In the country last year, 23 businesses achieved unicorn status, which is much more than in China. According to the IVCA-Bain & Company research, there are currently 96 such Indian enterprises with a worth of $1 Billion. However, this year’s number of unicorn firms is roughly half that of 2021’s. There were 73 unicorns produced nationwide that year, up from 44 at the time. 9 of the 23 unicorns this year are from cities and others are from the top three metro areas of India. This implies that folks who labor in smaller areas can now get finance. Startups are receiving it as well. Total financing for companies in small towns has increased by 18%. India has now overtaken China in this area for the second time in a row. Only 11 such businesses in China had a $1 Billion value the previous year. It is researched that the pace of investment and venture capital investment in the nation was impacted by rising macroeconomic uncertainty and worries of a recession in 2022. Due to the ongoing unfavorable conditions, the pace of investment was more negatively impacted in the second half of the year. This annual report was created by Bain & Company with the Indian Venture and Alternative Capital Association. It claimed that even while transaction value in the domestic startup ecosystem had decreased by 33%, the nation had nevertheless managed to produce 23 unicorns. From $38.5 billion in 2021 to $25.7 billion in 2022, the deal’s value has decreased. Funding decreased mostly in the second part of the year as economic headwinds grew stronger. Yet with such severe constriction, transaction volume for early-stage firms increased to over 1,600 venture capital investments in 2022 thanks to maintained momentum.

The year saw several investors raise their biggest-ever funds with an emphasis on India, according to the study, which also noted that SaaS (Software as a Service) and financial businesses maintained transaction value while consumer tech fell. Partner at Bain & Co. Sriwatsan Krishnan predicts that while stakeholders maintain a cautious optimism, a more resilient ecosystem will most likely develop in 2023. Investors are anticipated to increase their focus on early-stage deal-making in emerging industries including gaming or e-sports, health tech, electric vehicles (EVs), and AI-led use cases that are likely to generate interest.