The new year is poised to bring a significant boost to start-up public listings, with nearly 25 companies preparing to hit the public markets which is nearly double the number of new-age tech IPOs compared with 2024.
The year 2025 is expected to witness a surge in IPOs as the highly anticipated public offerings of companies such as Ather Energy, Bluestone, Avanse, Aye Finance, Captain Fresh, Ecom Express, Indiqube and Fractal are likely to hit the public markets. Additionally, Zepto, PhysicsWallah, PayU, Pine Labs, Ullu Digital, Shadowfax, Smartworks, Zappfresh, and Zetwerk are also expected to join the growing list of companies going public.
In bullish mode
India is in a strong position in the equities market compared to other global markets, and industry experts believe that the IPO market is expected to stay bullish overall.
Vipul Patel, Partner, Seed Investing, IIMA Ventures, said the public market trends of 2024 will continue well into 2025 and the momentum is expected to be strong.
“The most important thing that has happened in 2024 is that founders have discovered that the IPO market is wide open, even for smaller businesses,“ said Vikram Chachra, Founding Partner, 8i Ventures.
In 2024, as many as 13 new-age tech start-ups made it to the public markets cumulatively raising over $3.4 billion.
VCs continue to be excited about the opportunity in the public markets given the trends are extremely positive both on the supply side of securities and the demand side.
“The Swiggy IPO shows public markets doing well for start-ups. There are at least five or six of our portfolio companies looking to get going for IPO in the next few years,“ said Dipanjan Basu, Co-founder of Bengaluru-based Fireside Ventures.
Industry experts observed a strong interest from both domestic and foreign investors in IPOs, as demonstrated by the enthusiastic reception of certain stocks in the Indian public markets.
IPO filings and market interest
From the 25 companies gearing up for public listing, some have filed their respective DRHPs with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
Coworking space provider Smartworks and logistics start-up Ecom Express have already received the market regulator’s approval to file an IPO. Some companies like coworking space provider Smartworks and logistics start-up Ecom Express have already received SEBI’s approval to file an IPO.
Investor interest in IPOs has surged in India, reflecting a significant shift in capital allocation strategies. Domestic and foreign investors alike are turning to public markets as a preferred avenue, driven by the promising growth trajectories of startups and broader enthusiasm for the “Digital India“ narrative, notes Pareekh Jain, Founder of Pareekh Consulting & EIIR Trend.
“People are getting confidence in paying those high multiples now if they see 40-50 per cent growth,“ he noted.
Industry experts also noted that there is an appetite for the new-age companies.
“The IPO market is wide open, especially for mid and large start-ups. India’s market cap from the internet is below 2 per cent, and this could blow to 10 per cent,“ added Chachra.