In the early 2000s, India lacked a structured system for discovering and ordering food.. Deepinder Goyal, then a young management consultant, repeatedly encountered a practical problem at work: restaurant menus were often unavailable when needed. What appeared to be a small inconvenience pointed to a larger market gap, prompting him to begin digitising menus for wider access. What started as a simple solution for office workers later grew into ‘Zomato’, one of India’s most successful food technology platforms.
Zomato is now part of a bigger tech conglomerate run by Goyal – called Eternal Ltd. Valued at €30.31 billion (₹3,20,700 crore), Eternal Ltd is a group of consumer technology platforms, including food delivery app ‘Zomato’ and grocery delivery service ‘Blinkit’, which serve millions of users across urban India and international markets.
Goyal’s rise reflects a shift in how founders create wealth in India. For decades, traditional, asset-heavy industries such as steel and textiles built entrepreneurial wealth. Today, opportunities lie in data-led and services-led sectors, shaped by urban consumption and rapid digital adoption. Entrepreneurs like Goyal are building businesses in areas such as fintech, aviation, and digital services, tapping into a population that increasingly spends, transacts and consumes online.
As of 2025, majority of the top, most valuable 200 businesses built in the 21st century in India, are in financial services or fintech. Other key sectors are software, healthcare, and retail sectors. Together these top 200 companies have a combined valuation of ₹42 lakh crore (€397 billion), according to a study done by Hurun India.
Who are the youngest founders of a billion-dollar company in modern India?
In 21st century India, an increasing number of younger entrepreneurs are building multi million and billion-dollar companies. India’s youngest, most successful modern-day entrepreneurs are only 22 and 23 years old. Kaivalya Vohra (22) and Aadit Palicha (23) are founders of Zepto. It is an Indian quick-commerce company that specializes in delivering groceries and daily essentials in 10 minutes or less. Zepto is valued at €7 billion. Both are based in Bengaluru and were around 19 years old when they launched Zepto.
Who is the youngest female founder of a billion-dollar company in modern India?
Aged 34, modern India’s youngest self made woman entrepreneur to build a billion-dollar enterprise is Adwaita Nayar, co-founder and co-owner of Nykaa, an online beauty and fashion aggregator valued at ₹67,500 crore (€6.38 billion). It is a publicly listed company. She was 22 years old when she launched Nykaa with her mother in 2012.
Where do modern India’s top entrepreneurs live?
As technology becomes integral to modern business, India’s new self-made wealthy founders are choosing to live in cities that offer dependable digital infrastructure and talent pools. Bengaluru, located in southern India and known as India’s Silicon Valley, has officially emerged as the favorite choice. It is now the preferred home for top-ranking enterprises built in the 21st century. Bengaluru is home to 88 of India’s top 200 self-made entrepreneurs, the highest concentration in the country. The city is also home to the India HQs of Google, Microsoft and Intel.
After Bengaluru, Mumbai and New Delhi host the largest numbers of India’s wealthiest 21st-century entrepreneurs.
