How many total Retail companies are there?

As of May 2026, there are 317,050 active companies in Retail sector.

Which countries have the most Retail companies?

United States (80,728) has the highest number of Retail companies, followed by United Kingdom (48,885) and India (47,368).

How many Retail companies are funded?

As of May 2026, 38,593 companies in this sector have received funding.

Which company has raised the most funding in Retail sector?

As of May 2026, Ant Group has secured $20.6B in funding, making it the highest-funded company in the Retail sector.

Which country has attracted the most investment in Retail companies?

With $222B in total funding, United States has attracted the most investment among Retail companies.

Who are the top investors in Retail companies?

The top investors in Retail companies by number of investments are Europa, Y Combinator and Ministerstvo Hospodárstva Slovenskej Republiky

How much venture capital has Retail sector attracted?

In the last 10 years, venture capital firms have invested $276B in this sector.

How many unicorns has Retail sector produced?

Globally, there are 322 unicorns in Retail sector, to date.

Retail - 2026 Market & Investments Trends

There are 383K companies in the Retail sector across the world, with 38.6K funded companies having collectively raised $816B in venture capital money and private equity. Overall 20K of these are Series A+ funded and the sector has seen the creation of 322 Unicorns.

Retail sector has seen 10.5K acquisitions and 3.94K IPOs.

This sector includes companies providing the sale of goods and services to consumers and businesses directly. It also includes companies providing tech solutions or tech based assistance to companies that help them in their business operations.

Retail sector is also known as Retail Tech, Retail IT, E-Retail, E-Retailer, E-Tailer, Electronic Retail or eRetail.

Companies included in Retail sector

It includes companies providing FMCG, durable consumer goods, Coupons and deals platforms, cross border ecommerce etc. Companies providing solutions to businesses to manage theirs in-store or e-commerce business operations.

Companies excluded in Retail sector

It excludes companies providing sale and purchase of medical goods and equipment, payment solutions and service providers and manufacturing companies etc.

Key Metrics

Total Companies

383K

Top Companies

Square, Flipkart & more

Total Funding

Funded Companies

Series A+ Companies

Series C+ Companies

Unicorns Created

IPOs

Acquisitions

Also known as

Retail Tech or Retail IT

View complete details of this sector

The market map of Retail gives a visual overview of the sector, showing key business models, their interactions in the value chain, and industry evolution.

Recent BlueBox/Industry Definition image of Retail

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Top Business Models in Retail Report

Edition: December, 2024 (56 Pages)

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There are more than 383K companies in Retail. Square is the top Retail company globally, ranked using Tracxn Score (what's this?).

Here are 5 of the top Retail companies globally:

Company	Description	Location	Founded	Current Stage	Private Funding Raised
Square	Provider of integrated point of sale and business management solutions	San Francisco (United States)	2009	Public	$520M
Flipkart	Online retailer of various products including electronics, fashion, and groceries	Bengaluru (India)	2007	Acquired	$12.1B
Lenskart	Online brand offering eyewear for men, women and kids	Gurugram (India)	2008	Public	$1.08B
Shopify	Provider of an all-in-one commerce platform for businesses of all sizes	Ottawa (Canada)	2006	Public	$122M
Nykaa	Retailer of cosmetics, skincare, haircare, and beauty accessories via online channels	Mumbai (India)	2012	Public	$103M

Get a longer list of companies

Companies founded year-on-year in the Retail sector

229 new startups have been founded so far in 2026 in the Retail sector. 26,260 Retail startups were founded in 2020 - this is the most number of startups founded in any year in the last 10 years.

Total Number of Companies

Year	No. of companies
2026	229
2025	864
2024	5,454
2023	11,790
2022	15,526
2021	21,455
2020	26,260
2019	19,806
2018	18,372
2017	14,686

Companies founded across countries in the Retail sector

United States has 80,728 Retail startups, the most by any country, followed by United Kingdom which has 48,885 startups and India which has 47,368.

Total Number of Companies

Country	No. of companies
United States	80,728
United Kingdom	48,885
India	47,368
Germany	25,455
Australia	9,753
Canada	9,310
China	7,681
France	4,955
United Arab Emirates	4,679
Brazil	3,943

Stage-wise distribution of the Retail sector

Out of the total 382,916 Retail companies, 38,593 have secured funding. Among them, 19,978 have reached Series A or higher, and 16,842 to Series B or beyond.

Founded - 382,916

Funded - 38,593

Series A+ - 19,978

Series B+ - 16,842

Series C+ - 15,702

Company Stage	No. of companies
Founded	382,916
Funded	38,593
Series A+	19,978
Series B+	16,842
Series C+	15,702

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383K+ Total Companies
$816B+ Total Funding
38.6K+ Funded Companies
3.9K+ IPOs
10.5K+ Acquisitions
770+ Reports

Total funding year-on-year in the Retail sector

The Retail sector saw a total funding of more than $606B in the last 10 years. The most amount of funding was in 2021 at more than $132B. There has been a total funding of $7.01B in 2026 till date.

