The Yogi Adityanath government has been diligently fostering innovation, startups and industrial development in Uttar Pradesh. As a result of the concerted efforts of the state government, Uttar Pradesh now boasts eight Unicorn companies, with numerous startups on the cusp of achieving unicorn status, known as ‘Soonicorns’ (Soon to be Unicorns).
It is worth noting that Uttar Pradesh had set a target of 10,000 startups by 2025, which was achieved by the government by the middle of 2023. Assisted by favourable policies, many startups are now rapidly progressing towards becoming Unicorns and Soonicorns.
This was revealed by facts contained in a report prepared by KPMG, a multinational company with a global network of professional firms providing audit, tax and advisory services.
Uttar Pradesh has eight out of 108 unicorns in the country. According to the data in the report, Paytm, Paytm Mall, India Mart, Moglix, Pine Labs, Innovaccer, Info Edge and Physics Wallah are the startups based in Uttar Pradesh and are included among the unicorn startups of the country.
A unicorn startup is a startup whose valuation is more than 1 billion dollars.
Similarly, Soonicorns are those startups that have the potential to become unicorns in the near future. At present, two Soonicorn startups are working in the state, and their names are Class Plus and InShorts. The state’s startup ecosystem also includes ‘Minicorns’, startups with valuations exceeding 1 million dollars, indicating the diverse range of enterprises flourishing under the Yogi government’s policies.
According to the report, Uttar Pradesh is currently the state with the fourth-largest startup ecosystem in the country. Startups are present in all 75 districts, and the special thing is that 49 per cent of the startups belong to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
The effect of promoting the startup ecosystem in the state has been that more than one lakh employment generation opportunities have become available. Agri-tech-based startups are also making their meaningful presence felt in Uttar Pradesh, providing employment to people as well as helping in the development of facilities in rural areas.
To further bolster the startup ecosystem, the Yogi government has allocated Rs 1,000 crore to the UP Start-up Fund, reinforcing its dedication to supporting emerging businesses.
At the same time, the process of promoting startups is going on through 63 incubation centres in 23 districts. Continuous efforts are being made in the state to promote startups related to areas like artificial intelligence, drones, med tech, blockchain, 5G, 6G, quantum computing, additive manufacturing and space tech.