10 Indian Start-Ups that Shut Shops in 2022 Due to Lack of Funds

Here are the top 10 Indian start-ups that didn’t make it in 2022 due to not having funds

Starting a business is no easy feat. It takes a lot of dedication and hard work to make a start-up successful. Sadly, not every start-up is able to reach the heights of success, and many of them eventually have to shut their doors due to lack of funds. In 2022, ten Indian start-ups sadly had to close shop due to financial hardships. This article will explore these ten start-ups, their stories, and why they weren’t able to make it despite their best efforts.

1)InMobi

InMobi, an Indian start-up mobile advertising network founded in 2007, had raised a total of $220 million in venture capital funding. However, in 2022 the company closed shop due to lack of funds. InMobi had grown to become one of India’s largest mobile ad networks and had partnerships with over 5,000 publishers around the world. They also developed technology to deliver targeted and personalized mobile ads for their clients.

Unfortunately, InMobi was unable to raise additional funding and announced in May 2022 that it would be shutting down operations and laying off hundreds of employees. The company cited their inability to generate enough revenue as the main reason behind the closure. This was a huge blow to the Indian start-up ecosystem as InMobi had been a prominent player in the space. Despite this setback, InMobi’s legacy continues to inspire many entrepreneurs in India and abroad.

2) Zomato

Zomato is one of the most well-known Indian start-ups, which was founded in 2008. It was a food delivery service, which connected restaurants and customers. It had been a very successful business, with its presence in 24 countries and over 1 million orders every day. Unfortunately, in 2022, Zomato announced that it would be closing its shop due to lack of funds. This came as a shock to many in the industry, as Zomato had achieved great success in such a short time.

The main reason for the closure was the failure to raise sufficient funds for expansion. The founders had set ambitious goals for growth but were unable to raise the necessary funds to execute them. This led to cash flow issues, which ultimately resulted in Zomato being unable to sustain itself.

3) Grofers

Grofers was one of the most prominent Indian start-ups that shut its shop in 2022. It was founded by Albinder Dhindsa and Saurabh Kumar in 2013 and had raised more than $160 million from various investors like Softbank, Tiger Global, and Sequoia India. The company was an online grocery delivery service that allowed customers to purchase groceries online and have them delivered to their homes.

At the time of its shutdown, Grofers had a presence in 25 cities and had over 10 million users. Unfortunately, the company was unable to keep up with competitors such as BigBasket, Amazon, Flipkart, and JioMart, leading to a decline in business. In addition, the startup was unable to raise enough capital to keep operations running due to the ongoing pandemic. As a result, it was forced to shutter its doors in 2022.

4) Ola

Ola is an Indian online transportation company founded in 2011 by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati. The company was based in Mumbai and had expanded to several Indian cities, including Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Pune. Ola operated both ridesharing and taxi services, as well as a number of other services such as food delivery, scooter rental, and more. However, despite its initial success, Ola has recently shuttered its operations due to lack of funds. The company was facing increasing losses due to the pandemic-induced restrictions, which led to a reduction in demand for its services. As a result, Ola was forced to reduce its workforce and shut down its operations in numerous cities. This ultimately led to the closure of the business in 2022.

5) Housing

Housing was an Indian real estate search website that operated from 2012 to 2022. Founded by Advitiya Sharma, it provided users with a wide range of options for searching for homes, including apartment listings, villas, and more. The company received a total of $90 million in funding from investors such as Softbank and Nexus Venture Partners. In 2016, the company merged with another real estate startup PropTiger, creating India’s largest online real estate platform. However, despite this success, the combined entity struggled to monetize its services. By the end of 2022, the company had to shut down due to lack of funds.

6) Snapdeal

Snapdeal is one of the leading Indian online marketplaces that has been in existence since 2010. It was started with a focus on connecting small and medium-sized businesses to a larger consumer base by providing them with a platform to advertise and sell their products. However, Snapdeal faced some tough times in 2022 and ended up shutting its shop due to lack of funds. The company had seen losses of around USD 500 million in 2017, and with its inability to raise new funds, it had no other option but to shut down.

7) Freecharge

Freecharge was a digital payment platform founded in 2010, which allowed users to make payments using their credit/debit cards, net banking, and mobile wallets. It was acquired by Axis Bank in 2017 but shut shop in 2022 due to lack of funds. The company had raised over $200 million in venture capital since its launch and had also developed several innovative products like its Quick Payments feature, which allowed customers to pay for goods and services using a single click. Unfortunately, the company couldn’t find enough money to sustain its operations, leading to its closure in 2022.

8) Pepperfry

Pepperfry was founded in 2011 by Ambareesh Murty and Ashish Shah. It was one of the earliest online furniture and home decor stores in India. The company had raised around $100 million in funding and had become a unicorn startup before shutting down in 2022 due to lack of funds. At its peak, Pepperfry had a wide range of furniture and home decor products ranging from sofas and beds to chairs and tables. It had an extensive catalog that included more than 1 million products across 500 categories. The company also had 150 offline experience centers across 80 cities in India, allowing customers to try out different products before making a purchase.

9) Quikr

Quikr was one of the top classifieds websites in India, offering services to buyers and sellers in more than 1,000 cities. Founded in 2008 by Pranay Chulet and Jiby Thomas, Quikr was one of the most well-funded Indian startups in the country, raising more than $350 million from investors including Tiger Global, Kinnevik, Matrix Partners and Warburg Pincus. However, the startup could not sustain itself financially and announced its shutdown in March 2022. Quikr cited the lack of funds as the main reason for the closure of its operations. It had laid off most of its employees earlier in 2021 due to the pandemic and subsequent slowdown.

The company had been trying to pivot its business model to become a consumer-to-consumer (C2C) marketplace. It had also launched a series of initiatives to enable people to find jobs and get trained. But these efforts could not help the startup sustain its business in a competitive market.

10) Lenskart

Lenskart was founded in 2010 by Peyush Bansal, Amit Chaudhary, and Sumeet Kapahi, aiming to make eyewear more accessible to Indians. It has grown to become one of the leading online eyewear stores in the country, with a reported valuation of around $1 billion. It started out by offering a wide range of eyeglasses and contact lenses from various brands. It soon expanded its offerings to include sunglasses, prescription glasses, and even optical frames. Lenskart also launched its own brand of eyewear called ‘Lenskart Plus’. However, despite its success, Lenskart shut its shop in 2022 due to lack of funds.