This week, the Leela Palace in Bengaluru was electric—hosting the 11th edition of the ET Startup Awards, the ceremony that’s become India’s benchmark for celebrating innovation, resilience, and entrepreneurial ambition. Glamour mingled with grit as the country’s brightest startup minds, top investors, and ecosystem leaders converged, all while Bengaluru’s notorious traffic finally slowed down for something bigger: India’s relentless drive to build world-class ventures.
Urban Company Takes Top Honours
The headline of the night belonged to Urban Company, crowned “Startup of the Year 2025.” From humble beginnings in 2014, Urban Company has built a game-changing on-demand home services platform marked by trust, reliability, and customer delight. This year, the jury was deeply impressed by the brand’s expansion beyond India’s shores, its march to profitability, and its unwavering promise to dignify the home services industry. As CEO Abhiraj Singh Bhal reflected, “Our vision was simple yet ambitious — to bring trust, reliability and dignity to the home services industry.” The journey from a bold vision to the nation’s top startup recognition captured the spirit of modern Indian entrepreneurship.
Spotlighting Category Creators and Innovators
The jury didn’t make their choices lightly. Stiff competition came from Porter (on-demand logistics), Rapido (urban mobility), and Groww (wealth-tech)—all of whom have scaled, carved out new categories, and built strong, profitable businesses in tough sectors. These startups, along with Urban Company, represent the next generation of Indian brands making global waves.
Qure.ai emerged as the “Top Innovator of 2025” for transforming AI-driven healthcare diagnostics, making life-saving technology accessible across India and soon, the world.
Capillary Technologies, the “Comeback Kid,” symbolized the power of reinvention. After setbacks, the Bengaluru-based firm rebuilt from scratch, combining sharp strategy with persistence and showing the resilience that fuels India’s startup spirit.
Golden Touch in Venture Investing
Peak XV Partners’ Ashish Agrawal was celebrated with the “Midas Touch Award,” honored for his sharp investment acumen that’s helped catapult companies like Groww into stardom. His track record demonstrates how strategic funding can transform simple ideas into category-defining unicorns.
Judged by the Best
A truly power-packed jury delivered this year’s verdict, led by former G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant and joined by luminaries from Flipkart, Delhivery, Razorpay, Mamaearth, Nykaa, and Ather Energy. Their robust debates and consensus marked a new maturity in how India recognizes daring founders and sound business models, raising the credibility of the startup ecosystem.
Check this out: Urban Company founders sell Rs 780 crore worth of shares through multiple pre-IPO secondary deals | trendretailer.com
Beyond the Spotlight: Bengaluru’s Traffic and Startup Solutions
A fitting touch: while the red carpet rolled out, Bengaluru’s traffic woes took a back seat—at least for the evening. EaseMyTrip’s Prashant Pitti pledged ₹1 crore toward tech-driven solutions for the city’s congestion, showing how entrepreneurs are stepping up not just to build companies, but to solve real civic challenges.
Rising Competitions Disturbing IPO Plans?
The Indian home services sector is undergoing rapid change, driven by the aggressive expansion of Pronto and Snabbit, both fresh from major funding rounds. Pronto, with $11.25 million in Series A capital, is scaling quickly in major metros and promises vetted domestic help within ten minutes. Snabbit, backed by $19 million, has expanded its 15-minute home services model to 200+ micro-markets, delivering instant access to trained, police-verified workers with swift bookings—setting new benchmarks for speed and quality.
As these disruptors target hyperlocal immediacy, Urban Company faces intensified pressure just ahead of its IPO. While Urban Company leads with robust infrastructure, strong margins, and an 82% repeat customer base, the rise of instant services means customers may shift to faster alternatives. Responding would require operational overhauls and higher costs, potentially complicating Urban Company’s IPO story and profitability targets.
For Urban Company to compete, it would need significant operational restructuring: zone-based supply, more full-time workers, and higher costs—steps that threaten its IPO margins and profitability narrative.
Big Picture Takeaways
- Urban Company’s rise signals the potential for homegrown brands to build new categories and scale globally.
- Qure.ai’s innovation spotlights purposeful technology addressing urgent needs.
- Capillary’s comeback underlines grit and the value of reinvention.
- Smart capital from investors like Ashish Agrawal continues to fuel the next wave of unicorns.
- India’s ecosystem, with its star-studded jury and thriving companies, is maturing fast—ready to compete globally.
Final Word
ET Startup Awards 2025 showed that Indian startups aren’t just surviving—they’re thriving, reinventing, and setting world-class benchmarks. As Urban Company’s success proved, vision and resilience remain central to India’s entrepreneurial journey. And as Bengaluru’s founders celebrate, the entire nation watches—confident that India’s startup pulse is now among the strongest worldwide.
