CRED, upGrad & Groww top start-ups list in India for this year

Online professional network LinkedIn on Wednesday released a list of the top 25 start-ups in India that have shown resilience in an uncertain market environment, and are continuing to innovate in 2022.

Topping this year’s list is unified payments interface CRED. Valued at USD 6.4 billion, this young start-up maintained its podium position on the LinkedIn Top Startups list, moving from the third spot in 2021 to number one in 2022. “Besides gaining popularity for its quirky ads in the past two years, CRED is also setting new benchmarks for employee well-being by offering benefits such as ElderCare, egg freezing, and one-on-one support for mental wellness to its employees,” a LinkedIn statement noted.

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The second spot on the list is taken by upGrad, one of India’s largest online higher education companies that curates vast upskilling opportunities for professionals and college students, followed by Groww in third position. Groww is an online investment platform that provides an objective evaluation of various investment opportunities through stocks and mutual funds. This year’s list also features new entrants including e-grocery company Zepto (4th), full-stack car buying platform Spinny (7th), and insurtech start-up Ditto Insurance (12th) all of which are online platforms that are making financial, mobility, and essentials more accessible for consumers in India today.

Fitness platform Ultrahuman (19th) and organic food marketplace Living Food (20th) also debuted in this year’s list. With 13 of the top 25 start-ups based out of Bengaluru, the city affirms its reputation as the ‘Silicon Valley of India’. In fact, 58 per cent of all jobs posted by these start-ups on LinkedIn during the period from August 1, 2021 to July 31, 2022 were based out of Bengaluru.

Managing Editor at LinkedIn News India, Nirajita Banerjee, said the Indian start-up ecosystem displays great resilience as the country continues to see a rise of new start-ups with 68 per cent of entrants on the list appearing for the first time. These start-ups are navigating the uncertain macro environment by optimising their businesses for sustainable growth and taking a more prudent approach towards scaling their business, she said.

“It’s also great to see young professionals embrace India’s start-up ecosystem, with 56 per cent of all hires in the top 25 start-ups being aged below 30, and 17 per cent aged below 25, at the time of joining,” she added. The 25 companies that made it to the list, in order of ranking are: CRED, upGrad, Groww, Zepto, Skyroot Aerospace, MBA Chai Wala, Spinny, The Good Glamm Group, GrowthSchool, BluSmart, ShareChat, Ditto Insurance, Simpl, Rapido, Classplus, Park+, BlissClub, DealShare, Ultrahuman, Living Food, FamPay, AgniKul Cosmos, Stanza Living, Pocket FM and Zypp Electric.

“To compile this year’s list, LinkedIn looked at platform data from July 2021 to June 2022 across four pillars: employee growth, job seeker interest, member engagement within the company and its employees, and how well these startups pulled talent from its flagship LinkedIn Top Companies list,” the statement said.