OYO tops LinkedIn’s best startups list

SoftBank-backed hospitality startup OYO Hotels and Homes retained its place as the hottest Indian startup to work for, in a list of privately-held young companies curated by LinkedIn.

The world’s largest professional network announced the second edition of its ‘Top Startups List’ for India on Wednesday. The list reveals the 25 hottest Indian startups in 2019 and how these companies influence growth and opportunity for the country’s workforce and the economy, according to a statement by the company.

While consumer Internet startups maintain their dominance in this year’s list, there is a clear emergence of healthcare, wellness, and e-learning startups that are embracing artificial intelligence (AI) to offer accessible medical, wellness, and upskilling solutions for consumers.

"OYO Hotels and Homes has retained its pole position on the list by expanding its services across 80 countries and becoming a decacorn [a startup valued at $10 billion or more] in 12 months,” said LinkedIn’s release. Over the last 12 months, OYO has ventured into the co-working space and has expanded its presence in the U.S. and Europe.

Foraying into international markets and achieving $100 million in annual revenue within three years of its inception, Mukesh Bansal’s health and fitness startup Cure.Fit maintained its No. 2 position. New entrant on the list TapChief, a company that connects individuals and businesses with domain experts, stood third.

Beside TapChief, there are three other new entrants in the top 10: Bounce (#5), a fast-growing bike sharing startup, Playment (#6), an AI-driven crowdsourced marketplace, and mfine (#9), an online doctor consultation platform. Interestingly, nearly 50% of the companies on the 2019 Top Startups List for India are Bengaluru-based “which further endorses Bengaluru’s status as the startup capital of India”, the release cited.

The 25 companies on the list, said LinkedIn, have collectively created about 18,000 jobs in the past year and are now expected to create 19,000 new employment opportunities in the next 12 months. “The young professionals of today are drawn towards startups because budding firms often entrust their workforce with crucial responsibilities. This trusting, sometimes unconventional work culture, appeals particularly to those professionals who seek meaningful opportunities to fulfill personal career goals, while delivering a scalable impact on the overall growth of their organisations,” read the statement.

The Top Startups List methodology said LinkedIn is based on the actions of the 60 million-plus members on its platform. To be eligible, companies must be independent and privately held, have 50 or more employees, be seven years old or younger and be headquartered in the country on whose list they appear. In their selection, LinkedIn excludes staffing firms, think tanks, nonprofits, accelerators and government-owned entities.