IIT Kharagpur, IIT Delhi have bred the most number of future unicorn founders

• India is currently home to 83 unicorns, 51 gazelles (set to be unicorns in three years) and 96 cheetahs (likely to turn unicorns in five years, as per the ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Future Unicorn Index 2023.
• A majority of the founders of future unicorns on this list are alumni of IITs across the country.
• IIT Kharagpur and IIT Delhi have produced the most number of co-founders of companies which are on the way to becoming future unicorns.
  

India has become a significant global hub for the startup ecosystem and its higher educational institutions have a key role to play in this. The country is currently home to 83 unicorns, 51 gazelles (companies set to be unicorns in three years) and 96 cheetahs (likely to turn unicorns in five years), as per the ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Future Unicorn Index 2023. Unicorns are startups with a valuation of $1 billion and above.

A majority of the founders of future unicorns on this list are alumni of IITs across the country – 92 co-founders are IIT graduates.

Incidentally, IITs have become the torchbearers of Indian higher education with seven of these elite institutes featuring on the QS World University Rankings 2023. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay is the best Indian varsity with a ranking of 149. IIT Delhi, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Kanpur, IIT Madras, IIT Guwahati and IIT Roorkee also figure on the list.

As per the Hurun report, the undergraduate programmes of IIT Kharagpur and IIT Delhi have produced the most number of co-founders of future unicorns – while 24 co-founders graduated from IIT Kharagpur, 23 are IIT Delhi alumni.

IIT Bombay (14 founders), IIT Kanpur (12), IIT Madras (12) and IIT Roorkee (7) are the other IITs that have produced a high number of startup founders.

In the post-graduate category, IIM Ahmedabad is the preferred choice with 14 co-founders completing their course from this esteemed institute. IIT Kharagpur secures the second position in this category with 11 co-founders of future unicorns holding postgraduate degrees from the institute.

Among foreign universities, the University of Pennsylvania stands out with eight co-founders, followed by Stanford University and INSEAD with three each, highlighting their substantial contributions to the startup ecosystem.

Edtech platform Leap Scholar, fintech Vivriti Capital, co-living platform Stanza Living and agritech company DeHaat are some of the startups whose founders/co-founders graduated from IIT Kharagpur.

Top Institutes from which the founders in the ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Future Unicorn Index 2023 graduated

Alumni Graduation	No. of Start-up founders	Main startups
IIT Kharagpur	24	Leap Scholar, Vivriti capital, Stanza Living, DeHaat
IIT Delhi	23	Observe.AI, Qure AI, DeHaat, HealthKart, Chalo
University of Mumbai	15	Turtlemint, Dunzo, AgroStar, Kissht, Clear
BITS Pilani	15	Pratilipi, Pixxel, GreyOrange, Exotel, Locus
IIT Bombay	14	Turtlemint, Rupeek, Bizongo, Uni Cards, Avataar
IIT Kanpur	12	Zupee, Porter, Yulu, BatterySmart, Porter
IIT Madras	12	Ather Energy, HomeLane, WayCool, CleverTap
Visvesvaraya Technological University	9	Observe.AI, Vivriti capital, Ultraviolette, Zolo
Anna University	7	Ninjacart, Pratilipi, Juspay, Bankbazaar.com
IIT Roorkee	7	Wakefit, Acceldata, Log9 Materials, Hevo Data

Post-graduation institutes that the founders in the ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Future Unicorn Index 2023 studied at

Alumni Graduation	No. of Start-up founders	Main startups
IIM Ahmedabad	14	Stanza Living, Ninjacart, Navi Technologies, Koo
IIT Kharagpur	11	Arzooo, Porter, smallcase, Sigmoid, Locus
Indian School of Business	8	Vivriti capital, WayCool, Lendingkart, Wakefit
IIM Calcutta	8	Turtlemint, WinZo, Pepperfry, Medikabazaar
University of Pennsylvania	8	Avataar, Paper Boat, Prodigal, Drip Capital
IIM Bangalore	6	Vivriti capital, Lendingkart, HomeLane, BetterPlace
IIM Kozhikode	5	Ninjacart, Zolo, Mosaic Wellness
University of Delhi	4	Pratilipi, GoKwik, Avataar, InsuranceDekho
IIT Delhi	4	Chalo, Chaayos, Fashinza, Credgenics
IIT Bombay	4	Atomberg Technology, Rupeek, SirionLabs, Mintifi
BITS Pilani	4	Pratilipi, GreyOrange, Pixxel, Locus