India is the third largest unicorn-producing company worldwide. There are lots of startups which is also famous and known globally. But in the last few years, these startups are continuously making losses.
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India has more than 100 unicorn companies or businesses. Indian unicorns currently hold approximately $341 billion. But still, some unicorns are at a high loss and burning money for their survival. Here we discuss top Loss Unicorn Startups in India.
Here is the list of the Top 10 Loss Making Unicorn Startups in India
Zomato
Zomato is a Delhi-based food tech startup that connects customers, restaurant partners, and delivery partners, serving their multiple needs. It became a unicorn in February 2018 after a valuation of US$1.1 billion.
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But in the last few decades, it has been in loss according to its IPO filing and become one of the biggest loss-making startups. In FY21 it lost $93 million and In FY22, the platform lost more money, which is from Rs 816.4 crore to Rs 1222.5 crore.
Flipkart
Flipkart is an Indian e-commerce company that was founded by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal in 2007. The company was later acquired by Walmart and the founders of the company also quit.
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It is also the parent company of many Myntra, Ekart, PhonePe, etc. Flipkart reported a loss of around Rs. 2,446 crore in 2021.
Paytm
Delhi-based Paytm is a fintech startup that offers payment services for customers and merchants. It was founded in 2010 by Vijay Shekhar Sharma and became unicorn in 2014.
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It got popular after the demonetization but after a few years, it continued in a few losses. According to a report in FY22, it lost $320M.
Urban Company
Urban Company is a Delhi-based home services marketplace that provides professional home services to customers all over the world. Apart from this, the platform spends a lot of money on differentiating itself from the traditional home services sector.
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For the last few years, the company has been in losses. Their losses are rising every year in FY19 it has losses of $256 million, in FY20 $38 million and FY22 it losses approx RS 514 Cr.
Freshworks
Freshworks is a SaaS startup founded in 2010 by Girish Mathrubootham, Shan Krishnasamy, and Vijay Shankar.
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The platform has revolutionized conventional CRM, ITSM, Customer Support, and Marketing Automation with its comprehensive customer engagement suite, Freshworks360. In 2018, the company became a Unicorn and performed well. But for the last few years, it has continuously made losses. In 2021 it lost $18.3 million and in FY22 it increased 21 percent.
CRED
CRED is a Banglore-based Fintech startup that provides rewards for paying credit card bills on time. It was founded by Kunal Shah in 2018. It became a unicorn in 2019 just one year after its start at a valuation of more than $1 billion.
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According to the report, the platform has spent 727 rupees on every one rupee which means it is in loss. It lost approx Rs 1,347 crore from Rs 1,279 crore in FY22.
PolicyBazaar
Headquarters in Delhi, PolicyBazaar is a Fintech Startup founded by Yashish Dahiya, Alok Bansal, Tarun Mathur, and Rahul Agarwal in 2008.
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The platform became Unicorn in 2018 after raising $1 billion. But in the last few years, it is continuously in loss. According to the report it losses of Rs 298 crore.
OLA
Banglore-based OLA is a cab startup founded by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati in 2010. Apart from India, it spends its service internationally such as Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. It became unicorn in 2019 after raising $225 million.
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But in the last few years, it has had in loss, in FY22 it lost Rs1,116.6 crore and in FY22 it lost Rs1,522.33. crore
Verse
Verse Innovation is a Banglore-based startup founded by Shailendra Sharma, Umang Bedi, and Virendra Gupta. It offers short video sharing and a news app. In 2020 it raised $ 100 million and entered in Unicorn Club.
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For the last two years, the company reported a loss due to its expenses. In 21-22, it lost INR 2,563.33 Cr.
Dream11
Dream11 is a Mumbai-based fantasy platform founded by Bhavit Sheth and Harsh Jain in 2007. It is India’s first sports company after a rise of $ 1 billion in 2019.
But in the last few years, it has had new losses due mainly reasons to overcome its losses it cuts its 80% operation. According to a report in FY22 it lost Rs 230 Cr.
Conclusion
In the last few decades, lots of Indian startups are in losses, especially after the pandemic. it’s very challenging for some startups even to survive. Unicorns are also making losses and fighting for their survival. some startups also close their operations due to lack of funding and some still survive. hope in the upcoming years they make a profit.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How loss startup still survive?
It survives due to cash burning, many startup owners and investors believe that in the future their idea become successful that why they continue burying cash for sustainability.
Which types of problems do most startups face?
There are lots of problems faced by businesses such as Bad leadership, poor planning, disregarding client demands, bad location, and lack of funding.
Which are the Top 10 Loss Making Unicorn Startups in India?
OLA, Freshworks, CRED, Dream11, Verse, Urban Company, and Paytm are the Top 10 Loss Making Unicorn Startups in India.
