2021: 45 unicorns. Record year. 2022: 22 unicorns. Slowdown begins. 2023: 2 unicorns. Crash. But are we really discussing what went wrong and when that’s supposed
2024: 7 unicorns. Recovery? 2025: 6 unicorns. Back to decline.
India now has 125 total unicorns worth $366 billion. Sounds impressive until you realize the trend line is pointing down.
But is that a bad thing entirely? Not really
The Numbers Behind the Slowdown
Netradyne , Porter , Drools , Fireflies.ai, Jumbotail , and Dhan . Those are 2025’s six unicorns.
Logistics got two (Netradyne, Porter). Ecommerce got two (Drools, Jumbotail). AI got one (Fireflies.ai). Fintech got one (Dhan).
Bengaluru produced three of them. Mumbai one. Two are US-based with Indian operations.
147 startups are waiting to become unicorns, the “soonicorns” are valued between $200 million and $1 billion. Combined valuation: $60 billion. Total funding raised: $18 billion.
But here’s the reality: from 45 unicorns in 2021 to 6 in 2025, that’s an 87% drop in four years.
The IPO market came back to life in 2025. But unicorn creation? Still struggling.
What Changed?
The 2021 unicorn boom wasn’t about great businesses. It was about cheap money and inflated valuations.
Investors threw capital at growth metrics without asking about profitability. Startups optimized for the next funding round, not sustainable unit economics.
Then interest rates rose. Capital got expensive. Investors got selective.
The “growth at all costs” playbook died. Profitability became the new metric.
14 of India’s 125 unicorns have already fallen below $1 billion valuation. Some due to market volatility. Others because the valuations were fiction from day one.
Over 20 unicorns went public. Five got acquired. The rest are trying to figure out if they can actually sustain billion-dollar valuations.
Dhan became a unicorn after raising $120 million at a $1.2 billion+ valuation. They’re profitable with strong revenue growth. That’s the new standard.
Drools hit unicorn status when Nestle bought a minority stake. But they reported a net loss in FY24. That’s the old playbook still working occasionally.
The gap between those two stories shows exactly what’s happening: profitable companies get valued. Loss-making companies need strategic buyers or they stay stuck.
Why This Isn’t Just About Money
The real question: is this slowdown maturity or correction?
Maturity means the ecosystem is focusing on quality over quantity. Building real businesses instead of chasing valuations. Sustainable growth instead of blitzscaling.
Correction means we’re unwinding the excesses of 2021. Admitting that many “unicorns” were never worth a billion dollars. Resetting expectations to reality.
Probably both.
India’s startup ecosystem raised $115 billion total across all 125 unicorns. That’s a massive amount of capital. But how much of it created actual value versus just inflated valuations?
But how many are actually profitable? How many will still be worth $1 billion in 5 years? How many were just riding the cheap money wave?
As someone running a company, I see the shift clearly: investors now ask about the path to profitability before writing checks & that’s healthy. But it also means fewer big bets, slower growth, and harder fundraising for everyone.
The 147 soonicorns waiting to become unicorns? Most won’t make it under current market conditions. The bar just got much higher.
That’s not necessarily bad. It’s just different. The easy money era is over. Now you actually have to build a business that works.
