India has overtaken the United Kingdom (UK) to secure the third position in the 2026 ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Gazelle Index, with 51 companies making the list, four more than the previous year. The US and China retained the top two positions with 302 and 278 Gazelles, respectively. India also ranked third in the global Cheetah and Unicorn lists.
Released on Tuesday, the 2026 ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Gazelle Index ranks India’s Gazelles — privately held companies founded in or after 2000, valued between $500 million and $1 billion, and considered likely to achieve Unicorn status (valuation of over $1 billion) within three years. The index recorded a 59 per cent increase in the number of Gazelles since its inception in 2021, translating into a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10 per cent. Cheetahs are privately owned startups building towards a valuation of $500 million.
“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,” said Anas Rahman Junaid, founder and chief researcher, Hurun India.
The latest cohort has a combined valuation of ₹3.3 trillion (₹3.3 lakh crore), with an average valuation of ₹6,400 crore. The companies have collectively raised ₹87,780 crore in funding, with revenue clocking a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 21 per cent between FY22 and FY25. These companies employ a total of 60,228 people and reported combined revenues of ₹33,233 crore for FY25, based on 41 companies that disclosed their figures, marking an average year-on-year growth of 50 per cent.
Of the 51 companies, 15 are new entrants to the Gazelle Index, while seven from last year’s list graduated to Unicorn status, compared with six in China. These include Twin Health, KreditBee, Cloudnine Hospitals, Dhan, La Renon, Neo Wealth Management and InVideo AI. Two companies, Shadowfax and TurtleMint, moved to the public markets during the year, while two were removed from the list.
For the first time, companies that were expected to list in the US are looking at India instead, given the liquidity of its IPO market, Junaid said. He added that companies may increasingly choose to go public before attaining Unicorn status, rather than wait to cross the $1-billion valuation mark.
Nine of the 15 new entrants were promoted from Hurun’s Cheetah list, including Seekho, Mosaic Wellness, GIVA, Kuku FM, Agnikul, Miko, Atomberg Technologies, DeHaat and Practo. The remaining six were direct entrants, including Ema AI, Unify Apps, Tablespace Technologies, BUSINESSNEXT, Scapia and Simple Energy.
Fintech emerged as India’s leading sector, accounting for 13 of the 51 Gazelles, followed by Software as a Service (SaaS). This differs from the US and China, where biotechnology, AI and semiconductors dominate. Bengaluru, the National Capital Region (NCR) and Mumbai accounted for 71 per cent of India’s Gazelles, in descending order. While 10 companies have their headquarters outside India, 21 operate internationally.
The cohort also outperformed the broader equity market. In FY25, Gazelles recorded 40 per cent year-on-year growth in revenue, against 7 per cent growth reported by the Nifty 50 companies on a combined basis. Fifteen companies reported profits, with DeHaat, Rayzon Solar, Infinx, BookMyShow and Finova Capital emerging as the five most profitable. Kratos Gamer Network recorded the highest revenue growth at 119 per cent for FY25.
Ninjacart was the most-funded company, having raised ₹4,919 crore, while Infinx was the largest employer, with 7,000 employees. Peak XV Partners, Tiger Global, Elevation Capital, Accel and Z47 were among the leading institutional investors. Among angel investors, Kunal Shah backed the highest number of companies, with investments in five Gazelles.
