NEW DELHI: India surpassed China by adding 23 unicorns in 2022 while the neighbouring country generated 11 such startups with valuation of USD 1 billion or more, as per  a report released on March 15. For the second consecutive time,, India topped China creating 23 unicorns in 2022, taking the total number of such high-value companies to 96, as against China's 11 in the year, said a reporty by IVCA-Bain & Co.

However, this year's number is just half of the unicorns created in 2021 when it stood at a record 44, which took the overall number to 73 in that year. According to the report, nine of the 23 unicorns added in the year have emerged from cities outside of the top 3 metros, indicating a shift to more democratic funding geographically.

This implies that funding to startups in non-metros grew to 18 % of the total inflows share. The year also many investors raising their largest ever India-focused funds, the report said, adding the SaaS (Software as a Service)-based and fintech players maintained the deal value while consumer tech declined.

The year 2022 saw a recaliberation in venture capital investments in the country as increasing macroeconomic uncertainty and recessionary fears affected investment momentum, said the Bain & Company's annual report in collaboration with the Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA).

The report said the country added 23 unicorns notwithstanding the 33 % compression in the deal value faced by the domestic startup ecosystem, from USD 38.5 billion in 2021 to USD 25.7 billion in 2022. Decline in funding was largely over the second half of the year as macro headwinds intensified.

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