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India has bucked the global trend in initial public offerings this year, cementing its place as a rare bright spot for technology listings while other major markets face persistent headwinds. The world’s most populous country is now preparing for an even bigger wave of startup IPOs in 2025.
More than 20 startups are preparing to list next year, according to multiple sources familiar with the plans. These include business-to-business marketplaces Inframarket and Zetwerk, farm-to-production venture CaptainFresh, professional services marketplace UrbanCompany, jewelry retailer Bluestone, security company OneAssist, and offline retailer Magicpin.
Express commerce startup Zepto, managed workspace provider Table Space, and industrial goods platform Ofbusiness also plan to file for an IPO next year. Additional companies eyeing public listings include Rebel Foods, logistics company Porter, e-commerce platform Meesho, investment app Groww, mattress seller Wakefit, automotive platform CarDekho, SaaS company Capillary and payments company Pine Labs, although some listings may extend To 2026.
If the companies go ahead as planned, they will join a wave that is gaining momentum. Twelve startups, including seven technology companies, have already gone public in 2024 in India, making it the only major market to show consistent growth in listings over the past decade, according to Pitchbook data.
This performance stands in stark contrast to other leading markets. The United States recorded 22 venture-backed technology IPOs this year, a roughly flat number from the 21 technology IPOs of 2023 and significantly lower than the 53 listings the US market saw in 2020. IPO momentum has also waned. Technology in China likewise, with 56 listings this year compared to 117 in 2022. Europe managed an IPO Only one more technology is in India, while the UK market has remained dormant, with no technology listings in 2024.
“IPO markets opened more slowly than we expected in March,” Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a recent note. “Even after being ‘viable’ since 2022, many unicorns are still unprofitable businesses.”
Indian food delivery platform Swiggy’s $1.35 billion listing this month is the largest global tech IPO this year, according to a JPMorgan analysis.
Speaking to TechCrunch, Anand Daniel, partner at Accel whose firm saw two companies listed in its portfolio this month, noted, “India is fast becoming a promising hub for technology IPOs driven by strong capital markets and a thriving innovation ecosystem that continues to attract A large number of public offerings. In the interest of investors.”
This shift is significant for the Indian market, which has historically struggled with exit opportunities and faced skepticism from local institutional and retail investors regarding loss-making companies going public.
Abhinav Bharti, head of capital markets at JP Morgan in India, attributed India’s unique position to several factors: macroeconomic growth, increased domestic capital, and political stability.
“There is no other country in the world that provides you with this amount of political certainty and policy continuity,” he told TechCrunch in an interview. “You can argue against a political decision, but you can’t argue against the fact that it was not consistent.”
The growth in India’s capital markets was particularly noteworthy. “What has also increased is actually liquidity, which is a multiple of market growth,” Bharti said. “If you look at the full-year averages from 2019 to 2024, market capitalization has doubled. We were at about $2.6 to $2.7 trillion. We are now at $5.2 trillion to $5.3 trillion. In the same period, daily liquidity has tripled.” From $5 billion to $15 billion.
The increase in preparations for the IPO comes amid a slowdown in closing deals in the private market. “The muted environment and additional scrutiny by VCs has forced startups to give up their peak valuations in 2021,” said a partner at one of India’s largest venture capital firms, who requested anonymity. “But what’s even more interesting is that it also forced them to improve their finances. The result is that many startups in 2021 that wanted to be ‘IPO ready’ within 5 years already exist.”
In addition to Zepto, TableSpace and others, Prosus-owned PayU recently announced plans to list in 2025, while pharmaceutical e-commerce platform Pharmeasy is preparing for an IPO after a major restructuring this year. Financial services company MobiKwik also plans to list next year.
Technology companies and healthcare companies account for more than 50% of the S&P 500. The same companies account for less than 20% in the Indian Nifty 50 index. Bharti said there is a lot of room for growth for technology companies in India.
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