Total Funding

Year	Total Funding
2026	$7.01B
2025	$30.6B
2024	$25.9B
2023	$36.1B
2022	$58.6B
2021	$132B
2020	$70.6B
2019	$77.3B
2018	$114B
2017	$54.1B

Total funding across countries in the Retail sector

In the last 10 years, Retail startups in United States have recieved the highest funding among all countries - $222B. China follows with $97.5B and India with $60.5B.

Total Funding

Country	Total Funding
United States	$222B
China	$97.5B
India	$60.5B
United Kingdom	$46.3B
France	$22.6B
Germany	$19.7B
South Korea	$10B
Canada	$9.39B
Spain	$8.15B
Australia	$5.53B

Total funding amount raised by stage in the Retail sector

Over the last 10 years, the Retail sector have seen $16.1B into Seed Stage funding rounds, $105B into Early Stage funding rounds and $235B go into Late Stage funding rounds.

Funding Stage	Total Funding
Late Stage	$235B
Debt	$151B
Early Stage	$105B
Post IPO	$66B
PE	$20.4B
Seed Stage	$16.1B
Grant	$1.23B
ICO	$459M
Other-Equity	$80.7M

Recent Funding Rounds in Retail

In the year 2026, till April 2026, Retail companies have raised $4.68B in equity funding across 339 rounds. In the same period last year (i.e. till April 2025), Retail companies had raised $5.22B across 630 rounds. So, 2026 has seen a 10.2% drop in funding in Retail companies as compared to 2025.

Here are some recent, important funding rounds in Retail:

Company	Round Raised	Amount Raised	Funding Date	Investors
Baskit	Series A	2185	Apr 15, 2026	Kaya Founders and 2 more
thelittleloop	Seed	5030	Apr 15, 2026	The FSE Group
GobbleCube	Series A	4941	Apr 15, 2026	SIG Venture Capital and 2 more
BigBuy	Series A	5233	Apr 14, 2026	HyperSKU
Bluefish Labs	Series B	5990	Apr 14, 2026	Threshold and 8 more

See a more detailed list of funding rounds

Europa is the top investor in Retail companies based on number of companies invested.

Here are some top investors in Retail:

Investor	Location	Top Portfolio Companies
Europa	Belgium	Klarna, Zalando, Etsy and RELEX
Y Combinator	Mountain View (United States)	Stripe, Razorpay, Meesho and Xendit
Ministerstvo Hospodárstva Slovenskej Republiky	Bratislava (Slovakia)	DEICHMANN, C&A, Pull&Bear and NAY
Techstars	New York City (United States)	Squarespace, Owlet, GoSpotCheck and PillPack
500 Global	Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam)	Stripe, Shiprocket, Carousell and BarkBox

See a more detailed list of investors

In the year 2026, till April 2026, 112 acquisitions happened in Retail sector. Last year, in 2025, a total of 545 acquisitions happened in Retail sector.

Here are some recent, important acquisitions in Retail:

Company	Acquisition Type	Acquisition Date	Acquirers
Fattal	Business Acquisition	Apr 14, 2026	CMA CGM
Modern Animal	Business Acquisition	Apr 08, 2026	Chewy
Brescoinc	Business Acquisition	Apr 07, 2026	Singerequipment
Perch	Business Acquisition	Apr 06, 2026	Levanta
Petroleum Marketing Equipment	Business Acquisition	Apr 01, 2026	Shieldsharper

See a more detailed list of acquisitions

Acquisition trends in Retail

Here are the acquisition trends in Retail:

Total Number of Acquisitions

Year	No. of companies
2026	112
2025	545
2024	786
2023	876
2022	1,328
2021	1,141
2020	752
2019	815
2018	834
2017	719

In the year 2026, till March 2026, 7 IPOs happened in Retail sector.

Here are some recent, important IPOs in Retail:

Company	IPO Date	Exchange Symbol
PayPay	Mar 12, 2026	National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ)
Sunbelt Rentals	Mar 02, 2026	New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
BrandMan Retail	Feb 11, 2026	National Stock Exchange (NSE)
Bob's Discount Furniture	Feb 05, 2026	New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
VenHub	Jan 30, 2026	National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ)

See a more detailed list of IPOs

Companies founded by alumni from top colleges in the Retail sector

Most number of Retail startups have been founded by alumni from Stanford University, Harvard University and Harvard Business School.

College	No. of companies
Stanford University	853
Harvard University	745
Harvard Business School	672
University of Pennsylvania	491
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	484
University of California (Berkeley)	365
INSEAD	360
IIT Delhi	355
Cornell University	322
Columbia University	309

Total funding in companies founded by alumni from top colleges in the the Retail sector

In the last 10 years, Stanford University graduates' Retail companies have raised the most funding among top colleges. Harvard Business School alumni are second, and Harvard University alumni are third.

College	Total Funding
Stanford University	$46.1B
Harvard Business School	$43.1B
Harvard University	$33.1B
IIT Delhi	$27.7B
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	$24.7B
Stanford Business School	$23.6B
Tsinghua University	$16.3B
The Wharton School	$16.2B
University of California (Berkeley)	$13.2B
Wharton School	$13B