Investors mark down unicorn tag, chase real deal

Brand ‘unicorn’ is experiencing some rough weather after crossing the century-mark last year. With 2023 netting zero unicorns after a heady startup scene, investors are now getting real. Notional valuation, that saw the creation of as many as 107 unicorns (startups valued at $1 billion or more) in just a couple of years, doesn’t seem to be a hook for investors anymore.

- SHIVANI SHINDE

At a tech entrepreneur summit — TiEcon--in Mumbai, investors on Friday described public market debut and finding strategic buyers as the real deal for startups. They dismissed the term ‘unicorn’ as just a private mark-up in an investor’s book.

Looking at the current scenario, a big chunk of the unicorns are ‘zombie’ startups, according to an investor speaking at the conference. Zombie startups are typically those who do not have a strong business model and face growth challenges but refuse to shutdown.    

"Unicorn is a private mark in an investors book, no one becomes rich because of that. Being a unicorn does not give you anything, you may get valued at $1 billion but that doesn't mean you are worth that much. The real thing is when a company gets listed or employees get liquidity or shareholders get liquidity. That happens when they get bought by a strategic player or make a public debut," said Abhay Pandey, general partner, A91 Partners during a panel discussion at the TiEcon Mumbai conference.