As per Economic Survey, registered Startups in 2016 were 452 later increased to 84,012 in 2022 recognized by DPIT (Department of Promotion of industry and Internal Trade) which have created 6 lakh employment opportunities in the year 2022. The above stated survey shows that the Indian startup ecosystem is zestful and the Indian startups landscape is growing rapidly. Startups are loomed as primary drivers for innovation, transformation and economic upturn of country. While covering from advanced technology to new business, startups are continuously restructuring the traditional industries and creating potential opportunities across the world. As an aspiring entrepreneurs and investors looking to begin a business journey in startup ecosystem, it’s crucial to understand the current trends and identify the budding opportunities in each division.

Let’s list out top trends in startup ecosystem and embrace the sensational world of startups.

1. AI Startups: Leveraging Artificial intelligence in business to bring most appropriate solutions for complex problems, AI based startups are emerging steadily with numerous applications. They are performing and providing solutions for all industries such as healthcare, marketing, manufacturing, financial services, cyber security and so on. A successful example for AI based application that buzzed in recent days is Open AI. The introduction of Open AI to welfare human activities made major impact in various sectors in industry. The market value of AI industry estimated to poise net worth of $126 billion by 2025.

2. Agriculture Startups: Integration of technology in agriculture is multiplying the benefits of farmers. In recent days, agriculture startups are playing vital role by leveraging technology in agriculture for various applications. They create digital platforms to connect the agricultural buyers and farmers to improve the efficiency of market linkages. They bring innovative solutions in all aspects including precision agriculture, farm management software, smart irrigation techniques and automotive crop health traction. Agri startups meets the global agriculture challenges by driving innovation and making impossible to possible for the farmers to adopt sustainable agri practices to cater the extreme demand for food and food products without any external or internal hindrances. The Economic Survey 2022-23 states, in last four years, the funding for agriTech startups is around Rs.6,600 crore with a growth of 50 percent per annum. EY report states that the market value of Indian agriTech is projected to reach US$ 24 billion by 2025.

The success of the young entrepreneur will be the key to India’s transformation in the new millennium, - Dhirubhai Ambani

3. Cyber Security Startups: The synergism of cyber-attacks and data corruption in India led the need for robust security solutions. However, India has pool of skilled IT professionals and many cyber security startups are emerging to meet the demands of security solutions in India and the growth rate is surpassing beyond the expectations. Additionally, the adoption of technology in identifying cyber criminals and the strong support from the government is helping in digitizing the whole system of cyber security. Investors and experienced workforce professionals recognizing the potential and demand of this industry and providing essential funding to fuel the growth of cyber security industry. Market and markets reported the cyber security market reached $173.5 billion in 2022. And it is expected to reach 266.2 billion with growth rate CAGR of 8.9 percent by 2027.

4. Energy Startups: Energy storage startups are witnessing significant sustainability and innovation. Government is aiming to achieve cleaner and sustainable future by implementing various schemes and policies to develop the energy producing and storage sector. To encourage the entrepreneurship spirit among new young entrepreneurs and investors government is initiating with loans and funds. This is to encourage and support the industrial environment of energy startups to flourish and vision a better future. Startups are emerging in various aspects including energy storage, renewable energy and energy access, energy efficiency, electric energy mobility and so on. The integration of technology and IOT has enabled the energy startups to enhance advanced features in optimizing and monitoring the energy solutions.

Many industries are investing and showing interest on energy startups through acquiring smart energy management system, energy analytics and predictive energy system for optimizing the renewable energy to reduce carbon emissions. To transform the environment to greener and sustainable, these energy startups will play efficient role. Recognizing the potential of energy based startups, in union budget 2023, our honorable finance minister Nirmala sitaraman announced Rs.35,000 crore of initial investment for energy transition businesses. The renewable energy market of India has reached US$ 20 Billion in 2022 and experts are estimated that the market will reach US$ 35.6 billion by 2028 with growth rate (CAGR) of 10.19 percent.

5. Ed-Tech Startups: Ed-Tech startups are gradually restructuring the traditional education system by harnessing the power of technology to meet the technical requirements of learners and teachers. They bridge the accessibility gap through providing virtual platforms for learning by overcoming the geographical hurdles. Ed-Tech startups are facilitating the collaboration between learners, teaching professionals and experts in social learning platforms through enabling online discussion at anytime, anywhere. They have advanced education system by personalizing and customizing learning experiences through analyzing individual’s requirements as well as capabilities with the help of their information and performances. Some of successful and well known EdTech startups currently in market are Coursera, Duolingo and Udemy. In last five years, the investment of private bodies in edTech industry has raised $4 billion. According to Forbes survey, the market size of edTech industry is expected to reach $10.4 billion by 2025. The Indian EdTech industry is holding immense market potential for startups to emerge and play.

