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Despite a hard backing climate, this twelvemonth emerged arsenic a comparatively unchangeable twelvemonth for India’s startup ecosystem, with shutdowns falling sharply from past year’s highs. Around 730 startups ended operations successful 2025, a large diminution from the 3,903 closures recorded successful 2024.
According to the section for the promotion of manufacture and interior commercialized (DPIIT), India, astatine present, has implicit 2.06 lakh registered startups. Though the fig of closures was lower, it included respective salient names, spanning electrical mobility, hyperlocal delivery, user net and ecommerce. Here are immoderate of the startups that said bully byes successful 2025:BluSmartElectric ride-hailing startup BluSmart was among the astir notable exits.
Launched successful 2019, the institution offered afloat electrical vehicles, assured rides and salaried drivers. The steadfast had gained astir 9% marketplace stock successful Delhi. Soon the thrust institution expanded its fleet to much than 8,000 electrical vehicles crossed the state and raised astir $168 cardinal from investors, including BP Ventures and personage backers.
However, according to ET, operations were suspended successful April aft Sebi detected large-scale fiscal misconduct astatine Gensol Engineering, a listed star EPC steadfast promoted by BluSmart’s founders, the Jaggi brothers.
While Gensol did not clasp equity successful BluSmart, it owned a important stock of the startup’s EV fleet, resulting successful adjacent fiscal ties. Sebi said the promoters had siphoned disconnected astatine slightest Rs. 262 crore from EV loans, forged lender documents, manipulated stock prices, misled investors done mendacious disclosures, and diverted funds towards banal trading and idiosyncratic luxury purchases.
Following the revelations, BluSmart faced interior disruptions, including delayed wage payments, declining thrust volumes and enactment exits, earlier suspending services and transferring its fleet to Uber.Dunzo Hyperlocal transportation level Dunzo besides unopen down aft years of fiscal strain. Once a pioneer successful the category, the startup drew wide attraction successful 2022 erstwhile it secured $240 cardinal from Reliance Retail. However, the level struggled to vie with fast-scaling quick-commerce rivals specified arsenic Zepto, Swiggy Instamart and BlinkIt. The institution failed to rise further superior to enactment operations and expansion, portion expenses, including those linked to its IPL sponsorship, added to fiscal stress.
By September, Dunzo’s sole remaining co-founder, Kabeer Biswas, exited to physique Flipkart’s quick-commerce limb Minutes, bringing the company’s prolonged downturn to a close.Hike Messaging app Hike, founded successful 2012 by Kavin Mittal, was erstwhile viewed arsenic India’s reply to planetary platforms specified arsenic WhatsApp and Telegram. Backed by investors including Tiger Global, SoftBank and Tencent, the institution raised implicit $250 cardinal wrong 4 years, with Mittal asserting, ‘we’re present to stay.’
At its peak, Hike had much than 100 cardinal registered users and handled implicit 40 cardinal messages each month. However, the level began winding down successful 2021, erstwhile it unopen its halfway messaging service, citing the situation of competing with planetary web effects, ET reported. Hike aboriginal pivoted to Rush, a real-money gaming platform, pursuing earlier attempts to reposition its messaging product, including its 2019 rebrand arsenic Hike Sticker Chat.
The company’s remaining operations ended successful September aft the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act imposed a broad prohibition connected real-money gaming apps.Good Glamm Group The Good Glamm Group, erstwhile valued adjacent to unicorn status, besides scaled backmost significantly. With a portfolio of implicit a twelve brands, the institution aimed to replicate the roll-up ecommerce exemplary by acquiring and integrating digital-first user brands.
Over time, weaknesses successful this attack became apparent. Heavy acquisition-related debt, slowing maturation and constricted entree to caller backing weighed connected the business.
Several acquired brands, including Sirona and The Mom’s Co, were coiled down arsenic anticipated efficiencies from shared selling and proviso chains failed to materialise. The group’s troubles reflected the broader challenges facing roll-up ecommerce models successful India.Otipy Grocery transportation startup Otipy, launched during the pandemic by erstwhile Blinkit CTO Varun Khurana, besides unopen operations this year. The NCR-based B2B2C steadfast differentiated itself done a subscription-led, farm-to-fork model, connecting consumers with farmers via assemblage resellers handling last-mile transportation successful Mumbai and Delhi-NCR. The startup raised $44.2 cardinal during its aboriginal years but struggled arsenic ultra-fast transportation became the manufacture standard.
Financial pressures mounted, starring to delayed wage payments and pending vendor dues. In May, the Crofarm India subsidiary ceased operations, affecting astir 300 employees and transportation partners. Industry-wide information reflects a broader easing successful shutdowns. Tracxn information cited by ET shows that startup closures fell astir 80% this year, compared with the highest play of 2021–22, erstwhile much than 11,000 startups coiled down. Over the past 5 years, endeavor applications person accounted for the largest stock of closures, followed by retail and edtech, with healthtech, amusement and media besides seeing important exits. Maharashtra and Karnataka person recorded the highest fig of shutdowns among states during this period.
