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10 Best Startup Companies In Pune | 2025

June 30, 2025

Pune, touted as Maharashtra’s cultural and educational hub, is rapidly emerging as one of India’s top startup hubs. This shift is based on its strong academic ecosystem, extensive industry connections, affordable infrastructure, and growing talent pool of technology-proficient professionals. With more than 3,000 registered startup companies in Pune, the city has established an innovative ecosystem that promotes innovation across a diverse array of industries ranging from SaaS to fintech, logistics, electric vehicles, drone technology, and MedTech.

Unlike most Indian metro cities that are saturated, Pune provides room to breathe for experimentation and nimble business models. The city has consistently transitioned from being a conventional IT outsourcing hub to an entrepreneurial lab for designing globally impactful solutions. Here we explore why Pune is emerging as a go-to destination for startups, how it is happening, the challenges, job opportunities, and FAQs appropriate for future professionals and entrepreneurs.

Why Pune Is Emerging as a Startup Hotspot

1. Strong Academic and Technical Ecosystem

Pune has some of the country’s top institutions of learning, including engineering, management, and research colleges. Institutions such as College of Engineering Pune (COEP), Symbiosis International University, and Savitribai Phule Pune University churn out a constant supply of computer science, business, life science, and engineering graduates. These institutions not only provide talent but also incubate and partner in early-stage technology and research projects. The steady supply of youthful, trainable, and technologically skilled professionals makes Pune an amenable city for startups.

2. Cost Advantage Over Metro Cities

One of the biggest advantages of Pune is that it’s a very affordable city. Office space in the city is much cheaper than in Bangalore or Mumbai, and the prices needed to remunerate the right professionals to hire are quite reasonable. That gives startups the ability to give themselves a longer runway to be able to concentrate on product development and marketing instead of overheads. Furthermore, Pune’s cost of living is lower than India’s major metros, and for young founders and professionals, that is an added advantage.

3. Sectoral Diversity of Startups

Pune’s startups are not limited to software services or IT alone. The city has a healthy ecosystem of sectors such as logistics, e-commerce, drone automation, electric mobility, MedTech, and agricultural technology. Such sectoral diversity contributes to making the ecosystem more resilient and stimulating cross-disciplinary innovation. For example, startups in agricultural technology have become accustomed to collaboration with engineering companies, which has prompted more India-specific and localized solutions.

4. Incubator and Investor Supportive Ecosystem

The last few years have witnessed growth in incubation centers, accelerators, and innovation labs in Pune. Bodies like the MCCIA, Venture Center, and Startup Incubator at NCL have been instrumental in incubating early-stage startups. These entities, apart from infrastructure provision, also extend mentorship, legal and IP facilitation, and exposure to angel investors. State and central government efforts under Startup India have also provided grants and policy incentives for founders wanting to start up from Pune.

5. Well-established Corporate & Industrial Linkages

Pune has been a base for the auto, manufacturing, and IT sectors for decades. With large companies functioning within or around the city, startups have huge B2B customers, pilot orders, and industry-experienced mentors at their disposal. These connections create a cooperative ecosystem where startups can test their products rapidly and scale up through collaborations. Moreover, the location near industrial areas makes it easy to manage supply chains and develop products, particularly for hardware startups.

List of Top Startup Companies In Pune

1. FirstCry

Founded: 2010
Industry: E-commerce (Baby & Kids Products)
Headquarters: Pune, Maharashtra

FirstCry has transformed the baby and kids’ retail segment in India by emerging as the largest omnichannel platform for kids’ products in the country. Starting in Pune, it saw a lacuna in organized retail for young parents and created a frictionless shopping experience both online and offline. It provides more than 2 lakh distinct products from 2,000+ global and Indian brands. Outside of retail, FirstCry has a vibrant parenting community with educational material, growth monitoring tools, and support forums.

FirstCry acquired BabyOye to corner the market and now has 400+ stores across the country. With investors such as SoftBank and Premji Invest pumping in ample funds, the company is currently exploring international expansion and readying itself for a public listing while keeping its core business and leadership in Pune intact.

Key Services:

Online and offline baby & kids product sales
Parenting advice content and digital tools
FirstCry Parenting platform

2. Druva

Founded: 2008
Sector: Cloud Data Protection (SaaS)
Headquarters: Originally Pune, now Sunnyvale, California (India HQ still in Pune)

Druva is a cloud-native data protection pioneer and one of India’s first SaaS success stories. Originally developed in Pune as an enterprise data backup tool, Druva has emerged as a worldwide leader in providing backup, disaster recovery, archiving, and compliance on the public cloud. What sets Druva apart is its no-hardware, scalable solution, which lowers costs and increases agility for companies.

Druva today supports more than 4,000 global companies, including NASA, Marriott, and Deloitte. Its Pune office is its engineering hub, where it has product development, AI analytics, security infrastructure, and customer success teams. Its ability to scale worldwide from Pune, while raising multiple rounds of funding worth $400+ million, is a reflection of the city’s SaaS-building potential.

