50K startup workers stare at job loss as India preps for 200 new unicorns

As startups in India keep firing their staff to navigate through the ‘funding winter’ and more than 60,000 can lose their jobs in 2022 alone, the country is preparing to welcome 200 unicorns in the next four years.

As thousands more brace themselves for being laid off, led by edtech and e-commerce platforms, the ‘ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Future Unicorn Index 2022’ list highlights that nearly 122 startups from 25 cities are on the path to become unicorns (with a valuation of $1 billion and above).

The irony is that while funding still flows in the Indian startup ecosystem, the ratio of laying off employees is growing exponentially, with lay-off news dominating the headlines.