India’s startup ecosystem has been rapidly evolving in recent years, with a number of companies reaching impressive valuations. The competition among Indian startups to be the most valuable has been fierce, but one company stands out as the leader: The startup in question is valued at billions of dollars and has disrupted its industry with its innovative approach and strong execution. In this article, we will take a closer look at this Indian startup, its business model, and what makes it the most valuable startup in the country. We will also discuss its position in the competitive landscape, its future growth prospects and how it has set an example for other startups to follow.

Top Startups in India

1. CRED

Founded in 2018, CRED is a platform where you can pay your credit card bills and get rewarded for it. The platform has created a new model where users get “CRED coins” when they pay their bills through the CRED app. These coins can later be redeemed for buying any product, entering a contest, or joining any workshop. The startup is Bangalore based and provides a range of services like credit and a premium catalogue of products to the customers. The startup believes to incentivise people in order to improve their financial behaviour . 

2. Pharmeasy

PharmEasy is an online pharmacy and medical store in India which specialises in OTC products, diagnostic tests, and medical instruments. The company was founded in 2015 in Mumbai, Maharashtra and has seen incredible growth since then.  It is an online pharmacy with every product you could ever imagine in an offline medical store. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has become an essential service that has contributed to its growth. The competitors of PharmEasy in India are 1mg and Netmeds. This health tech startup has raised a massive $350 dollar, becoming the first Epharmacy unicorn in India. The funding has been raised after the merger of PharmEasy with its rival Medlife. Pharm Easy has acquired a 100 per cent stake in Medlife, and the latter got a 19.95% stake in the merged entity. Both the companies have joined hands and merged in order to beat off the competition from rival players like Net meds (Reliance Jio ), Flipkart and Amazon Pharmacy who have just entered the pharmacy segment in India. 

3. Meesho

Meesho is the ecosystem that enables small businesses to perform on the online platform. This platform has raised $490 million till date, and its investors include Facebook.  Meesho connects sellers with the customers in an online marketplace and offers management of logistics, orders, and payments to the sellers. It is connected with more than 13 million entrepreneurs in Indian cities dealing in grocery, home and kitchen appliances, apparel and more. As Indian social commerce is expected to grow at a rate of 55%-60%, Meesho has a massive potential to upscale retailing to new heights in the future. It is competing with the companies like Glow Road, Deal share and City Mall who are also getting attention from the investors. Deal share which was founded in 2018, has raised $21 million in December 2020. 

4. Groww

Groww is an investing platform that allows its customers to invest in stocks, ETFs, Mutual funds, IPOs and more using its platform. The platform works on both mobile applications and the web. The company was founded in 2016 by 4 ex-Flipkart employees who noticed how difficult it is to invest in India. This realisation made them start Groww which has more than 15 million users registered till now. According to Groww, more than 60% of the company belongs to smaller cities of India that have never invested before. As per one of the founders, Lalit Keshre, Groww is used across India and not just in metro cities. The users are spread across all the major cities of the nation who are working class, young and want to invest their hard-earned money. 

5. Dream 11

Founded in 2008, DREAM 11 is an online fantasy sports platform that now has more than 10 crore users in India. Based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, the company was founded by two young cofounders, Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth. DREAM 11 has raised $400 million just before the commencement of IPL 2021. One of the investors is TCV which has also backed the giants like Airbnb and Netflix. DREAM 11 is also India’s first Unicorn start-up as the company’s valuation is now escalated to $5 billion. The company has grown at a CAGR of 230 per cent in the last 3 years. 

Dream 11 is the first and leading fantasy gaming platform in India. It has attracted a lot of young users who are crazy about games. It took three years for the company to hit the mark of 1 million users and post that it crossed 3 million mark in less than 2 months. The company had around 75 million users before pandemic COVID-19 started in India and now reached 100 million users. As per the reports of Deloitte, the fantasy Sports in India has grown by nearly 200% that is a catalyst for the growth of the company.