India’s under-40 founders control $950 billion in businesses, exceeding Switzerland’s GDP: Hurun Uth series

Only 36 women feature among the 436 entrepreneurs, accounting for roughly 8% of the list.

India’s economic growth is increasingly being shaped by a new generation of entrepreneurs, with founders under the age of 40 now leading businesses valued at more than $950 billion, according to the Avendus Wealth–Hurun India Uth Series 2025.

The latest edition of the Uth Series identifies 436 entrepreneurs across the under-30, under-35 and under-40 categories who are driving enterprise growth across sectors including technology, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, consumption and deep tech. Together, companies led by these founders employ over 1.2 million people and command a combined valuation of approximately Rs 86 lakh crore, a figure that exceeds the gross domestic product of Switzerland.

The average age of entrepreneurs featured in the series is 35. A significant majority — 349 out of 436, or nearly 80% — are first-generation founders, indicating a decisive shift away from inherited business leadership. Second-generation entrepreneurs account for 37 entrants, making them the largest group among family-business successors, while representation from older generations remains limited.

The list includes several of India’s most recognisable startup leaders, including Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath (38), OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal (31), Mamaearth co-founder Ghazal Alagh (36), Physics Wallah co-founder Alakh Pandey (33), Zepto co-founder Aadit Palicha (22), and Meesho co-founder Vidit Aatrey (35).

Among those in the under-40 cohort, the youngest founder is Sanjay Byalal Jagannath, 36, co-founder of Bengaluru-based Exponent Energy. Shreya Mishra, also 36, co-founder of SolarSquare, is the youngest woman featured on the list.

Geographically, Bengaluru remains the leading hub for young entrepreneurship, accounting for 109 entrants, followed by Mumbai with 87 and New Delhi with 45. Gurugram contributes 36 names, while 18 entrepreneurs are based in San Francisco, reflecting the expanding global footprint of Indian-founded enterprises.

Educational background data shows a strong concentration of founders from India’s leading technical institutions. IIT Kharagpur leads with 27 entrants, followed by IIT Delhi with 26, IIT Madras with 22, and IIT Bombay with 20.

Despite the scale of enterprise creation, gender representation remains limited. Only 36 women feature among the 436 entrepreneurs, accounting for roughly 8% of the list, according to  CNBC.

Beyond business metrics, several founders also command significant digital influence. Nikhil Kamath is the most followed entrepreneur on LinkedIn with 1.39 million followers, followed by Ritesh Agarwal at 1.32 million. Ghazal Alagh is the most followed woman entrepreneur, with over 6.33 lakh followers.

The Avendus Wealth–Hurun India Uth Series 2025 recognises founders based on age-specific criteria, with cut-off dates of March 2025 for the under-30 category and September 2025 for the under-35 and under-40 categories. The consolidated series aims to track the growing influence of young entrepreneurs shaping India’s evolving business landscape.