India has overtaken the United Kingdom to become the world’s third-largest base of potential future unicorns, with 51 startups making the list in 2026, up from 47 in the previous year. The US and China retained the top two positions with 302 and 278 companies, respectively, as India’s startup ecosystem expanded across financial technology, enterprise software and deep-tech businesses.
The 2026 ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Gazelle Index, released on November 3, tracks privately held companies founded in or after 2000, with valuations ranging from USD 500 million to below USD 1 billion and the potential to achieve unicorn status within three years. India also ranked third globally in the Cheetah and Unicorn categories
The number of Indian Gazelles has increased 59 per cent since the index was introduced in 2021, translating into a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 10 per cent.
The 51 companies have a combined valuation of Rs 3.3 lakh crore and have raised Rs 87,780 crore in funding. They collectively employ 60,228 people and reported revenue of Rs 33,233 crore in FY25. The 41 companies that disclosed revenue recorded average year-on-year growth of 50 per cent, while the cohort’s revenue increased at a CAGR of 21 per cent between FY22 and FY25.
FinTech leads, Bengaluru Dominates
FinTech accounted for the largest share of the Gazelle cohort, with 13 companies, followed by Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Ecommerce with five each. Edtech and Agritech contributed four companies apiece.
AI, CleanTech and Aerospace and Defence together accounted for eight companies, reflecting the growing presence of technology-led and industrial businesses in India’s startup pipeline. The sectoral distribution differs from that of the US and China, where biotechnology, AI and semiconductors have a larger presence.
Geographically, Bengaluru led with 17 companies, followed by the National Capital Region (NCR) with 11 and Mumbai with eight. Together, the three centres accounted for 36 of the 51 Gazelles, or 71 per cent of the cohort. Chennai had two companies, while Pune, Jaipur and Surat had one each. The remaining 10 were headquartered overseas, including seven in the US, two in Singapore and one in the UK. A total of 21 companies in the index had international operations.
Seven Startups Graduate To Unicorn Status
Seven companies from the previous edition crossed the USD 1-billion valuation threshold in 2026, taking the number of Gazelles that have graduated to unicorn status since 2021 to 34. The latest additions include Twin Health, KreditBee, Cloudnine Hospitals, Dhan, La Renon, Neo Wealth Management and InVideo AI.
Twin Health recorded the largest valuation increase, rising from USD 700 million to USD 2 billion. KreditBee reached a valuation of USD 1.5 billion, while Cloudnine Hospitals crossed USD 1.3 billion. Dhan was valued at USD 1.2 billion and Neo Wealth Management crossed USD 1.1 billion.
Fifteen companies entered the index for the first time, of which nine were promoted from Hurun India’s Cheetah category, comprising startups building towards a USD 500-million valuation. These included Seekho, Mosaic Wellness, GIVA, Kuku FM, Agnikul, Miko, Atomberg Technologies, DeHaat and Practo.
The remaining six companies entered directly at the Gazelle level. They included artificial intelligence (AI) firms Ema AI and UnifyApps, enterprise services companies Tablespace Technologies and Businessnext, Fintech platform Scapia and electric vehicle maker Simple Energy.
Two former Gazelles, logistics company Shadowfax and insurance distribution platform Turtlemint, also moved to the public markets during 2026. The index removed two companies from the previous cohort.
Anas Rahman Junaid, Founder and Chief Researcher, Hurun India, said the index seeks to bring emerging companies to the attention of potential investors, particularly family offices, before they become difficult to access through private-market investments.
“The objective is just to speak to the founders and spotlight them. Also give an opportunity for family offices to look at these companies before it becomes inaccessible,” he said.
Family Offices Maintain Interest In Private Investments
Investor participation in the cohort reflects the continued interest in privately held businesses. Peak XV Partners had backed 13 companies in the index, followed by Tiger Global with nine and Elevation Capital with eight. Accel and Z47 were also among the leading institutional investors. Among angel investors, Kunal Shah had backed five Gazelles.
Rajesh Saluja, Co-founder, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, ASK Private Wealth, said family offices continue to allocate a portion of their portfolios to alternative assets and private-market investments. “Family offices are always looking for allocations. So there’s about 15 to 20 per cent of their portfolio that they’ve always kept as allocation for alternate investment or private deals. And the interest continues to be extremely high.”
Saluja identified defence, clean technology and AI infrastructure as sectors currently attracting investor interest.
On the operating side, Captain Fresh led the revenue rankings with Rs 3,466 crore in FY25, followed by DeHaat at Rs 3,041 crore and Rayzon Solar at Rs 2,833 crore. Eleven of the 41 companies reporting revenue recorded turnover exceeding Rs 1,000 crore.
Fifteen companies reported profits, with DeHaat, Rayzon Solar, Infinx, BookMyShow and Finova Capital among the five most profitable businesses. Ninjacart was the most-funded company, having raised Rs 4,919 crore, while Infinx was the largest employer with 7,000 employees.
The report also noted that Indian startups are increasingly considering domestic public markets. Junaid said companies that would traditionally have looked at US listings are now evaluating India, citing the liquidity available in the country’s IPO market. He added that startups could increasingly choose to list before reaching unicorn status rather than wait to cross the USD 1-billion valuation threshold.
