Tech Startup IPOs in India 2025: A Robust Comeback

Tech startup IPOs in India experienced a strong resurgence in 2025, offering anticipated liquidity and exit options for early investors. Startups in consumer internet, fintech, SaaS, and electric vehicles collectively secured around Rs 41,000 crore from public markets throughout the year. Notably, nearly 52% of this total originated from offer-for-sale (OFS) arrangements. This trend illustrates how 2025 served as an exit avenue for venture capitalists and private equity stakeholders.

Fresh Issues Versus OFS

In 2025, 18 startups, including notable names like Lenskart, Groww, and Meesho, were listed and collectively raised approximately Rs 41,248 crore, marking a substantial increase from the previous year’s Rs 29,000 crore. The trend favoured exits, with OFS contributing Rs 21,474 crore, while fresh issues accounted for Rs 19,810 crore. This reflected a dramatic rise in startup IPOs compared to earlier years, with 13 listings in 2024, compared to just 6 in both 2023 and 2022, and 10 in 2021.

Leaderboards in Fundraising

Companies such as Lenskart, Groww, and Meesho led the charge in fundraising, with OFS being a significant part of their offerings, indicating liquidity opportunities for existing backers. Conversely, PhysicsWallah, Ather Energy, and Pine Labs raised a larger fraction via fresh capital, pointing towards ongoing expansion and investment strategies.

IPO Subscription Highlights

Well-established consumer platforms experienced exceptional demand, with Urban Company topping the charts at nearly 109x subscription, followed closely by Aequs (102x) and Groww (79x). On the other hand, Zappfresh and WeWork attracted merely 1.36x and 1.15x subscriptions, respectively.

Listing Day Performances

Listing-day movements mirrored subscription trends, resulting in significant debut gains for standout companies such as Urban Company (58%), Meesho (46%), and PhysicsWallah (33%). Smaller IPOs, including Zappfresh, also surprised with a 20% increase. However, several listings, including Indiqube (-9%), ArisInfra (-8%), Capillary Technologies (-3%), and Lenskart (-1.7%) debuted on a negative note.

Impressive Returns for Investors

In the favourable IPO climate, early-stage investors in select startups realised extraordinary returns. Kauffman Fellows emerged as the frontrunner with an impressive 196x return in Groww, followed by Y Combinator’s 109x return in Meesho and Peak XV’s 39.5x in Pine Labs. Groww also yielded a 29x return for Y Combinator, while Premji Invest achieved nearly 17x in Lenskart. Venture capital investments made early in these innovative companies continue to generate outstanding exits.

Peak XV distinguished itself as one of the most stable performers within the 2025 IPO cohort, achieving multiple high-return results, including 39.46x in Pine Labs, 25.87x in Meesho, 10x in Wakefit, and around 20x in Groww. The prestigious venture capital firm holds more than Rs 30,000 crore worth of investments in various listed companies.

Performance Since Listing

Returns since listing serve as a crucial indicator of how well the public market values a company compared to the hype generated during the IPO. Ather has emerged as the standout performer, delivering over 103% gains since its listing, aligning with the company’s improving operational metrics. Ather has surpassed Ola Electric in both revenue and unit sales, now ranking third in India’s electric two-wheeler sector.

Conversely, Urban Company continues to trade significantly below (-23%) its initial listing price, having reported losses in the last quarter ending September 2026. Other stocks like Groww (29%) and Capillary Technologies (20.38%) have shown stable growth, while companies such as Indiqube (-7.41%), WeWork (-9.18%), and PhysicsWallah (-8.97%) remain under pressure, having only recently gone public. These companies will likely require time to navigate public market dynamics, with the potential for recovery over the long term. Stock prices reflected are as of approximately 11 am on December 15, 2025, and may have fluctuated thereafter.

Upcoming IPOs

Looking ahead, the IPO schedule for the following year appears significantly busier. More than 20 tech startups are preparing to go public, including PhonePe, Zepto, Infra.Market, Zetwerk, Fractal Analytics, Amagi, Shiprocket, Shadowfax, Boat, Curefoods, InCred, Captain Fresh, and Moneyview, among others. With a broader mix of sectors and numerous late-stage, well-established companies in the pipeline, the forthcoming year could signify a pivotal moment for India’s startup IPO landscape.

As always, some of these companies have already stirred controversy regarding their financial quality and the rationale behind their IPOs. There is hope that retail investors, who witnessed substantial gains from IPOs in 2024 before experiencing a moderation in 2025, have cultivated a more informed perspective regarding long-term prospects, as first-day price surges are becoming increasingly rare.