Swiggy, ShareChat, Byju’s lead the funding race as Indian startups raised $6.5 billion between April and June

• Indian startups have raised $6.5 billion across 160 deals in the second quarter of 2021.
• Eleven startups also turned unicorns, companies valued at above $1 billion, in the same quarter.
• Nearly 50% of the $6.5 billion fundraise was clocked in by top 10 deals of the April-June quarter of 2021.

The April-June quarter of 2021 turned out to be a great one for the Indian startup ecosstem despite the second wave of COVID-19 wreaking havoc across the country. As per the latest NASSCOM-PGA Labs report, India’s startups have raised $6.5 billion across 160 deals in the second quarter of 2021.

Eleven startups also turned unicorns — companies valued at above $1 billion — in the same quarter, taking the total tally to 53. While many reports had previously suggested that India would have 100 unicorns by 2025, the number has been revised to 150 due to the massive uptick in funding as well as unicorn rounds..

Interestingly, 11 startups had entered the unicorn club in 2020.

"Q2 2021 has been impeccable for the startup growth story. From being the most funded quarter, it has also added the most number of unicorns. Standing tall during the pandemic second wave headwinds, the Indian startup ecosystem has shown a strong resilience in this quarter," the report said.

Nearly 50% of the $6.5 billion fundraise was clocked in by top 10 deals of the April-June quarter of 2021.

Innovaccer, Infra.market, Digit and Five Star Finance became unicorns in the first quarter of 2021. Urban Company, Cred, Meesho, Groww, PharmEasy, ShareChat, GupShup, Chargebee, Moglix, Zeta and BrowserStack turned unicorns in the April-June quarter.

In the ongoing third quarter of July to September, another 10 startups have been added to the unicorn club. This includes, BlackBuck, Droom, OfBusiness, BharatPe, MindTickle, UpGrad, CoinDCX, Eruditus, Grofers and Zetwerk.

Overall, 25 startups have entered the unicorn club in 2021 so far.

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