In the 2022 Startup India rankings, Tamil Nadu has been recognized as the top-performing state.

In the Startup India's State Startup Rankings for 2022, Tamil Nadu has been recognized as the 'best performer,' marking a significant improvement from its position as an 'emerging startup ecosystem' in 2018 and 2019. After being acknowledged as a 'leader' in 2021, the state has now attained the highest ranking level based on developments in 2022. Other states such as Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, and Himachal Pradesh were also recognized as best performers, while Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Telangana were categorized as 'leaders.' The state's efforts, including the revamping of the startup agency StartupTN in 2021 and the allocation of budget towards the launch of new funds, have contributed to this success. Tamil Nadu currently has over 7,600 startups registered under the Startup India scheme, with more than 2,250 startups registered in 2022 alone. StartupTN CEO Sivarajah R highlighted various measures, such as the launch of new funds, connecting entrepreneurs with investors, global outreach, and inclusivity goals, as key factors in the state's improved ranking. Despite releasing the new startup policy in 2023, many of the mentioned measures were already in place, with the aim of becoming one of the top 20 global startup destinations by 2032. In the evaluation, Tamil Nadu excelled in areas such as institutional support, funding, and capacity building, scoring in the 100th percentile in these categories. The state also performed well in fostering innovation, market access creation, incubation support, and sustainability, although government procurement from startups was identified as an area needing improvement. The report highlighted that Tamil Nadu has issued over 60 work orders to startups, totaling more than Rs 15 crore during the ranking period.