How many total Retail companies are there?

As of Jul 2026, there are 320,583 active companies in Retail sector.

Which countries have the most Retail companies?

United States (77,386) has the highest number of Retail companies, followed by India (46,616) and United Kingdom (44,275).

How many Retail companies are funded?

As of Jul 2026, 37,502 companies in this sector have received funding.

Which company has raised the most funding in Retail sector?

As of Jul 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 $221B 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 $260B in this sector.

How many unicorns has Retail sector produced?

Globally, there are 317 unicorns in Retail sector, to date.

Retail - 2026 Market & Investments Trends

There are 386K companies in the Retail sector across the world, with 37.5K funded companies having collectively raised $793B in venture capital money and private equity. Overall 20.3K of these are Series A+ funded and the sector has seen the creation of 317 Unicorns.

Retail sector has seen 10.3K acquisitions and 4.57K 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

386K

Top Companies

Flipkart, Shopify & 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

Here is a report related to Retail sector:

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Top Business Models in Retail Report

Edition: December, 2024 (56 Pages)

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There are more than 386K companies in Retail. Flipkart 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
Flipkart	Online retailer of various products including electronics, fashion, and groceries	Bengaluru (India)	2007	Acquired	$12.1B
Shopify	Provider of an all-in-one commerce platform for businesses of all sizes	Ottawa (Canada)	2006	Public	$122M
Lenskart	Online eyewear retailer offering a range of eyeglasses, sunglasses, and contact lenses for sale	Gurugram (India)	2008	Public	$981M
Nykaa	Retailer of cosmetics, skincare, haircare, and beauty accessories via online channels	Mumbai (India)	2012	Public	$103M
PayPal	Provider of online payment solutions, money transfers, and virtual wallets	United States	1998	Public	$216M

Get a longer list of companies

Companies founded year-on-year in the Retail sector

1,072 new startups have been founded so far in 2026 in the Retail sector. 24,988 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	1,072
2025	1,030
2024	5,274
2023	11,518
2022	15,210
2021	20,704
2020	24,988
2019	19,180
2018	17,849
2017	14,168

Companies founded across countries in the Retail sector

United States has 77,386 Retail startups, the most by any country, followed by India which has 46,616 startups and United Kingdom which has 44,275.

Total Number of Companies

Country	No. of companies
United States	77,386
India	46,616
United Kingdom	44,275
Germany	22,857
Australia	9,211
Canada	8,886
China	7,646
France	4,869
United Arab Emirates	4,527
Brazil	3,840

Stage-wise distribution of the Retail sector

Out of the total 385,688 Retail companies, 37,502 have secured funding. Among them, 20,265 have reached Series A or higher, and 17,164 to Series B or beyond.

Founded - 385,688

Funded - 37,502

Series A+ - 20,265

Series B+ - 17,164

Series C+ - 16,053

Company Stage	No. of companies
Founded	385,688
Funded	37,502
Series A+	20,265
Series B+	17,164
Series C+	16,053

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386K+ Total Companies
$793B+ Total Funding
37.5K+ Funded Companies
4.6K+ IPOs
10.3K+ Acquisitions
770+ Reports

Total funding year-on-year in the Retail sector

The Retail sector saw a total funding of more than $595B in the last 10 years. The most amount of funding was in 2021 at more than $128B. There has been a total funding of $12.3B in 2026 till date.

Total Funding

Year	Total Funding
2026	$12.3B
2025	$31.2B
2024	$25.4B
2023	$36B
2022	$56.6B
2021	$128B
2020	$68.9B
2019	$75.4B
2018	$112B
2017	$49.3B

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 - $221B. China follows with $87B and India with $59.7B.

Total Funding

Country	Total Funding
United States	$221B
China	$87B
India	$59.7B
United Kingdom	$38B
France	$20.3B
Germany	$18.7B
Canada	$9B
Spain	$8.08B
Australia	$7.02B
Japan	$3.31B

Total funding amount raised by stage in the Retail sector

Over the last 10 years, the Retail sector have seen $15.7B into Seed Stage funding rounds, $101B into Early Stage funding rounds and $224B go into Late Stage funding rounds.

Funding Stage	Total Funding
Late Stage	$224B
Debt	$145B
Early Stage	$101B
Post IPO	$63.2B
PE	$20.2B
Seed Stage	$15.7B
Grant	$1.43B
ICO	$430M
Other-Equity	$80.4M

Recent Funding Rounds in Retail

In the year 2026, till July 2026, Retail companies have raised $7.47B in equity funding across 600 rounds. In the same period last year (i.e. till July 2025), Retail companies had raised $8.4B across 999 rounds. So, 2026 has seen a 11.09% 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
WizCommerce	Series A	3711	Jul 09, 2026	Blume Venture and 4 more
Wheelocity	Series A	9294	Jul 09, 2026	-
Fleek	Series B	8357	Jul 08, 2026	Burda Principal Investments and 6 more
Avni Wellness	Seed	4081	Jul 08, 2026	Puru Gupta and 2 more
Doodhvale Farms	Seed	5911	Jul 08, 2026	Atomic Capital

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 Bosch
Y Combinator	Mountain View (United States)	Stripe, Razorpay, Meesho and Flutterwave
Ministerstvo Hospodárstva Slovenskej Republiky	Bratislava (Slovakia)	DEICHMANN, C&A, TEDi and Pull&Bear
Techstars	New York City (United States)	Squarespace, Owlet, Bluecore and GoSpotCheck
500 Global	Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam)	Stripe, Shiprocket, Carousell and Babylist

See a more detailed list of investors

In the year 2026, till July 2026, 215 acquisitions happened in Retail sector. Last year, in 2025, a total of 543 acquisitions happened in Retail sector.

Here are some recent, important acquisitions in Retail:

Company	Acquisition Type	Acquisition Date	Acquirers
ABC LAVPRIS	Business Acquisition	Jul 06, 2026	Dagrofa
Originalmarines	Business Acquisition	Jul 03, 2026	Pamaf
Daniel Wellington	Business Acquisition	Jul 02, 2026	Timex Group
Wing	Business Acquisition	Jul 02, 2026	Fortidia
Stix	Business Acquisition	Jul 02, 2026	RD Saúde

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	215
2025	543
2024	768
2023	854
2022	1,276
2021	1,106
2020	737
2019	789
2018	798
2017	698

In the year 2026, till July 2026, 21 IPOs happened in Retail sector.

Here are some recent, important IPOs in Retail:

Company	IPO Date	Exchange Symbol
Vinit Mobile	Jul 07, 2026	National Stock Exchange (NSE)
Aasthaspintex	Jul 06, 2026	Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), National Stock Exchange (NSE)
Riyaasat	Jul 01, 2026	Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)
Lime	Jul 01, 2026	National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ)
Automobile industry Internet platform Daxu	Jun 25, 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	858
Harvard University	732
Harvard Business School	659
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	470
University of Pennsylvania	464
IIT Delhi	396
University of California (Berkeley)	356
INSEAD	348
Cornell University	311
IIT Bombay	304

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	$45.2B
Harvard Business School	$43B
Harvard University	$32.7B
IIT Delhi	$28.4B
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	$25.1B
Stanford Business School	$23.6B
Duke University	$12.8B
University of California (Berkeley)	$12.8B
Wharton School	$11.9B
University of Pennsylvania	$11.1B