Startups by stage
4,38,195 of the 4,50,557 records we publish carry one of 4 stage labels. The remaining 12,362 have no stage recorded at all, which we leave blank rather than guess at.
Stage is self-declared by the company on its Startup India profile. It is not assessed by DPIIT and it is not audited.
Prototype stage
1,64,845
of 4,50,557 (37%)
Validation stage
1,27,312
of 4,50,557 (28%)
Early Traction stage
98,671
of 4,50,557 (22%)
Scaling stage
47,367
of 4,50,557 (11%)
The stage ladder
Ranked by how many companies picked each label. The figure under each row is how many of them are DPIIT recognised, which is a separate status granted by the government and not a stage the company chose.
Against the government's own count
Startup India publishes its own tally of the same facet, over 4,67,663 profiles rather than our 4,50,557. Ours is smaller by construction: we publish only the records we may redistribute, that are recorded in India, and that carry a district. Both columns are reproduced so the difference is visible rather than reconciled away.
| Stage | This site | Startup India census |
|---|---|---|
| Prototype | 1,64,845 | 1,71,058 |
| Validation | 1,27,312 | 1,33,607 |
| Early Traction | 98,671 | 1,04,330 |
| Scaling | 47,367 | 50,038 |
| With a stage recorded | 4,38,195 | 4,59,033 |
Other ways in
What stage does and does not tell you
Who decides which stage a company is at?
The company does. Startup India offers a fixed list and asks the founder to pick one when the profile is created. Stage is self-declared by the company on its Startup India profile. It is not assessed by DPIIT and it is not audited.
Is the stage on a record current?
It is whatever the company last saved on its profile. We hold a single snapshot, 2026-08, and no history, so we cannot tell you when a stage was set or whether it has moved since. Treat it as a claim with an unknown date.
Does Scaling mean the company is large or funded?
No. It means somebody selected the word Scaling in a form. It carries no revenue test, no headcount test and no funding test, and nothing on this site should be read as saying a company is trading. Registration is not an operating signal. A large share of registered startups are dormant, and we have no way to tell you which.
Why are your counts lower than the government census figure?
The census counts 4,67,663 profiles. We publish 4,50,557: the records we may redistribute, that are recorded in India, and that carry a district. The gap is what we hold back, not a disagreement about the register. How we counted.