Indian Soon-to-be-Unicorns like Nykaa Marching Ahead to Join the Big LeagueStartups in India are marching at a sky-rocketing rate and will soon join the league of Unicorns

Delivery as a Unicorn was the first Indian startup to make headlines in 2019. Now it is the turn of Nykaa, a beauty and wellness mogul in India that has reached a valuation of $93.02 million through its latest round of funding. As Nykaa, a soon-to-be-Unicorn at the moment is standing on the edge to make the big leap of attaining the billion-dollar mark with its wings of the unicorn are also set to flap. The brand's attaining this mark will add another pillar to the existing 26 Unicorns in the country.

As Nykaa becomes a Unicorn it will join the big leagues in arms with Paytm, Ola Cabs, OYO, Swiggy, Zomato, Hike, Big Basket, InMobi, Shop Clues, Quikr and others from the space.

The Indian Unicorns

It is a major turn of event for the home-grown brand but will it help the country or its position in the global space? It is been some time since the world has been talking about India being a significant startup hub. If the Indian startup ecosystem wasn't encouraged and investors didn't take note of this optimistic turn, the sector would have still been struggling. But the country has rolled its dice way ahead of where it is discussing its billion dollars' worth of startups or unicorns. Unicorn is The country reportedly stands in the third position when it comes to unicorn's count on the global scale. India is following China and the US is this scenario. Reports state that while China, the leader in this space has 127 Unicorns, the US has counted 90 Unicorns so far. Nykaa's reaching the mark of 27, will increase the number but the difference in the number of unicorns between the second position holder – the US and India is so huge that a rise in count, won't alter the space much, apart from the fact that the country will continue to hold its third position across the globe.

However, many of the startups flocking the country for the last couple of years have swelled enough and there are possibilities that some of them will shoot their ways to be Unicorns by the end of the year. Nykaa's success will be nothing but an inspiration to the potential ones.

The Aspirants

Like Nykaa, several startups successfully operating in varied sectors have pulled up their socks to add the Unicorn status to their names. Being a Unicorn is not only a mere status. It acts as an adjective and amplifies the value creation of the company. Speculation is that these startups will soon ring the bell of reaching the billion dollars benchmark.

Here are few of the many that are operating in various segments of businesses:

• Grofers

Grofers, a consumer service brand tailored by Albinder Dhindsa and Saurabh Kumar, has raised a whopping $301.8 million till date and currently values $425 million.

• FirstCry

The brainchild of Amitava Saha and Supam Maheshwari, FirstCry has earned $268.4 million dollars of funding. The soon-to-be-Unicorn, which is dealing in the e-commerce domain has been raising hopes.

• CarTrade

It has been almost a decade since CarTrade has been helping its consumers buy and sell cars. Founded by Vinay Snghai, the e-commerce company has already bagged a total of around $240.2 million.

• CarDekho

Founded in 2008, CarDekho has been operating in the Indian market since 2008. Steered by Amit Jain and Anurag Jain, the consumer service provider helps its customers find new and used cars at affordable costs. It has hit the $202 million mark and is considered as a soon to be a unicorn.

• Practo

Healthcare startup Practo has reportedly raised $234 million from big investors like Tencent Holdings, Sequoia, CapitalG and Matrix Partners is edging towards its Unicorn status.

• Bank Bazaar

Lining up to join the Unicorn group, Bank Banzaar has already bagged $109 million in funding. The 2008 founded company serves in the fintech space and is one of the names that have been listed in Soon-to-be-Unicorn.