MUMBAI: It takes just one startup to change the narrative of an ecosystem. Last week, Chandigarh-based PrepLadder became that startup, when the medical entrance test preparation platform was acquired by Facebook-backed educational technology company Unacademy for $50 million in a cash-and-stock deal.
The exit, hailed by founders and investors alike, is indicative of a fledgling startup ecosystem in Chandigarh, which a clutch of homegrown venture capital-backed companies — in sectors such as ed-tech, agri-tech, content tech, Software as a Services (SaaS) and consumer goods — call home.
The founders of these startups, both native to the city and outsiders, prefer Chandigarh’s lifestyle to that of startup hubs like Bengaluru, with its traffic snarls, and Delhi-NCR, with its pollution woes.
According to startup analytics firm Tracxn, there are over 700 active startups in Chandigarh as of July 9 and more than one-third of these were founded in the last four years.
Most have also raised decent amount of funding or are in the process of doing so. Since 2019, startups like AgNext in agri-tech, and LetsShave in the grooming space, have raised over $4 million each from the likes of Kalaari Capital, Omnivore and Wipro Consumer Care Ventures.
In May this year, ed-tech startup EduRev raised $150,000 from Silicon Valley accelerator Y Combinator, according to Crunchbase.
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