India has bucked the worldwide pattern in preliminary public choices this yr, establishing itself as a uncommon brilliant spot for tech listings whereas different main markets face continued headwinds. The world’s most populous nation is now making ready for an much more substantial wave of startup IPOs in 2025.
Greater than 20 startups are making ready to record subsequent yr, in accordance with a number of sources conversant in the plans. These embody business-to-business marketplaces Inframarket and Zetwerk, farm-to-produce enterprise CaptainFresh, skilled providers market UrbanCompany, jewellery retailer Bluestone, safety agency OneAssist, and offline-to-online retailer Magicpin.
Fast commerce startup Zepto, managed workspace supplier Desk Area, and industrial items platform Ofbusiness are additionally planning to file for IPOs subsequent yr. Extra corporations eyeing public listings embody Insurgent Meals, logistics agency Porter, e-commerce platform Meesho, funding app Groww, mattress vendor Wakefit, car platform CarDekho, SaaS firm Capillary, and funds agency Pine Labs, although some listings could lengthen into 2026.
In the event that they undergo as deliberate, the businesses will be part of a wave that’s been gaining momentum. Already 12 startups, together with seven expertise companies, have gone public in 2024 in India, making it the one main market to indicate constant development in listings over the previous decade, in accordance with Pitchbook information.
This efficiency stands in stark distinction to different main markets. The U.S. has recorded 22 venture-backed tech IPOs this yr, nearly flat from the 21 tech IPOs of 2023 and falling considerably in need of 53 listings the U.S. market noticed in 2020. China’s tech IPO momentum has equally waned, with 56 listings this yr in comparison with 117 in 2022. Europe has managed only one extra tech IPO than India, whereas the UK market has remained dormant, with no tech listings in 2024.
“The IPO markets have been opening slower than we anticipated in March,” Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a current word. “Even having ‘obtained match’ since 2022, many unicorns nonetheless stay unprofitable companies.”
Indian meals supply platform Swiggy’s $1.35 billion itemizing this month is the biggest international tech IPO this yr, in accordance with JPMorgan’s evaluation.
Speaking with TechCrunch, Anand Daniel, a accomplice at Accel whose agency noticed two portfolio corporations record this month, noticed that “India is quick turning into a promising hub for tech IPOs pushed by its sturdy capital markets and a thriving innovation ecosystem that continues to draw substantial investor curiosity.”
The shift is a big one for the Indian market, which has traditionally struggled with exit alternatives and confronted skepticism from home institutional and retail traders concerning loss-making corporations going public.
JPMorgan’s India head of fairness capital markets, Abhinav Bharti, attributed India’s distinctive place to a number of elements: macroeconomic development, growing home capital, and political stability.
“No different nation globally offers you with this a lot political certainty and continuity of coverage,” he informed TechCrunch in an interview. “You’ll be able to argue towards a coverage determination, however you can not argue towards the truth that they haven’t been constant.”
The expansion in India’s capital markets has been notably noteworthy. “What else has grown is definitely the liquidity, which is a a number of of the market development,” Bharti mentioned. “Should you take a look at 2019 to 2024, full-year averages, the market cap has doubled. We had been at about $2.6 to $2.7 trillion {dollars}. We at the moment are at $5.2 trillion to $5.3 trillion. In the identical interval, the day by day liquidity has tripled, from $5 billion to $15 billion.”
The surge in IPO preparations comes amid a slowdown in non-public market dealmaking. “The muted surroundings and extra scrutiny from VCs compelled startups to let go of their peak 2021 valuations,” mentioned a accomplice at one of many largest enterprise capital companies in India who requested to not be named. “However extra curiously, it additionally compelled them to enhance their funds. The result’s that many startups in 2021 that wished to turn into ‘IPO prepared’ in 5 years are already there.”
Along with Zepto, TableSpace, and others, Prosus-owned PayU not too long ago introduced plans for a 2025 itemizing, whereas pharmaceutical e-commerce platform Pharmeasy is making ready for an IPO following vital restructuring this yr. Monetary providers agency MobiKwik can also be planning to record subsequent yr.
Tech corporations and healthcare companies symbolize greater than 50% of S&P 500 Index. The identical companies account for lower than 20% on India’s benchmark Nifty 50. There’s quite a lot of room for development for tech corporations in India, mentioned Bharti.
