The startup ecosystem is gearing up for a major round of public market activity, with at least 10 new-age companies collectively looking to raise nearly Rs 18,000 crore in fresh capital through initial public offerings. The total size of these IPOs, including offer-for-sale (OFS) components, is expected to be significantly higher, paving the way for a strong wave of venture capital (VC) exits.
The upcoming listings are expected to provide substantial liquidity to early-stage investors who have held their stakes through volatile market cycles and prolonged funding slowdowns. If the filings materialise into successful listings, VC exits through public markets in 2025 could match or exceed last year’s record. In 2024, venture investors had reaped $4.06 billion from IPO-related exits by November, up from $2.06 billion in 2023 and $1.5 billion in 2022, according to data from Venture Intelligence.
Startups that have filed draft red herring prospectuses (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) since late last year include Meesho, Pine Labs, Groww, PhysicsWallah, Urban Company, Wakefit, Curefoods, Shiprocket, Shadowfax, and IndiQube. Many of these filings have been made confidentially.
Among the largest fresh capital raises is edtech firm PhysicsWallah, which has reportedly filed for an IPO aiming to raise Rs 4,600 crore through a mix of primary and secondary share sales. If listed, it would be the first publicly traded edtech firm in the country. Its investors include Lightspeed, GSV Ventures, and WestBridge.
E-commerce platform Meesho is looking to raise Rs 4,250 crore through a fresh issue, having filed confidential IPO papers last week. The company was last valued at $3.9 billion as of March and counts Tiger Global, Prosus, SoftBank, Elevation Capital, WestBridge, and Peak XV among its backers.
Fintech firm Pine Labs has revived its IPO plans with a domestic filing and aims to raise Rs 2,600 crore via fresh equity. In addition, a large OFS component will see investors such as Peak XV, Temasek, Actis, PayPal, and Mastercard offloading a total of 147.8 million shares. Peak XV will be the largest seller in the issue.
Another fintech player, stockbroking platform Groww, has also filed confidentially, with estimates suggesting a total IPO size between $700 million and $1 billion. The move follows the successful listing of Gurugram-based fintech MobiKwik in December, which debuted at a 58% premium to its issue price of Rs 279.
The logistics-tech segment is represented by Shiprocket and Shadowfax, both of which have filed confidential DRHPs for IPOs of around Rs 2,000–2,500 crore each. The public listings will see them join peers like Delhivery, Bluedart, and Allcargo Gati on the bourses.
Urban Company is targeting an IPO of Rs 1,900 crore, comprising a Rs 429 crore fresh issue and a sizeable OFS from early investors including Accel, Elevation Capital, Bessemer India, Tiger Global, and VYC11, who are together expected to offload shares worth up to Rs 1,471 crore.
Wakefit, which sells sleep and home products, has filed to raise Rs 468 crore via fresh equity, along with a secondary sale of 58.4 million shares by promoters and investors such as Peak XV, Verlinvest, and Investcorp.
Cloud kitchen startup Curefoods is eyeing a Rs 800 crore primary issue, along with a yet-to-be-disclosed OFS involving 48.5 million shares from investors including Accel, Chiratae Ventures, Iron Pillar, and Crimson Winter.
In the co-working segment, Bengaluru-based IndiQube filed its DRHP in December, looking to raise Rs 850 crore through a mix of fresh shares and OFS. It follows Awfis, which listed last year, while Smartworks is set to open its IPO on July 10.
The rush to go public comes amid an improving market sentiment and growing investor demand for digital-first companies that are showing paths to profitability.
