16 unicorns, $11bn funding: Indian startups rise sans Chinese money

The great Indian tech startup story is being rewritten amid the Covid-19 pandemic as traditional sectors still bear the brunt.

With 16 unicorns (startups with a valuation of over $1 billion) and more than $11 billion in funding, chiefly from the US-based investment firms (till June-end), the year 2021 has proved that Chinese investment is no longer needed in a ‘self-reliant’ India amid the new normal.

The Indian tech startups started to shun Chinese investment in 2020 as desi corporates and wealthy individuals, along with investors from other countries, came onboard to fund the homegrown firms.

In the first half of 2021, investors have pumped in at least $11 billion into the Indian tech startups in over 600 deals, which is growing at an exponential rate.