Key Services:

Enterprise cloud backup and archiving
Disaster recovery and endpoint protection
SaaS-based data security compliance

3. MindTickle

Founded: 2011
Sector: SaaS / Sales Enablement
Headquarters: Pune (international HQ in San Francisco, R&D in Pune

MindTickle is one of the leading international platforms for sales enablement and readiness, allowing companies to train, assess, and coach their salespeople with quantifiable results. Having begun in Pune, it introduced a scientific and gamified style of onboarding and performance measurement in enterprise sales. The platform is also extensively used by Fortune 500 companies for role-based learning paths, virtual coaching, and AI-powered readiness scoring.

Although customer-facing operations are now based in the US, Pune remains the hub of innovation, where product design, engineering, machine learning, and instructional design teams come together to launch new features. Its ongoing growth and valuation of more than $1.2 billion indicate its global applicability and Pune’s prowess in enterprise tech skills.

Key Services:

Onboarding and training modules for sales
Tracking of performance readiness
AI-based coaching and feedback solutions

4. Altigreen Propulsion Labs

Founded: 2013
Sector: Electric Mobility / Commercial EVs
Headquarters: Bangalore, Karnataka (Large Pune Operations)

Altigreen Propulsion Labs is a leading electric vehicle company specializing in last-mile commercial mobility solutions. While its headquarters are in Bangalore, Altigreen has significant operations, testing labs, and delivery partnerships in Pune — a key market for three-wheeler EV adoption. The company builds 100% indigenous electric cargo three-wheelers (not retrofitted) designed for Indian roads and payload demands. Its flagship EV, the Altigreen neEV, is known for high torque, large cargo capacity, and a best-in-class certified range of over 150 km.

Pune serves as a testing ground and customer hub for Altigreen’s logistics fleet clients such as BigBasket, Amazon, and Flipkart. The firm is supported by investors like Sixth Sense Ventures and has also partnered with Exponent Energy and Magenta Mobility for charging infrastructure. Altigreen’s Pune presence reflects the city’s growing role in commercial EV deployment.

Key Services:

Electric cargo three-wheeler manufacturing
Fleet electrification for logistics clients
EV after-sales service and telematics

5. XpressBees

Founded: 2015
Industry: Logistics & E-commerce Supply Chain
Headquarter: Pune, Maharashtra

XpressBees started as the logistics division of FirstCry but soon grew to be a full-stack third-party logistics player serving the rapidly growing Indian e-commerce sector. Based out of Pune, it delivers more than 1.5 million packages every day to 3,000+ cities, becoming one of India’s leading logistics companies. Its biggest strength is its technology-intense model real-time tracking, route optimization, and last-mile delivery analysis.

The company has established a large warehousing and transport network fueled by automated sorting hubs and AI-driven demand forecasting. XpressBees has raised more than $500 million in funding and become unicorn, serving large platforms such as Flipkart, Meesho, and Snapdeal from its large Pune base.

Key Services:

B2B and B2C logistics
Reverse logistics and returns
Warehousing, fulfillment, and delivery monitoring

6. Fibe (previously EarlySalary)

Established: 2015
Industry: Fintech / Consumer Lending
Headquarters: Pune, Maharashtra

Fibe, formerly EarlySalary, is a digital lending app providing instant personal loans, salary loans, and BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) solutions customized for young professionals and students. With extensive AI integrations, Fibe determines creditworthiness on non-traditional data points, allowing instant disbursement of loans even to first-time borrowers.

Its end-to-end lending, authentication, and repayment system is exclusively mobile-based. Pune has emerged as a finance hub, housing the company’s credit underwriting, fraud detection, data science, and customer service operations. The company has extended loans worth more than ₹7,500 crore and serves over 10 million users. It signifies Pune’s fintech aspirations by addressing credit accessibility issues through innovation.

Key Services:

Instant personal loans and credit lines
BNPL for education, travel, and healthcare
Salary-linked borrowing with digital KYC

7. FlytBase

Founded: 2016
Sector: Drone Automation / SaaS
Headquarters: Pune, Maharashtra

FlytBase is creating the future of enterprise autonomous drone operations with its cloud-based software. It supports real-time control and robotization of drones for surveillance, inventory tracking, industrial inspection, and public security. FlytBase distinguishes itself through its “Drone-in-a-Box” infrastructure, which supports completely automated operations with no human intervention.

With enterprise customers in the US, Europe, and Middle East, FlytBase’s Pune hub drives all of its R&D, product development, and cloud engineering. The startup has been at the forefront of enabling businesses to transition from manual to autonomous aerial data acquisition, making Pune a benchmark for world drone tech innovation.

Key Services:

Drone fleet management and automation
Edge AI integration and data streaming
Remote operations and command centers

8. Noccarc

Founded: 2017
Industry: MedTech / Healthcare Equipment
Headquarters: Pune, Maharashtra

Noccarc, which originated as a student project for a national innovation competition, gained popularity amid the COVID-19 pandemic when it emerged as one of India’s fastest manufacturers of ICU ventilators. The Pune-headquartered company has since diversified its product line to encompass hospital-grade air purifiers, sterilization equipment, and high-end diagnostic tools.

