From September 2022 to July 2023, unicorn companies in Delhi increased their total workforce by 52,420. Meanwhile, according to reports, Bangalore companies reportedly decreased their workforce by 41,208.
Delhi saw major employers such as Paytm, PhysicsWallah, PolicyBazaar, Delhivery, and BharatPe actively hiring in significant numbers.
Chennai’s unicorn startups bolstered their workforce by 3,967, whereas Pune-based unicorns increased their employee count by 1,049 during the specified period. In contrast, Mumbai and Hyderabad experienced declines in their workforces, with reductions of 1,252 and 368, respectively, as per findings from PrivateCircle Research.
In December 2022, the highest number of employees, 44,295, left unicorn companies within that period. Starting in April, hiring at unicorn startups picked up pace and reached its peak in July with 43,361 new additions. Notably, Policybazaar, BigBasket, and Rebel Foods experienced substantial growth in their workforce during July.
Overall, in July 2023, 111 Indian unicorns employed a total of 4,42,714 people, marking a net increase of 12,765 from the 4,29,949 employees recorded in September 2022. Out of 111 unicorns, the average attrition rate was 4.72 per cent. Notably, Zerodha, Zoho, and Hike had rates below 1 per cent, and companies like Amagi, Postman, Freshworks, Acko, Cred, Games24x7, Druva, Icertis, and Dream11 reported rates below 2 per cent.
PrivateCircle picked the timeframe for analysis because the count of Indian unicorns remained steady. The analysis focuses solely on employees with provident fund (PF) contributions.