Soonicorn Club: 15 Indian Startups that will turn Unicorns in their next round of funding

India is currently home to 52 Unicorn Startups. Unicorns refer to the startups whose valuation has crossed $1 Bn. Thus, a soonicorn means a startup that will soon turn into a unicorn. India is one of the fastest-growing startup ecosystems. The US and China dominate the top 100 global unicorns in terms of number and value, followed by Europe. “India is a hotspot representing 50% of the total top 100 unicorns in the region by value and number,” a PwC report stated last week.

Especially post the pandemic, India has seen a rise in tech-based startups due to consumer demand and the increased use of digital goods and services by individuals and firms. In 2020 alone, we have witnessed over 9 unicorns. Later, in just six months of 2021, India Inc has witnessed the rise of 15 Unicorns. The latest entrant, BrowserStack raised $200 Million in Series B Funding at a $4 Billion Valuation. And that was almost a fortnight ago.

But as time is passing, there have been several speculative reports of investments in soonicorns. To understand and witness the rise of the Indian Startup Ecosystem, here are 15 soonicorn or future billion-dollar startups (in no particular order).

Major Soonicorn Startups

1. Grofers

According to a Tech Crunch report, Grofers is set to join the Unicorn Club with a $120 Million investment from Zomato. Citing multiple sources, the report suggested that with the investment, Zomato will acquire a 10% stake in the Soonicorn. The companies had last year explored the possibility of a merger which didn't go as planned. But, Zomato was selling groceries during the pandemic when its food business went down considerably. Now, as Zomato plans for an IPO, it has stated that mergers and acquisitions will be a big part of its future strategies.

Not only that, the e-grocery market is at its all-time high where next to BigBasket (37%), Grofers holds the largest share (13%). Tiger Global, an investor in both Zomato and Grofers, will also participate in the $120 million funding round, reported ET.

2. Acko Insurance

In another report by ET, online general insurance startup, Acko, may raise $200 Million and join the Unicorn club. The speculation for the Soonicorn has been around for a while when Inc42 reported the same in May 2021. The Amazon backed startup competes with many insurtech startups including Sachin Bansal's Navi and Digit Insurance. The latter, too, announced its $1 Bn Valuation in January.

Now, Acko may become a Unicorn through a major deal with General Atlantic and Multiples Alternate Asset Management, among others. The 5-year-old startup raised funds in September 2020 for its Series D round worth $60 Mn led by Munich Re Ventures. To date, the company has raised closed to $215 Mn in six funding rounds from 17 investors and values at around $300 Mn.

3. BharatPe

Since the FY 2021-22 began, speculations of BharatPe raising close to $100 Mn have been doing rounds. The FinTech startup, that currently values at $922 Mn. Even a small infusion will take the startup to the Unicorn Club. In fact, after the company acquired PAYBACK India, and its subsequent expansion plans, the funding will come sooner than expected.

4. CarDekho

Auto Portal CarDekho is in talks to raise a minimum of $150 million. The fundraiser would take the company to unicorn status, making it another double-digit startup in the billion-dollar club in 2021. Further, the company has also announced the use of resources to expand its e-commerce platform for retailing used cars. The startup currently values at $725 Mn after its Series D raise of $70 Mn.

In March 2021, CarDekho had also launched UPLINK, an advanced and compact GPS Vehicle Tracking System. Further, it has also been revamping its senior management. It has hired five VPs to lead its engineering, technology, and product development teams. CarDekho appointed ex-Walmart executive Sandeep Singh and ex-Reliance Jio VP of engineering Mayank Kapoor as vice presidents of engineering and Manjeet Dahiya, who was earlier leading ML and data science at Airtel’s WYNK joined the company as VP of artificial intelligence, machine learning and data sciences.

5. CureFit

Health Tech startup CureFit has raised over $400 million and was valued at around $800 million, according to reports. Some of its investors include Chiratae Ventures, Accel Partners, Kalaari Capital and Oaktree Capital. Recently, Tata Digital, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Tata Sons, signed a deal to invest upto $75 million in CureFit Healthcare. Started in 2016 by Myntra co-founder Mukesh Bansal and former Flipkart executive Ankit Nagori, CureFit operates an online-offline model of fitness centres in Bangalore called Cult (cult.fit). The health-tech startup also offers other services like mental wellness, yoga and health food services. Recently, Cult.fit acquired TREAD, to foray into gym equipment.

An old Entracker report suggested that with an infusion of $100 Mn from Soft Bank Vision Fund, the Soonicorn would join the $1Bn club. That was in 2019, still another round of funding will definitely take the startup to the Unicorn Club.

6. Mobile Premier League

According to an Entracker report from March, Mobile Premier League may raise upto $150 million in a move that will turn the online gaming platform into a unicorn. But the conversations have not been dismissed. MPL had previously raised $95 million in February 2021 at a valuation of $945 million. The soonicorn may even reach a valuation of $2 Bn with the new fundraising.

Soonicorns in pipeline

Apart from the above-stated startups, that may recently turn Unicorns, the following startups are also slated to turn Unicorn in the next round of their funding. The onslaught of the pandemic and the time period between their fundraising may propel these startups to turn unicorns in 2021. For example, Google-backed Practo last raised $32 Million in August 2020. Before that, the company valued at $620 million and then devalued to approx $300-$310 million in the new round.

Hyperlocal delivery platform Dunzo has raised funds twice in 2021 valuing it to $300 Mn. The startup has been eyeing Unicorn status after the increase of the delivery ecosystem in India post-pandemic. Similarly, pandemic-accelerated the use of streaming platforms and MX Player is not far behind. Tencent-backed MX Player, which operates MX TakaTak (TikTok alt) may raise upto $150 million, which will put its valuation at over $900 million.

Rising Edtech

Another covid-simulated sector is edtech. While Byju's and Unacademy have already joined the Unicorn Club (Byju's is the most valued startup in India), a startup left behind in the race would be Vedantu. The last fundraise of Vedantu valued it under $600 Mn. With another fundraise, it may turn into a Unicorn. Edtech Startup Eruditus that values at $800 Mn, eyes $2.5 billion Valuation that could make it the second most valued edtech after Byju’s, reported MoneyControl in May.

Others

Another startup, in news as Soonicorn, Khatabook last valued at $300 Mn. It may join the $1Bn club as the company plans to expand and experiment. In an interaction with CiOL, Ravish Naresh, Co-founder and CEO of Khatabook stated the company's plans to augment its service portfolio and drive two-to-three-fold growth in businesses. Others to soon join the club are: MobiKwik, which currently values at $700 Mn after a recent fundraise; Rebel Foods that currently values at $820 Mn; IPO-bound Pepperfry that aims to become a Unicorn before its 2022-23 IPO.

Learning from the pandemic, many startups have fast-tracked their digitization journey and operations. As they built their b Business agility, flexibility, and resilience, they are also preparing for an inevitable shift to tech infrastructure and subsequent growth. With increased growth in business, the proposition of expansion follows and so does more funding and increased valuation.