6. FinTech Startups: Technology is helping in providing innovative financial solutions, thus, finTech startups are thriving sensations across the country. They completely restructure the payment and finance industry by providing convenient and secured digital solutions including digital payments, personal and organization finance management, open and net banking, regulatory technology and so on. Due to tech-based financial services the demand for more ideas and innovation is encouraging and attracting significant investors to provide necessary capital for finTech startups. An Indian government platform ‘Invest India’ states that Indian finTechs are the 2nd most funded startup industry in India in 2022 and their revenue generation raised $5.65 billion in 2022. A study conducted by EY estimated that Indian finTech market is anticipated to reach revenue $200 billion by the end of 2023.

7. Fitness Startups: In recent days, health and fitness have gained significant value among people. Therefore, the fitness startups are emerging day-by-day to cater the health and wellness needs of people. They provide wide range of digital fitness applications and services designed leveraging technology. To name a few key factors those are working as the driving forcing for fitness startups to evolve are, fitness gadgets and solutions like wearables, virtual sessions and virtual personal trainings, health-based apps and more. They have uplifted fitness industry to stand out in the market by introducing unique personalized solutions to ensure health and wellness of people. With growing focus on fitness and increasing technological advancements, the fitness startups are already making significant impact in marketplace by attracting more investors and stakeholders. As per Statista, currently Digital Fitness and Well-Being segment is projected to generate revenue of US$10.12 billion in 2023, and it estimated to expand the volume of US$22.12 billion by 2027.

8. PropTech Startups: PropTech startups are constantly reshaping the real estate industry with innovation and technology disruption. They have automated the streamline process of tenant screening, rent maintenance and distribution. Data analytics, AR & VR, AI & ML, IoT, block chain and so on is enhancing & revolutionizing the real estate industry with most recent key trends such as real estate property transactions through digital payments, customization and personalization of tenant experiences, virtual property tours, digital security & surveillance system and digital document verification. Due to increasing demand and requirement for efficient, sustainable and eco-friendly environment, technologically advanced homes and properties, propTech startups are evolving and thus simultaneously embracing the industry’s growth and development. According to housing.com, the market revenue of prop tech industry stood by $4 billion in the first half of the year 2023. A popular propTech firm Square yards states, the Indian fin tech market would reach more than $1 trillion and it will cover almost 13 percent of the India’s GDP by 2025.

9. 3D Printing Startups: With the various possibities and exciting advancements, 3D printing startups are enhancing their impact and value in numerous industries. They are pushing significant contributions across various industries like health care, automation, construction & architecture, military & defense, education & retail industry. Industries have started to utilize 3D printing in their products and services to enhance the user experiences and achieve business targets. 3D printing can provide fabricated module and tailored construction solutions. 3D Printing Startups are exploring the latest technological concepts to meet the consumer demands. Recently, a few startups have emerged and made notable benefaction in 3D printing startup ecosystem. Fortune Business Insights reported that the 3D printing industry was valued $18.33 billion in 2022. In India, it is estimated to reach $83.90 billion by 2029 at a growth rate of CAGR of 24.3 percent.

10. E-Commerce Startups: Since pandemic and post-pandemic, e-commerce platforms have increased in size significantly. With more internet users and technological revolution, currently India has 19000 e- commerce business and positioned second largest e-commerce market globally with the total market size of $6.2 billion. E-commerce startups are playing vital role in various industries and sectors in retail and wholesale, online shopping and selling, supply chain management, digital marketing, web services, gadget applications and so on. Due to consumers demand and requirements, this industry is constantly attracting investors and stakeholders. The scope of e-commerce startups is scintillating, as in the market new products are introduced and launched each and every day. According to the report of Statista, the probationary funding for e-commerce startups have raised $633 million from 2019 to 2023 and numbers are expected to hit $350 billion by 2030.

11. Metaverse Startups: Today, all most all types of industries and companies are leveraging metaverse applications to enhance their business in market and improve their user experiences. Technology and innovation in digital platforms replaced the physical experiences into virtual module. Metaverse startups provides high-end virtual applications for industries and serves as digital tool for creating virtual sets in marketing, product launching and development. The potential applications of metaverse startups have reshaped the industries like entertainment, gaming, health care and education by providing immersive virtual experiences and solutions. Strategic market research confirms that the global market value of metaverse industry reached $47.48 billion in 2022 with growth rate of 39.44 percent. The range is expected to reach the value of $678.80 billion by 2030.

“Our startups are changing the rules of the game. That’s why I believe startups are going to be the backbone of new India”. The above statement was said by our honorable PM Modi on the occasion of announcing January 16 as ‘National Startup day’ to promote Startup ecosystem and entrepreneurship in India. Currently, India is a hub of more than 90000 startups with the market value of $340.80 billion and expected to reach $5 trillion market by 2024.

By recognizing the fact that startups are the backbone of future Indian economy, government has taken several measures to provide funding & encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship in young Indian mindsets to contribute to the growth scale of Indian economy. Harnessing the technology and innovation, startups are expected to experience immense opportunities in upcoming days with significant economic and financial contributions. And the above mentioned startups are thoroughly enrooting to create numerous opportunities in Indian startup ecosystem.