Best Startups in Bangalore: The 2026 Shortlist, With Numbers
The best startups in Bangalore for 2026, from Zerodha and CRED to Zepto and Sarvam AI, picked on profits, funding and numbers you can actually check.
The best startups in Bangalore in 2026 are Zerodha, CRED, Zepto, Sarvam AI, Rapido, PhonePe and Razorpay, with Pixxel as the deep-tech pick. They made the cut on business quality and numbers you can check: Zerodha earned about ₹4,300 crore in FY26 profit without outside funding, Meta put ₹8,550 crore into CRED, and Sarvam AI became India’s newest AI unicorn in June.
The city’s lead is widening. Bengaluru startups raised $4.4 billion in the first nine months of 2026, about 43% of India’s tech funding, according to Tracxn data published in September.
Key takeaways
- Zerodha is the profit benchmark: about ₹4,300 crore net profit on roughly ₹8,500 crore revenue in FY26, with no venture capital.
- Meta’s deal valued CRED at ₹43,239 crore ($4.5 billion), still below its 2022 peak of $6.4 billion.
- Zepto and PhonePe both have SEBI clearance but no listing date as of October 2026.
- Counts of Bengaluru unicorns range from 30 to 55 because trackers define “unicorn” differently.
How this shortlist was built
Every company here is headquartered in Bengaluru, still private as of October 2026, and has at least one 2026 number from the company, a regulator or a major outlet. Companies that have already listed get their own section below, because “startup” stops being the right word once you have a share price.
The best startups in Bangalore right now
| Startup | What it does | Latest verified number | Watch-out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zerodha | Stock broking and investing | FY26: ~₹8,500 crore revenue, ~₹4,300 crore net profit | Growth flat after F&O rule changes |
| CRED | Card bill payments, rewards, credit | Meta invested ₹8,550 crore at a ₹43,239 crore valuation (June 2026) | Founder Kunal Shah left the CEO role |
| Zepto | 10-minute grocery delivery | Valued at $7bn (Oct 2025); SEBI IPO approval May 2026 | Still loss-making; no listing date yet |
| Sarvam AI | Indian-language AI models | $234m raised at a $1.5bn valuation (June 2026) | Costly compute; global rivals |
| Rapido | Bike taxis, autos and cabs | $240m raised in H1 2026 | Bike-taxi rules vary by state |
| PhonePe | UPI payments, insurance, lending | SEBI approval Jan 2026; IPO paused March 2026 | Reported IPO target ($9bn to $10.5bn) sat below its $12bn private price from 2023 |
| Razorpay | Payment gateway and business banking | Last widely reported valuation $7.5bn (2021) | No fresh priced round in the sources we checked |
| Pixxel | Hyperspectral imaging satellites | First commercial satellites launched Jan 2025 | Hardware-heavy, slow payback |
Dollar figures are shown as reported; rupee figures where the company or deal announcement gave them. Status as of October 2026.
Zerodha
Zerodha is the clearest proof in Bengaluru that you can build a large tech business without venture capital. Co-founder Nithin Kamath said FY26 revenue was around ₹8,500 crore and net profit near ₹4,300 crore, roughly flat on FY25 after SEBI’s derivatives rule changes and lower trading volumes. Here’s more on how much Nithin Kamath is worth.
CRED
In June 2026, Meta agreed to invest about ₹8,550 crore ($900 million) in CRED for roughly a 20% stake, at a post-money valuation of ₹43,239 crore ($4.5 billion). Founder Kunal Shah stepped down as CEO to run WhatsApp globally, with Miten Sampat as interim CEO. The price beats CRED’s 2025 round ($3.5 billion) but is still well below its 2022 peak of $6.4 billion.
Zepto
The quick-commerce company moved its headquarters from Mumbai to Bengaluru and was valued at $7 billion when it raised $450 million in October 2025. SEBI cleared its IPO in May 2026 and it filed an updated prospectus in June, but no listing date had been announced as of October. Losses are the open question investors will price.
Sarvam AI
Sarvam builds AI models for Indian languages and sells to government and enterprise customers. It raised $234 million at a $1.5 billion valuation in June 2026, with HCLTech putting in $150 million. In October, reports said it was in early talks to raise again at around $3 billion; until a deal closes, treat that as a report, not a valuation.
The rest of the list earns its place for different reasons. Rapido’s $240 million raise was one of the five largest Indian rounds in the first half of 2026, per Entrackr. PhonePe and Razorpay are payments heavyweights whose next real price will come from public markets. Pixxel is the long-term bet on Earth-imaging satellites.
Recently listed: no longer startups
Some of Bengaluru’s best-known names have graduated to the stock market: Swiggy (November 2024), Ather Energy (May 2025), Groww (November 2025) and Meesho (December 2025). They’re still Bengaluru companies worth studying, but they now report quarterly results, so judge them as listed businesses. For a national view, see our list of the best startups in India.
Why Bangalore startup numbers never match
Ask how many unicorns Bangalore has and you’ll find answers from 30 to 55. Both can be right, because they count different things. The same goes for the city’s share of funding.
| Figure | Source and period | What it actually counts |
|---|---|---|
| 30 unicorns | Startup Genome, Global Startup Ecosystem Report, June 2026 | Active unicorns: still private and still valued at $1bn or more |
| 55 unicorns | Tracxn-based tally, May 2026 | A broader count that typically includes companies that have since listed or lost unicorn value |
| 33% of funding ($3.9bn) | Tracxn, FY26 (April 2025 to March 2026) | Financial-year tech funding |
| 43% of funding ($4.4bn) | Tracxn, 1 January to 21 September 2026 | Calendar year to date |
| 51% of funding ($3.8bn) | Entrackr, H1 2026 | Includes big mixed primary and secondary deals, such as CRED’s $900m |
Before comparing any Bangalore statistic with another, check the period and the definition. On every measure above, though, Bengaluru ranks first in India: Tracxn put Mumbai second in FY26, with 21% of funding.
Which area in Bangalore has the most startups?
There’s no official count by neighbourhood, but early-stage startups cluster in Koramangala and HSR Layout, with Indiranagar close behind. Larger, later-stage companies tend to sit along the Outer Ring Road between Bellandur and Marathahalli, and in Whitefield. Electronic City leans more toward IT services than startups.
Which startup is best for freshers?
The best startup for a fresher is one that will still exist in 18 months and will teach you something. Run three checks: when it last raised money (a round in the past year usually means runway), whether it’s profitable or close to it (Zerodha is the extreme case), and how its ESOPs vest. A famous name with no fresh funding can be riskier than a smaller company that just closed a round.
If you want one company to learn from rather than one to bet on, pick Zerodha. No venture money, about ₹4,300 crore of profit, and a flat year explained plainly as rule changes and lower volumes. In a city that keeps score in valuations, it keeps score in profit.
FAQ
Which is the best business to start in Bangalore?
Bengaluru’s edge is talent, so businesses that need skilled engineers or designers, such as B2B software, AI services and developer tools, start with an advantage. Consumer businesses can work too, but rents and competition are high. Many first-time founders test an idea through one of the accelerators for startups before raising money.
Are Flipkart and Swiggy still startups?
Not in any useful sense. Swiggy listed on Indian stock exchanges in November 2024, and Flipkart is majority-owned by Walmart. Both are big Bengaluru employers, but “best startups” lists usually focus on younger, still-private businesses, which is the approach taken here.
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