From Byju’s to Mobikwik: Women-led startups valued over a billion dollars

On Women's Day 2022, we take a look at the women-led startups in India that are valued at over a billion dollars.

Falguni Nayar: Former investment banker Falguni Nayar Indian cosmetics-to-fashion platform Nykaa in 2012. The company soon became popular by selling cosmetics and grooming products from domestic as well as international brands before expanding into fashion, pet care and household supplies. Nykaa made a blockbuster debut at the share market, fetching a valuation of nearly $14 billion. Credit: Special Arrangement

Priyanka Gill: Priyanka is the co-founder of India's content-to-commerce conglomerate The Good Glamm Group. The company achieved the coveted

Upasana Taku: Fintech firm Mobikwik was co-founded by Upasana along with her husband Bipin Preet Singh in 2010. The company turned unicorn after an ESOP sale round led by former Blackstone India head Mathew Cyriac in October 2021. Despite receiving Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) approval to raise ₹1,900 crores through an initial public offering (IPO) they called off its listing after their rival PayTm's IPO debacle. Credit: Twitter/@UpasanaTaku

Divya Gokulnath: Divya was the brain behind the highest valued edtech company in the world, Byju’s. She co-founded Byju’s app along with Byju Raveendran in 2011. With over 120 million students, the company is valued at over $18.5 billion. Credit: Twitter/@AlfordEvents

Ambiga Subramanian: Ambiga co-founded MuSigma, an Indian decision sciences firm that primarily offers data analytics services, along with her husband Dhiraj in 2004 and became the first woman to have led a company into the unicorn club. However, Ambiga sold her shares post her divorce with her husband the same year. She is now an investor and has smartly invested in some cool Indian startups. Credit: Twitter/@richysantoro

Ghazal Alagh: A Corporate trainer turned entrepreneur Ghazal co-founded MamaEarth in 2016 along with her husband Varun Alagh. Their company raised USD 52 million in the recent funding round led by Sequoia, valuing it at USD 1.2 billion, and became the first unicorn of 2022. Credit: Instagram/ghazalalagh

Gazal Kalra: Gazal co-founded Rivigo, a technology-enabled logistics company, along with Deepak Garg in 2014. The Trucking logistics firm became a unicorn in 2019, a year later her resignation. She quit the company in 2018 in search of another entrepreneurial journey. Reportedly, she has been working on her latest venture since then and the company is in stealth mode. Credit: Twitter/@startupindia

Radhika Ghai: Radhika is one of India’s first eCommerce female entrepreneurs who co-founded ShopClues along with her husband Sandeep Aggarwal in 2011. In 2016, became India's fourth unicorn firm valued over a billion dollars at $1.1 billion. Credit: Twitter/@AatmaNirbharMa1

Ruchi Kalra: Entrepreneur Ruchi Kalra co-founded OfBusiness along with Asish Mohapatra, Vasant Sridhar, Bhuvan Gupta and Nitin Jain in 2016. The company turned unicorn post-SoftBank-led $160 million funding in July 2021, valuing the company at $1.5 billion. Credit: Special Arrangement

Rajoshi Ghosh: In 2017, Rajoshi and Tanmai Gopal founded a software company Hasura, that provides data access and data flow tools and services via GraphQL APIs. The company has raised $100 million in a fresh funding round led by Greenoaks Capital and became the tenth startup to enter India's unicorn club this year. Credit: Twitter/@rajoshighosh