However, despite India being the third-largest startup economy in the world with 1,17,254 registered entities under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade as of December 31, 2023, only two unicorns—a valuation of $1 billion—were created in 2022. This is in stark contrast to the impressive tally of 45, just two years ago. Is the ‘unicorn bubble’ past its prime; are unicorns a dwindling phenomenon now? Or is an alternative story being written anchored in the tenets of resilience, robustness, and resurgence? Is the frenzy over for good paving the path to profitability?
It is within these paradoxes of the Indian startup ecosystem—grappling with a challenging ‘funding winter’ mirroring global macroeconomic conditions and geopolitical conflicts—that the ET Soonicorns Summit 2024 is set to return in Bengaluru on September 20, 2024.
The ET Soonicorns Summit 2023 in its Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR editions set in motion the key pivots shaping India’s startup-tech landscape. It showcased how despite funding challenges Indian startups have been navigating tough times with a recalibrated approach, correcting unit economics and strengthening their fundamentals through sustainable business models. Through myriad conversations, the ET Soonicorns 2023 editions evocatively captured the mood of the Indian startup ecosystem: a cautious investment outlook, a slowdown in unicorn additions with a parallel rise in the number of entrants to the Soonicorns club demonstrating the ability to reinvent in the face of adversity, and founders’ commitment to resilient growth, all organically fitting into India’s ambition to be a $30 trillion economy by 2047. Themed ‘Resilience. Reset. Results.’, the summit convened top industry leaders to discuss strategies for sustainable growth, navigating tough market conditions, and fostering a culture of profitability over rapid scaling.
Unveiling the Soonicorns Summit 2024: A revamped version
Continuing to draw attention to the macro and micro trends of the Indian startup-innovation economy, the ET Soonicorns Summit 2024 returns with the theme ‘From Resilience to Resurgence.’ The objective is to highlight pivotal trends, challenges, and opportunities that will ignite the next phase of growth for Indian startups. Building on the resilience and innovative spirit demonstrated in 2023, the focus in 2024 shifts towards sustained recovery, emphasizing strategic business models and the transformative power of AI.
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Not just that, this year’s edition is a revamped version designed to read the startup room closely in its first-ever version of a ticketed event featuring sector-focused, audience-focused, tailored thematic tracks, insights from unicorn and Soonicorn founders, investors, policymakers, and those deeply invested in India’s startup potential. Expect to meet seasoned experts, veteran leaders, and imaginative disruptors who will share cutting-edge insights to rebuild the startup grammar with lessons in resilience and a definitive blueprint for a resurgence.
Core Theme: Recalibrate. Rebound. Reinvent.
In 2023, the Indian startup ecosystem embarked on a transformative journey marked by reassessment and realignment amidst a challenging funding landscape. With venture capital receding, startups pivoted towards resilience and innovation, while sectors like fintech and AI gained prominence. The summit’s overarching theme, ‘From Resurgence to Resilience,’ envisions a reinvented startup landscape focused on sustainable growth and strategic recovery.
With the overarching theme ‘From Resurgence to Resilience,’ the ET Soonicorns Summit 2024 reimagines the Indian startup ecosystem through the lens of Recalibrate. Rebound.Reinvent, ultimately paving the way for innovation-led strategic growth and gradual recovery. As the next era beckons financial prudence, regulatory wisdom, and AI-led disruptions, the ET Soonicorns Summit 2024 is set to decode trends, opportunities, and challenges for the maturing and diversifying Indian startup ecosystem. With carefully crafted thematic tracks and curated topics that explore the width and depth of the themes, the platform will continue to serve as a powerful podium for critical conversations and important dialogues, fostering innovation and empowering ecosystem players.
Continuing with its legacy of assessing unicorn playbooks and casting the spotlight on soonicorns, this year’s Sooincorns Summit will dive deep into sustainable growth strategies, evaluating the new metrics defining unicorn success. In captivating formats, future-ready founders will delve into their enterprises, offering insights into soonicorns poised for rapid growth and their critical role in shaping a ‘New India’.
That’s not all, the ET Soonicorns Summit 2024 will take a step ahead in unlocking the Great Indian Entrepreneurial Spirit, with up-and-coming and storied entrepreneurs sharing stories and strategies from their playbooks. Investors too will dive into strategies amidst funding challenges, predicting future trends, and identifying growth frontiers. From authors to celebrity investors and founders who rose to become icons in their own right, defying traditional wisdom–the line-up of speakers promises to be a riveting mix.
At the Soonicorns Summit in Bengaluru, discover sharp-shooting insights into the state of the constantly morphing idea of the Indian unicorn. In the past year, several attested to the birth of the “cockroach” startup, the startup showcasing resilience through never-say-die survival skills, akin to the cockroach. Stay tuned to discover who the current era belongs to and get a sneak peek into emerging sectors set to usher in the next wave of growth
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Why the Soonicorns Summit
Is the ‘funding winter’ finally over; is spring not far away? Or will Indian startups need to gear up for Recalibration 2.0? Will ‘caution’ continue to be the catchphrase, especially given that experts predict a “muted” funding environment similar to pre-pandemic years? Discover what experts have to say at the upcoming ET Soonicorns Summit 2024 where investors and stakeholders will take a insider’s look at the Indian funding conundrum, decoding its implications for the startup-innovation economy.
The ET Soonicorns Summit, a pioneering startup-tech initiative by The Economic Times, is dedicated to exploring the burgeoning frontiers of growth within India’s dynamic startup ecosystem. These sectors, driven by technological disruptions, hold immense potential to anchor India’s Techade, driving the nation towards its vision of becoming a developed economy by 2047.
The summit paints the prevailing mood of the vibrant ecosystem that has fuelled innovation and created over 1.2 million jobs, driving entrepreneurship and economic growth. According to the Economic Survey 2023, a standout achievement of the Indian startup ecosystem has been job creation, with startups generating approximately 10 lakh jobs by 2023.
Committed to unraveling the intersectional startup economy that is a critical pillar of India’s economic growth, the summit distills big ideas into actionable insights, thereby propelling India’s growth story while attempting to unpack challenges and solutions through an inclusive lens.
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