India’s startup ecosystem has expanded its pipeline of potential unicorns, with 51 privately held companies now valued between $500 million and $1 billion, according to the 2026 ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Gazelle Index. The number has increased from 47 in 2025, taking the combined valuation of these businesses to approximately ₹3.3 lakh crore ($34.1 billion).
The companies collectively employ more than 60,000 people and reported combined revenue of ₹33,233 crore in FY25, representing 50% year-on-year growth among the companies that disclosed financial information. Fintech emerged as the largest sector, while Bengaluru retained its position as the leading startup hub. The report also highlighted a growing pipeline of businesses in healthcare, clean technology and enterprise software, although India’s representation in AI remains relatively limited.
What Is the Hurun Gazelle Index?
The 2026 ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Gazelle Index identifies privately held startups that could potentially become unicorns within the next three years.
A Gazelle is a privately owned company founded in 2000 or later with a valuation between $500 million and $1 billion. A unicorn, by comparison, is a privately held company valued at $1 billion or more.
The index tracks companies that have reached a substantial level of business scale but have not yet crossed the billion-dollar valuation threshold.
India’s Gazelle cohort has expanded considerably since the index was introduced in 2021.
| Year | Number of Gazelles |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 32 |
| 2022 | 51 |
| 2023 | 51 |
| 2024 | 46 |
| 2025 | 47 |
| 2026 | 51 |
The number of companies has increased by approximately 59% since 2021. The latest edition also places India third globally in the number of Gazelles, behind the United States and China.
Startups Collectively Valued at ₹3.3 Lakh Crore
The 51 companies have a combined valuation of approximately ₹3.3 lakh crore, equivalent to $34.1 billion. Their average valuation stands at around ₹6,400 crore.
Together, the companies have raised approximately ₹87,780 crore in funding. Their combined workforce stands at 60,228 employees, highlighting their growing contribution to employment and business activity.
Financial performance also indicates that several companies are moving beyond the early stages of startup development.
The 41 companies that disclosed revenue figures reported combined revenue of ₹33,233 crore in FY25, representing 50% year-on-year growth. Their revenue recorded a compound annual growth rate of 21% between FY22 and FY25.
The cohort also outperformed the broader Indian equity market on revenue growth. The Gazelles recorded 40% revenue growth in FY25, compared with approximately 7% combined revenue growth for Nifty 50 companies.
Fifteen companies in the group reported profits. DeHaat, Rayzon Solar, Infinx, BookMyShow and Finova Capital were among the five most profitable businesses identified in the report.
Fintech Leads India’s Emerging Startup Companies
Fintech emerged as the largest sector in the 2026 Gazelle Index, accounting for 13 of the 51 companies.
The sector’s position reflects the continued expansion of digital financial services, lending platforms, wealth management, investment applications and financial infrastructure businesses in India.
SaaS and e-commerce followed, with five companies each.
The sector distribution demonstrates that India’s emerging high-value startups are not concentrated exclusively in consumer internet businesses. Financial services and enterprise technology are also producing companies capable of attracting substantial private investment.
Some of the notable companies in the broader cohort include KreditBee, Dhan, Neo Wealth Management, Scapia and BUSINESSNEXT.
Bengaluru Leads With 17 Startups
Bengaluru continued to dominate India’s emerging startup ecosystem, with 17 companies included in the Gazelle Index.
The National Capital Region (NCR) ranked second with 11 startups, followed by Mumbai with eight.
Together, these three locations accounted for approximately 71% of the companies in the index.
| Startup hub | Number of companies |
|---|---|
| Bengaluru | 17 |
| NCR | 11 |
| Mumbai | 8 |
The concentration reflects the importance of established technology talent pools, access to investors, business networks and startup infrastructure.
However, the report also identified companies operating beyond India’s traditional startup hubs, indicating that the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is gradually expanding geographically.
Seven Startups Become Unicorns in 2026
One of the most significant developments in the latest index was the graduation of seven companies into unicorn status during 2026.
