bodies.
- Director Identification Number (DIN): Apply DIN to all the suggested directors with MCA portal. Each director should possess a distinct DIN that will identify him/her in all the companies that he/she is a director.
- Name Reservation: Reserve unique name of the company at MCA portal by checking name availability. Make sure that name does not violate the naming rules and should not conflict with any existing trademarks or registered names.
- Incorporation Documents: Memorandum of Association (MOA), Articles of Association (AOA) and other necessary documents. These constitutional documents should contain business objectives, share structure and the governance framework.
- Registration of the Company: Submit Incorporation documents with the Registrar of Companies (ROC) together with the prescribed fee. When it is approved, you will get a Certificate of Incorporation and a Corporate Identification Number (CIN) unique to your company.
- Post Incorporation Compliance: Open a bank account, apply for PAN and TAN, apply for GST registration depending on the needs, and meet the requirements of labor law registration. Make sure that annual filings and regulatory requirements are met.
- Startup India registration: You can apply for the Startup India recognition on an official portal to get government benefits, tax exemptions and support schemes. Age, turnover, and innovation requirements are some of the eligibility criteria that should be met in order to be recognized.
Challenges Faced by Startups in India
- Funding Access: Although the number of investors has been increasing, early-stage startups have had a hard time obtaining initial capital, and most investors are not willing to invest in innovative, but unproven business ideas and would rather invest in tested models.
- Regulatory Compliance: The multifaceted regulatory landscape that includes numerous licenses, registrations, and continuous compliance necessities make it a huge administrative strain on the resource-starved startups.
- Talent Acquisition: There is stiff competition to hire talent and, more specifically, the very skilled professionals in the technology sector, the result of which is a high salary demand and job-hopping, which has an impact on the stability and growth of startups.
- Market Penetration: Scaling in the Indian market with its dynamic market will involve finding out the tastes, languages, and cultural inclination of the customers, which will be costly and time-consuming.
- Infrastructure constraints: The erratic internet connectivity, logistic issues, and poor physical infrastructure in the Tier 2/3 cities restrict the growth of many startups.
- Intellectual Property Protection: The legal system is ineffective and slow in cases of intellectual property protection and startups find it hard to protect their innovations compared to their bigger rivals.
Conclusion
Startup Companies in India are one of the most vibrant and potential entrepreneurial ecosystems in the world. India has become a global startup hub with 118+ unicorns and thousands of innovative startups in a variety of sectors. An ideal blend of government support in terms of initiatives such as Startup India, development of digital infrastructure, availability of a large talent pool and growing investor confidence has led to a situation where startups are performing and scaling up internationally.
Not only have these companies transformed the Indian economy (in every industry, ranging from classic reform to the introduction of whole new categories of markets), but they are also helping the world to innovate. With the ecosystem becoming more mature in terms of access to funding, mentorship and markets, we have an enormous potential in the future to create the next generation of world-class companies built out of India by aspiring entrepreneurs.
FAQs
How much capital is needed to initiate a company in India?
In India, there is no minimum capital requirement of the private limited companies. The authorised capital can be 1 in rupees.
What is the duration of starting a startup in India?
It should take 10-15 days to register a company in case all documents are well prepared and uploaded online via MCA portal.
What are the tax advantages to identified startups?
Startup India scheme offers 3-year tax holiday, exemption of angel tax, and a 80 percent reduction in the patent filing fee to eligible startups.
Are foreign nationals allowed to open a business in India?
Yes foreign nationals are allowed to incorporate companies in India, but some industries need government approval and their FDI is restricted.
Which are the most desirable start up sectors in India?
The most promising spheres with a high growth rate and investment appeal are fintech, edtech, healthtech, e-commerce, and SaaS.
