Quick commerce unicorn Zepto has once again secured the top position in LinkedIn’s 2025 Top Startups India list, marking its third consecutive year at number one. The ranking, released on Wednesday, is widely seen as a benchmark for identifying emerging companies where careers are most likely to thrive.
Following Zepto, Lucidity, an enterprise cloud storage innovator, and Swish, a Bengaluru-based 10-minute food delivery platform, ranked second and third, respectively. Despite being from different categories, all three companies share common ground in rapid scaling, market expansion, and technology-driven execution.
Top Indian Startup
The LinkedIn list is based on proprietary data covering four core metrics: employee growth, job interest, member engagement, and the ability to attract top talent. To be eligible, startups must be privately held, headquartered in India, less than five years old, employ at least 30 people, and must not have undergone recent large-scale layoffs.
For the 2025 edition, LinkedIn collected data between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025. The list reflects the dynamic shifts within India’s startup ecosystem, underlining the rise of quick commerce, AI-native platforms, and fintech specialisation as dominant growth engines.
Quick Commerce Race
While Zepto continues to dominate, India’s quick commerce sector is diversifying into adjacent services. Startups such as FirstClub (ranked 13) and Snabbit (ranked 14) are expanding offerings beyond grocery to include instant home assistance solutions, showing the category’s adaptability and wider consumer adoption.
This steady growth suggests that quick commerce is evolving beyond convenience to become an integrated lifestyle service. It highlights how execution speed, technology depth, and category agility are turning into defining advantages for Indian startups.
AI and Fintech Gain Ground
Alongside quick commerce, AI-driven startups and fintech innovators also dominate the rankings. Bengaluru-based Weekday (ranked 4), Convin (ranked 6), and LimeChat (ranked 19) showcase how artificial intelligence is being integrated into recruitment, sales, and customer engagement solutions.
In fintech, startups like Jar (ranked 5), Dezerv (ranked 16), and CARD91 (ranked 18) continue to attract attention, reflecting India’s demand for smarter financial solutions and wealthtech services. Together, these companies underline how AI and fintech are emerging as essential pillars of India’s new-age startup ecosystem.
Cities Shape Ecosystem
The 2025 rankings also confirm Bengaluru’s continued dominance as India’s startup capital, with nine of the top 20 companies headquartered in the city. These include Zepto, Swish, and Lucidity, reaffirming Bengaluru’s edge in both talent availability and ecosystem maturity.
Delhi and Mumbai each recorded two entries, while regional hubs gained recognition. Pune-based EMotorad (ranked 9) and Hyderabad’s Bhanzu (ranked 7) transitioned from local recognition to national scale, showcasing how smaller hubs are now producing startups with global ambitions.
Expert Insights Shared
Nirajita Banerjee, LinkedIn Career Expert and Senior Managing Editor of LinkedIn India News, explained that this year’s list is not just about rankings but momentum. She noted that younger companies are scaling faster, specialised business models are gaining trust, and city-level leaders are now making the leap to national recognition.
“For professionals, the key takeaway is to track where product-market fit is translating into repeatable growth, where categories are broadening, and where emerging hubs are scaling nationally. That’s where the scope, learning, and impact compound,” Banerjee said.
Quick Commerce Startups
The success of Zepto and its peers underlines how quick commerce startups in India are setting global benchmarks in execution speed and customer convenience. Their ability to blend technology, logistics, and consumer insights has made them leaders in shaping the future of urban consumption.
With AI-driven ventures and fintech platforms rising alongside, India’s startup economy is entering a new growth phase that balances innovation with scalability. The 2025 LinkedIn Top Startups list highlights not just companies to watch but also the future of work and opportunity in India’s startup ecosystem.