These businesses crossed the $1 billion valuation threshold, taking the cumulative number of companies that have graduated from the Gazelle Index to unicorn status since its inception to 34.
The seven companies included:
- Twin Health: Its valuation increased from $700 million to $2 billion.
- KreditBee: The fintech company’s valuation rose from $700 million to $1.5 billion.
- Cloudnine Hospitals: Its valuation increased from $600 million to $1.3 billion.
- Dhan: The stockbroking platform reached a valuation of $1.2 billion.
- La Renon: The pharmaceutical company reached a valuation of $1.2 billion.
- Neo Wealth Management: Its valuation increased to $1.1 billion.
- InVideo AI: The AI-powered video platform also crossed the $1 billion threshold.
Financial services and healthcare accounted for six of the seven new unicorns, while InVideo AI was the only AI company among the group.
The development highlights the growing importance of established business models in sectors such as lending, healthcare delivery, pharmaceutical manufacturing and wealth management.
Fifteen New Companies Enter the Index
The composition of the Gazelle Index also changed significantly during the year.
Fifteen companies entered the 2026 list, while 11 companies exited. Nine of the new entrants were promoted from Hurun’s Cheetah category, which tracks startups building towards a valuation of $500 million.
These included Seekho, Mosaic Wellness, GIVA, Kuku FM, Agnikul, Miko, Atomberg Technologies, DeHaat and Practo.
Six other companies entered the Gazelle list directly. They included Ema AI, UnifyApps, Tablespace Technologies, BUSINESSNEXT, Scapia and Simple Energy.
Two companies, Shadowfax and Turtlemint, moved to the public markets during the year after listing in January and June 2026, respectively.
The changing composition shows that the startup ecosystem continues to produce new high-growth businesses while some established companies graduate to unicorn status or enter public markets.
India’s AI Startup Pipeline Remains Small
Despite the global investment boom in artificial intelligence, the report highlighted a relatively small number of AI-focused companies in India’s Gazelle cohort.
Only three companies in the list were identified as AI businesses: Ema AI, Observe.AI and UnifyApps.
This compares with 54 AI companies in the United States and 23 in China, according to the report.
The limited representation raises questions about India’s ability to produce large AI-native businesses capable of competing globally.
However, the report also identified AI and clean technology as important emerging sectors. Both categories had three companies each in the frontier-sector classification.
The clean technology companies included Carbon Clean Solutions, Lohum and Rayzon Solar.
The findings suggest that India’s next generation of high-value startups could emerge from a combination of financial services, healthcare, AI infrastructure and climate-focused technology.
The Bigger Picture
The expansion of India’s Gazelle ecosystem reflects the growing maturity of its private startup market. Companies are increasingly building businesses with meaningful revenue, larger workforces and the ability to attract institutional capital. The rise of fintech and healthcare companies also demonstrates that India’s startup growth is extending beyond consumer applications and traditional technology services.
However, the relatively low number of AI companies in the index highlights a gap between India’s broader technology talent base and its ability to create globally competitive AI businesses. As international investors increasingly focus on AI infrastructure and advanced technology, the next phase of startup growth will depend on whether Indian companies can develop differentiated products, attract long-term capital and scale internationally.
Looking Ahead
The next few years will determine how many of the 51 Gazelles can cross the $1 billion valuation threshold. Companies such as Ema AI, UnifyApps, KreditBee, Dhan and other emerging businesses will be watched for their ability to sustain growth, improve profitability and attract new investment. The transition from private funding rounds to public listings could also become an important route for companies seeking additional capital.
For India’s startup ecosystem, the bigger opportunity lies in converting valuation growth into durable businesses. Strong revenue, sustainable unit economics, international expansion and technological innovation will matter as much as fundraising. The latest Hurun report indicates that India’s pipeline of potential unicorns is expanding, but the challenge will be turning these high valuations into long-term business success.
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