India’s Top 10 Profit-Making Startups : Beyond the Billion-Dollar Burn

While much of the media spotlight often falls on high-burn unicorns and venture-backed losses, a quieter, more powerful transformation is underway in India’s startup ecosystem — one defined by profitability, sustainability, and organic growth.

In the fiscal year 2024–25, several Indian startups made headlines not for their valuations, but for their ability to generate actual profits. These startups are rewriting the narrative that unicorns must burn billions before earning a rupee. Instead, they’ve built efficient, revenue-generating models, offering lessons for every founder, investor, and policymaker.

This article explores the top 10 profit-making startups in India, analyzing their business models, profit strategies, and why they are leading the next wave of India’s entrepreneurial maturity.

1. Zerodha – The Brokerage Revolution

• Industry: Fintech (Discount Brokerage)

• Net Profit (FY24): ₹2,908.9 crore

• Founded: 2010

• Founders: Nithin & Nikhil Kamath

Zerodha is the gold standard for startup profitability in India. Operating on a zero-funding model, the Kamath brothers built Zerodha into India’s largest stock brokerage by client base. With over 1 crore users, its revenue model relies on low, flat transaction fees and scalable infrastructure with minimal marketing overhead.

What Drives Its Profit?

• Zero dependency on external funding

• Flat fee model for intraday and F&O trades

• Focus on platform performance, not customer acquisition gimmicks

• High operational margins with a lean team

2. Zoho Corporation – Built for India, From India

• Industry: SaaS (Software as a Service)

• Net Profit (FY24): ₹2,836 crore

• Founded: 1996

• Founder: Sridhar Vembu

Zoho is a case study in bootstrapped global success. It provides over 55 cloud-based software products across CRM, accounting, HR, and more. Zoho’s India-first engineering and customer-first philosophy has paid off handsomely.

Profit Strategy:

• Entirely self-funded and private

• Developed in-house tools with minimal licensing costs

• Offices in rural India, reducing overhead

• Diversified global clientele for stable recurring revenue

3. Groww – Fintech with Focus

• Industry: Investment & Stock Trading

• Net Profit (FY23): ₹448.7 crore

• Founded: 2016

• Founders: Lalit Keshre, Harsh Jain, Neeraj Singh, Ishan Bansal

Groww transitioned from a mutual fund investment app to a full-fledged stockbroker. The platform's easy-to-use design and strong user engagement have contributed to its rapid rise in both market share and profits.

What Worked:

• Fast onboarding with a frictionless user experience

• No unnecessary discounts or incentives

• Monetization through brokerage, advisory, and educational content

• Scaled without overspending on marketing

4. OfBusiness – Fintech for the Real Economy

• Industry: SME Financing & B2B Procurement

• Net Profit (FY24): ₹463 crore

• Founded: 2015

• Founders: Asish Mohapatra, Bhuvan Gupta, Ruchi Kalra

OfBusiness connects small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with working capital and raw materials. Its deep integration with supply chains and data-driven credit underwriting has helped it scale profitably.

Key Revenue Levers:

• Credit assessment and supply aggregation

• Interest and transaction fees from SME loans

• Focus on Tier 2 and Tier 3 industrial clusters

• Built-in loyalty through tech-first procurement

5. Fractal Analytics – Profitable AI at Scale

• Industry: Artificial Intelligence / Analytics

• Net Profit (FY23): ₹194.4 crore

• Founded: 2000

• Headquarters: Mumbai & New York

Fractal uses AI to help Fortune 500 clients in finance, retail, and healthcare make smarter decisions. After years of building its tech stack and client base, it turned profitable in FY23, driven by demand for enterprise AI.

Growth Strategy:

• High-ticket, enterprise-level clients

• Custom AI models with proprietary IP

• Expansion in the U.S. and European markets

• Strategic hiring of domain experts over scaling headcount

6. CarTrade – Driving Profits Online

• Industry: Automotive Marketplace

• Net Profit (FY23): ₹40.4 crore

• Founded: 2009

• Founder: Vinay Sanghi

CarTrade enables vehicle buyers and sellers to connect across new and used vehicles. The company became one of the first listed Indian startups to report consistent quarterly profits.

Revenue Drivers:

• Listing and subscription fees from dealerships

• Auction services for banks and insurance firms

• Advertising revenue and certified vehicle checks

• Asset-light, tech-enabled marketplace

7. Perfios – SaaS for Financial Intelligence

• Industry: Fintech SaaS

• Net Profit (FY23): ₹7.8 crore

• Founded: 2008

• Services: Credit underwriting, analytics for banks and NBFCs

Perfios provides banks and lenders with software for real-time financial analysis and KYC automation. As Indian lenders digitize, Perfios has emerged as a trusted backend tool, creating sticky revenue streams.

Profit Insights:

• B2B SaaS model with strong client retention

• Custom licensing and analytics dashboards

• Secure recurring revenue from major banks and NBFCs

• Scalable cloud architecture with low churn

8. Neogrowth – Lending that Listens

• Industry: NBFC / Digital Lending

• Net Profit (FY23): ₹17.2 crore

• Founded: 2013

• Focus: Lending to retail and SME businesses

Neogrowth offers merchant-based financing to small Indian businesses, often based on POS (point-of-sale) machine data. It turned profitable in FY23 after recovering from pandemic-era delinquencies.

Profit Levers:

• Data-driven lending over collateral

• Short-term loans with quick turnover

• Built-in repayment via daily transaction cuts

• Credit scoring through business analytics

9. Tracxn – Profitable Market Intelligence

• Industry: Market Research & Data Analytics

• Net Profit (FY23): ₹33 crore

• Founded: 2013

• Services: Startup research, funding analytics, M&A intelligence

Tracxn turned profitable after years of building a niche database covering over 1 million startups globally. Its customers include VC firms, investment banks, and large enterprises.

Revenue Model:

• Subscription-based SaaS pricing

• Tiered data access for various user levels

• Scalable global operations from India

• Institutional renewals with long-term contracts

10. Zeta – Fintech with Focused Delivery

• Industry: Fintech & Banking SaaS

• Net Profit (FY23): ₹21.94 crore

• Founded: 2015

• Co-Founder: Bhavin Turakhia

Zeta offers modern banking and card processing platforms for banks and enterprises. After ramping up product partnerships, Zeta achieved profitability by focusing on core banking modernization.

Profit Focus:

• White-labeled platforms for banks and fintechs

• High-margin B2B licensing agreements

• Efficient engineering-led operations

• Strong presence in India, SEA, and LATAM

Conclusion: The Profit-First Generation of Startups

These startups prove that profitable, sustainable businesses are not only possible but thriving in India. Whether bootstrapped like Zoho and Zerodha or backed by VCs like OfBusiness and Groww, these ventures demonstrate that:

• Focused offerings outperform diversified chaos

• Efficient growth beats expensive marketing

• SaaS and fintech models scale profitably in India

• Rural and Tier 2 markets offer new revenue frontiers

In the age of valuation corrections, startups that make money while solving real problems are the ones that will last — and lead.

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