“Fintech remains a bright spot for investors despite the downturn, especially as we see funding recovering and global tech giants eyeing fintech in India,” LinkedIn said.
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The days of easy money are over as entrepreneurs face a funding winter amid a slowing global economy – and startups in India are not exempt.
A local report said venture funding totaled $2.19 billion from January to March, down from $11.34 billion invested in the year-ago quarter.
However, there are sectors that have “demonstrated resilience in difficult times,” said Pooja Chhabria, editorial director at LinkedIn APAC.
“Fintech remains a bright spot for investors despite the downturn, especially as we see funding recovering and global tech giants eyeing fintech in India,” she added.
“The rise of educational technology also highlights the continued need for upskilling among professionals and students, particularly given the rapid changes brought about by technologies such as AI.”
This is reflected in the LinkedIn Top Start-ups 2023 list for India – which is dominated by fintech companies but also includes two new edtech entrants.
This year there are 14 new participants, which is “a reflection of a booming entrepreneurial ecosystem and spirit of innovation,” Chhabria added.
To compile the list, LinkedIn relied on internal data and evaluated startups based on four aspects: job growth, job seeker interest, engagement and ability to attract talent from LinkedIn’s top companies.
To be eligible, companies had to be headquartered in India and employ 50 or more people. LinkedIn said it also lowered its age criteria from seven years or younger to five years and under to “showcase more companies in their earlier, higher-risk growth stages.”
Here is the complete list of India’s top startups for 2022 according to LinkedIn:
20. Fasal – IT services and consulting
19. DotPe – software development
18. TravClan – Software development
17. AccioJob – E-Learning
16. Housr – Hospitality
15. Exponent Energy – automobile manufacturing
14. StockGro – Financial Services
13. Teachnook – E-Learning
12. Shyft – wellness and fitness
11. Jar – Financial Services
10. GrowthSchool – E-Learning
9. Supersourcing – software development
8. Sprinto – Software development
7. Fi – Financial Services
6. GoKwik – Software Development
Industry: Defense and space industry
Headquarters: Hyderabad
Number of full-time employees: 260
Most common skills: machining, aerospace engineering, manufacturing operations
Skyroot Aerospace was founded four years ago by engineers and former scientists from the Indian Space Research Organization. In 2022, it became the first private Indian company to launch a rocket into space. Skyroot Aerospace told Portal it expects at least two launches in 2024 following the success of India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission.
Industry: Software development
Headquarters: Bengaluru
Number of full-time employees: 489
Most Common Skills: Writing, Video, Advertising
Audio series platform Pocket FM offers audio entertainment across multiple genres and Indian languages in its library with more than 100,000 hours of content. According to the company, it serves around 80 million listeners worldwide.
Industry: Financial Services
Headquarters: Bengaluru
Number of full-time employees: 252
Most common skills: communication, business management, advertising
Founded in 2018, the fintech startup helps users compare insurance plans, understand policies and purchase insurance through its online platform. According to LinkedIn, Ditto Insurance is looking to hire “hundreds of freshmen” in the coming year.
Industry: Software development
Headquarters: Gurugram
Number of full-time employees: 620
Most common skills: development tools, business management, data science
BluSmart offers electric ride-hailing services in Delhi (NCR) and Bengaluru with its 4,500-strong electric car fleet. The startup, founded in 2019, said it would use its recent $42 million cash injection to expand that fleet to 10,000 cars by the end of this year and invest in more charging stations across India.
Industry: Software development
Headquarters: Mumbai
Number of full-time employees: 1,400
Most common skills: business management, data science, development tools