Indian Youth Beat China in $100M Ventures

Mumbai, Jan 21 (PTI) India has surpassed China in the number of high-value enterprises led by young entrepreneurs, especially those aged 40 or lower, who have built entities valued at over USD 100 million, a report said on Wednesday.

India has 166 such entrepreneurs, as against China's 140 young founders in the age cohort, as per the 'Avendus Wealth' Hurun India Uth Series 2025' report.

China scores in the number of next-generation individuals heading enterprises valued at over USD 200 million, at 54, compared to 35 in India, as per the list.

However, India has a higher number of those under 40 years who have founded enterprises valued at USD 100 million or the next-generation ones running entities valued at over USD 200 million than China, at 201 against 194 at the northern neighbour, it said.

Within that, the percentage of first-generation entrepreneurs at 83 per cent in India is higher than the 72 per cent in China, according to the list.


Interestingly, the leading industries where the younger entrepreneurs operate are similar between India and China, with a bulk of the entities in software products and services in both countries, it added.

Thirty-eight-year-old Karan Adani of Adani Ports and SEZ leads the list of 201 young entrepreneurs, followed by Nikil Viswanathan of Alchemy and Harshad Reddy of Apollo Hospitals.

The featured entrepreneurs collectively lead enterprises valued at USD 357 billion, or Rs 31 lakh crore, which is nearly one-eleventh of India's GDP, Hurun said.

These entrepreneurs collectively employ over 4.43 lakh people, with Apollo Hospitals being the highest at 42,497 employees.

"A remarkable new generation is redefining what career peaks look like in India, with many in their mid-thirties already building category-leading businesses across SaaS (software as a service), FinTech, Healthcare, Clean Energy, Logistics and Consumer Brands," Anas Rahman Junaid, founder and chief researcher at Hurun India, said.