The company combines intensive hardware R&D with quick prototyping and regulatory approval, serving hospitals, governments, and export markets. With in-house manufacturing units and ISO-certified laboratories, Noccarc is helping break India’s reliance on foreign medical equipment with Pune serving as its R&D and manufacturing hub.

Key Services:

ICU ventilators and patient monitors
Air purification and sterilization technology
Clinical-grade product support and training

9. AgroStar

Founded: 2013
Sector: AgriTech / Agronomy Advisory & Input Retail
Headquarters: Pune, Maharashtra

AgroStar is one of India’s most impactful agritech startups, providing farmers with a comprehensive digital platform for buying agricultural inputs and receiving personalized advisory services. Headquartered in Pune, AgroStar serves over 5 million farmers across multiple Indian states, especially Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh. The startup solves three major pain points: accessibility to high-quality inputs, scientific crop guidance, and price transparency.

Through its mobile app and call centers, farmers can buy seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and farming tools while also receiving AI-based agronomic advice tailored to crop type, soil condition, and weather patterns. AgroStar has developed strong B2B partnerships with input brands and collaborates with government agencies to promote sustainable farming practices. Its Pune center houses data science, R&D, content development, logistics, and multilingual customer support. AgroStar exemplifies how digital tools from Pune can transform Indian agriculture at scale.

Key Services:

Digital input marketplace for seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides
AI-driven agronomy advisory in local languages
Last-mile delivery logistics and farmer helpline

10. Repos Energy

Founded: 2017
Sector: Energy / FuelTech
Headquarters: Pune, Maharashtra

Repos Energy is transforming the way fuel is supplied and consumed in India by making the last-mile fuel supply chain digital. It has a mobile fuel delivery network for diesel, driven by intelligent IoT-powered bowsers, serving factories, logistics parks, and hospitals.

Based out of Pune and funded by Ratan Tata, Repos has built a strong platform (RODO) for diesel ordering, tracking, and secure delivery. Repos also has projects underway to develop future-ready platforms for alternative fuels, such as hydrogen and biofuels. As India’s commercial demand for diesel is on the rise, Repos is making Pune the hub of innovation for green fuel distribution infrastructure.

Key Services:

On-demand delivery of diesel
IoT-enabled tracking and compliance of fuels
Alternate fuel mobility platform

Career Opportunities in Pune’s Startup Ecosystem

The startup ecosystem of Pune has numerous job profiles to choose from across industries. Although software engineering remains the most sought-after profile, other positions are rapidly increasing in line with the changing startup scenario.

Software Developers & Engineers: With the SaaS and cloud-oriented focus of most startups, there’s heavy demand for backend developers, full-stack engineers, mobile application developers, and DevOps engineers.
Product Management and Design: Pune startups look for experts who can lead user-focused product development. Product managers, UI/UX designers, and customer experience professionals are key to offering competitive digital products.
Data Science & AI Experts: Most startups use AI, ML, and predictive analytics. Data scientists, ML engineers, and data engineers are being recruited more and more to create intelligent, scalable platforms.
Operations and Logistics Management: Operations, supply chain management, and field implementation roles are critical in logistics, EV, and agri-tech industries. These roles need strategic planning and ground-level execution capabilities.
Sales & Marketing Experts: Particularly for B2C and fintech startups, growth hacking, performance marketing, and digital marketing experts are most sought after. Business development and account managers for B2B sales are also needed in startups.
Fintech and Compliance Roles Financial technology, lending, and insurance tech startups need compliance, risk analysis, financial modeling, and customer KYC protocols-trained professionals.
HealthTech and MedTech Experts: Medical field startups need biomedical engineers, regulatory specialists, clinical researchers, and salespeople with healthcare backgrounds.

Median Salaries in Pune Startups:

Junior-level professionals: ₹4–6 lakh annually
Mid-level positions (2–5 years): ₹8–12 lakh annually
Senior professionals and tech leads: ₹15–25 lakh
Founders/VPs: ₹30 lakh+ with stock options/equity in the majority of instances

Conclusion

Pune has established itself as a serious startup ecosystem that offers the right mix of affordability, talent, and innovation. Although it cannot match the size of Bangalore or the financial firepower of Mumbai, Pune provides a nimble, test-and-iterate, and talent-abundant space for startups. Pune is well-suited for entrepreneurs who wish to create long-term, scalable businesses without the metros’ high cost pressures.

With increasing incubator backing, an expanding investor base, and a rich industry ecosystem, Pune keeps ascending as one of India’s most vibrant startup hotspots. From SaaS unicorns to leading-edge drone and EV disruptors, the city is raising the bar for what a second-tier city can do in the international startup game. For investors, students, and professionals alike, Pune offers a strong combination of opportunity, innovation, and sustainable growth.

FAQs

1. Why is Pune a suitable city for startups?

Pune has low-cost living, high-quality talent, industry connections, and facilitating infrastructure, making it a suitable place for startups in all industries.