- 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 |
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