The startup cities to watch in 2025: Bengaluru continues to lead, Mumbai and Gurugram rise

Bengaluru continues to anchor India’s startup ecosystem in 2025, even as other cities steadily gain ground, according to the third edition of the ‘India’s Top 200 Self-Made Entrepreneurs of the Millennia’ list released by IDFC FIRST Private Banking and Hurun India.

The city remains the leading hub both in terms of founder residences and company headquarters. A total of 88 founders on the list are based in Bengaluru, while 52 companies are headquartered there. This, however, represents a decline of 14 companies from last year, pointing to a gradual diffusion of entrepreneurial activity across the country.

Mumbai follows closely, with 83 founders residing in the city and 41 companies headquartered there, up by five from the previous year. Gurugram ranks third, with 36 companies and 32 founders, also recording a net increase of five companies. New Delhi features prominently as a residence city, accounting for 52 founders, while it hosts about 10 companies on the list.

Prominent Bengaluru-based entrepreneurs include Nikhil Kamath of Zerodha, Harsh Jain of Dream11, who is counted on the list based on founder residence data, Harshil Mathur of Razorpay, and Swiggy co-founders Sriharsha Majety and Nandan Reddy.

Mumbai is led by names such as Radhakishan Damani of Avenue Supermarts (DMart), Falguni Nayar of Nykaa, while healthcare entrepreneur Abhay Soi is associated with Max Healthcare, which is headquartered in Gurugram.

In Gurugram, Deepinder Goyal’s Eternal remains a key company, while New Delhi counts founders including Rahul Bhatia of InterGlobe Enterprises, Vijay Shekhar Sharma of Paytm, Peyush Bansal of Lenskart, and Shivashish Chatterjee and Yuvraja Singh of DMI Finance, based on founder residence data cited in list coverage.

Beyond the top three centres, the distribution reflects a broader geographic spread. According to reported summaries of the list, Chennai hosts 11 companies and is home to 15 founders. Pune has eight companies and 13 founders. Hyderabad accounts for eight companies and 12 founders, while Noida hosts seven companies. Ahmedabad features five companies and nine founders, and Jaipur and Kolkata host four companies each, with seven and 10 founders respectively.

The alignment between company headquarters and founder residences underscores a slow but visible decentralisation of India’s startup landscape. Educational background continues to play a significant role. At the undergraduate level, IIT Delhi leads with 38 founders, followed by the University of Delhi with 24 and IIT Kharagpur with 21.

Among postgraduate institutions, IIM Ahmedabad tops the list with 21 founders, followed by IIM Calcutta with 12 and the Indian School of Business with 11. Women entrepreneurs feature prominently as well. Nykaa founder Falguni Nayar and Adwaita Nayar lead the list, with Nykaa valued at Rs 67,500 crore, highlighting the growing influence of women-led companies in India’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Overall, while Bengaluru retains its position as India’s primary startup hub, the steady rise of Mumbai, Gurugram, and several other cities points to a more diversified and dynamic entrepreneurial landscape heading into 2025.