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India's startup ecosystem has been flourishing, positioning the country as a haven for unicorns and IPOs. Here's an overview of the current landscape:
India can be considered the most active market for unicorn IPOs recently. As of 2024, India is home to 67 unicorns, 46 gazelles (potential unicorns within 3 years), and 106 cheetahs (potential unicorns within 5 years). The ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Future Unicorn Index 2024 indicates that India's future unicorns are collectively worth $58 billion, representing a 1.8% increase from the previous year.
India is emerging as the second most liquid market for unicorn IPOs, following the United States. It presents a unique case where its unicorn companies are achieving success by listing on domestic exchanges rather than overseas. One of the key factors behind the rise of India’s stock market as a hub for unicorn IPOs is the remarkable growth of Zomato, the country’s first unicorn to go public.
Zomato was indeed one of the early high-profile unicorn IPOs in India.
Zomato was founded in 2008 by Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah as a restaurant discovery platform. It gradually expanded into food delivery and other services. It filed for its IPO in 2021. This was the first major tech startup IPO in India.
Following the listing of Zomato, the Indian stock exchange and regulatory authority SEBI applied several exceptions, paving the way for loss-making unicorns to go public. Although Zomato was not profitable at that time, SEBI allowed the company to go public.
Zomato listed on July 23, 2021 at a 53% premium to its issue price. The stock opened at Rs 116 on NSE and closed at Rs 125.8 on day one. The successful listing gave Zomato a market cap of over Rs 1 lakh crore ($13.3 billion), making it one of India's top 50 most valuable public companies at the time.
When Zomato first went public, it faced criticism due to its operating losses exceeding its revenue. However, by steadily increasing its revenue and reducing its losses, the company achieved significant performance improvements. This has led market participants in India to adopt a more positive view of listing unicorn startups who are fast-growing, loss-making companies.
Several Indian unicorns and high-potential startups are making their way to the public markets:
Ola Electric is an Indian electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, a subsidiary of Ola, primarily focused on developing electric two-wheelers. It was founded in 2017 by Bhavish Aggarwal, the co-founder of Ola Cabs, with the aim of revolutionizing urban mobility through electric vehicles. It filed for an IPO in December 2023 and received SEBI approval in June 2024 for an offering worth over ₹5,500 crore.
(Refer to : Who is Bhavish Aggarwal? A Man Behind India's First AI Unicorn and Its Own Version of Uber, Tesla)
Founded in 2013 by Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain, both graduates of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, the electric two-wheeler maker filed its draft red herring prospectus with SEBI in September 2024, proposing a fresh issuance of shares worth ₹3,100 crore and an offer-for-sale component.
(Refer to : Ather Energy files for ₹3,100 crore IPO to expand electric two-wheeler production - The Hindu BusinessLine)
boAt is an Indian consumer electronics brand founded in 2016 by Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta. The company specializes in lifestyle-focused audio products, particularly affordable and trendy earphones, headphones, speakers, smartwatches, and other accessories. The brand plans to list on Indian stock exchanges in 2025.
(Refer to : boAt's Aman Gupta confirms IPO plans for 2025, global expansion in UAE)
Founded in 2012, Unicommerce is an Indian technology company that provides e-commerce enablement solutions for online and offline retailers. The company specializes in multichannel order management, inventory management, warehouse management, and fulfillment solutions. The startup received regulatory approval for its IPO on July 1, 2024.
(Refer to : Unicommerce eSolutions IPO listing: Shares debut with a solid 117% premium | News on Markets - Business Standard)
Awfis is an Indian provider of co-working spaces and flexible office solutions founded in 2015 by Amit Ramani. It offers businesses, startups, and freelancers a flexible workspace environment with the aim of catering to the growing demand for shared office spaces in India's urban centers. The workspace solutions platform launched its IPO in May 2024, aiming to raise ₹598.93 crore.
(Refer to : Wanted to seize first-mover advantage: Chairman and MD Amit Ramani on Awfis' IPO | YourStory)
FirstCry is an Indian e-commerce company that specializes in baby and kids' products. It was founded in 2010 by Supam Maheshwari and Amitava Saha.
FirstCry has grown to become one of India’s largest online platforms catering to the needs of parents, providing a wide range of products, including clothing, toys, diapers, baby gear, feeding accessories, and more.
The e-commerce unicorn launched its IPO to raise ₹4,194 crore after receiving SEBI approval. The IPO consists of a fresh issue of shares worth ₹1,666 crore and an offer for sale of 5.4 crore shares worth ₹2,528 crore.
(Refer to : FirstCry's ₹4,194 crore-IPO opens for subscription: Should you bid? - CNBC)
OYO (Oravel Stays Pvt Ltd) is an Indian hospitality startup founded in 2013 by Ritesh Agarwal. It has rapidly grown into one of the world's largest hotel chains, operating over 174,000 hotels and vacation homes across more than 35 countries.
The hospitality chain, formally known as Oravel Stays Ltd., has refiled its DRHP with SEBI for an IPO. This refinancing is expected to involve raising around $450 million through the issuance of dollar bonds.
(Refer to : OYO’s Big Swing)
Swiggy is an Indian food delivery and logistics platform, founded in 2014 by Sriharsha Majety, Nandan Reddy, and Rahul Jaimini. It has become one of the leading players in the food delivery industry in India, providing a user-friendly app and website that allows customers to order food from a wide variety of local restaurants.
The food delivery giant has filed its DRHP and is waiting for approval from SEBI. It's ready to raise ₹10,414 crore, including a fresh issue of shares worth ₹3,750 crore and an offer for sale worth ₹6,664 crore.
(Refer to : 10 Indian Startups Making Their IPO Debut in 2024)
Written by ud.
*This article is co-written with ChatGPT and reviewed by the editor.
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