In CNBC-TV18's Building Unicorns Podcast series, we have so far hosted founders of billion dollar companies, but in this episode we decided to speak to someone who closely monitors valuations and deals in the sector via Venture Intelligence.

Arun Natarajan, founder of Venture Intelligence, shares insights of the intelligence platform's Unicorn Tracker. He said that 15 new unicorns were added so far this year compared to nine unicorns in 2020.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18's Mugdha Variyar, Natarajan digs into the rise of numerous startups in the B2B space and revealed that VC activity slowed down due in the month of May, due to the second wave of COVID-19.

Here's what they discussed:

Rise of B2B: Of the 15 unicorns, there are seven in the B2B space, and going by data from the past years, this is unprecedented. In the whole of 2020, there were four unicorns in this space, and five in 2019, as per the platform.

Tiger on the prowl: The top investors who have catapulted Indian startups to unicorn status are Tiger Global, Sequoia, and Softbank.

According to Venture Intelligence, Tiger Global has 20 unicorns in its portfolio in India, followed by Sequoia, which has 17, and Softbank, which has 13.

Fundraising in 2021: Till May, Indian startups have raised $10.3 billion in venture capital investments, as per the platform. The deal activity fell to 47 deals in May compared to 62 in April.

Tune in to the Building Unicorns podcast to know all about the growth prospects for startups amid COVID-19.

(Edited by : Kanishka Sarkar)

First Published:Jun 3, 2021 8:17 PM IST