The ongoing trade tensions between the US and China have put Indian telecom companies in the crosshairs.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued a fresh directive to all major telcos – including Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, BSNL – seeking details about Chinese gear deployed in their networks, ET Telecom reported.

The move comes as the Centre seeks to track the usage of China-made equipment in India’s telecom and space sectors to ward off potential security threats.

While India has excluded Chinese telecom equipment and technology vendors such as Huawei and ZTE from participating in its 5G rollout, their equipment is still widely used in 2G, 3G and 4G infrastructure, particularly in the core, wireless and optical fiber networks of telecom giants—Airtel, Vi and BSNL.

Why India Wants To Build China-Free Wireless Infrastructure

Under existing telecom policies, Chinese companies are prohibited from securing fresh contracts for network expansion or setting up new telecom infrastructure in India. They can only service existing equipment, which includes replacing or upgrading old gear.

In 2021, the DoT amended the Unified Access Service Licence in 2021 to stop telcos from procuring telecom network equipment from untrustworthy vendors. As per amended rules, only those vendors who have obtained a ‘trusted source’ tag are eligible to supply gear in India. 

While foreign companies such as Sweden-based Ericsson, Finland-based Nokia and Korea’s Samsung have secured necessary security clearances to bid for deals, Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE have not been approved as ‘trusted sources.’

The trusted sources regime is part of the Centre’s broader plans to reduce India’s dependence on Chinese telecom equipment manufacturers. As per data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), between 2022 and 2023, 38% of India’s imported networking and telecom equipment originated from China. 

India is not the only country skeptical of China’s involvement in critical sectors, including telecom. Countries like the US and the UK have also shut out China from their 5G infrastructure due to security concerns.

It is important to note that the Indian government launched the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for Telecom and Networking Products and for Large Scale Electronic Manufacturing of Electronics in 2021. As of July 2024, the scheme attracted investments worth INR 3,400 Cr and the telecom equipment production in the country surpassed the INR 50,000 Cr mark.

On top of this, the DoT launched its ‘Digital Intelligence Platform’ (DIP) last year for real-time intelligence sharing, information exchange and coordination among telcos, law enforcement agencies, banks, social media platforms and other stakeholders.

Other Sectors To Adopt ‘Trusted Source’ Regime

Reports surfaced last year that the union government was considering extending the scope of the ‘trusted sources’ regime to Internet of Things (IoT) amid rising concerns over the use of Chinese-origin components in India.

The Centre also amended the ‘Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirement of Compulsory Registration) Order, 2021’, adding CCTV cameras to the list of goods requiring compulsory registration.

The order covers a wide range of electronic products, including laptops, tablets, mobile phones, digital cameras, and more.

The post Centre Asks Jio, Airtel, Vi For Chinese Equipment Details appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Banking on the growing demand for fast food and beverage deliveries, foodtech platform Swiggy has now launched its quick food delivery app SNACC in Noida and Gurugram.

Earlier this year, SNACC was rolled out to serve select pincodes in Bengaluru, delivering quick bites, beverages and meals in 15 minutes.

On its home page, the SNACC app displays a comment saying “ We’re still expanding,” when a user tries to add an address from any other city.

Via SNACC app, Swiggy claims to deliver a wide range of products  across food and beverages, including snacks, breakfast specials, tea, coffee cold beverages, dessert and fruit bowls, among others. 

“After a great response in Bengaluru, we have now launched our services in Noida and Gurugram- corporate hubs with a large urban population, especially youth. We are confident that we will soon emerge as the go-to app for customers in the two cities. We will continue to add more offerings to our app in the coming times,” said Satheesh Raman, business head of SNACC.

(The story will be updated soon)

The post Swiggy Expands Its 15-Minute Food Delivery To Noida, Gurugram appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Apple India’s contract manufacturer Foxconn is reportedly planning to build a new facility in Uttar Pradesh’s Greater Noida, as part of its expansion strategy in the country.

An ET report said that the iPhone manufacturer is eyeing 300 acres of land along the Yamuna Express Way in Greater Noida for the plant as this will be its first ever facility in North India.

The report further said that the discussions with the state government are at an initial stage and the company is yet to decide on the products in its new facility and the customers it will cater to.

Inc42 has reached out to Foxconn for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on the response.

It is pertinent to note that Foxconn and homegrown IT services major HCL’s joint venture secured a land in Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) region in Delhi NCR for its outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) facility.

Foxconn is planning to purchase the land for the new facility in the same area.

The new facility is speculated to be slightly bigger than the company’s upcoming facility in Bengaluru for which it acquired 300 acres of land near the airport. The company has committed an investment of about INR 25,000 Cr for the said facility and is projected to have a production capacity of 20 Mn smartphones annually.

The Bengaluru plant will be the company’s second largest unit in India and second largest in the world.

The development comes at a time when Foxconn is on an expansion in India and is also looking to double down on its iPhone manufacturing efforts. Once the company’s Bengaluru unit marks its completion, it would push its annual iPhone manufacturing capacity in India from 12 Mn to about 25 Mn to 30 Mn in 2025.

Also, the Foxconn-HCL JV is also in talks with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Taiwanese construction engineering company CTCI to anchor its OSAT facility in UP. Besides, the company is looking to push its battery manufacturing efforts in the country and is in talks with the Tamil Nadu government to set up a 200 acres manufacturing unit in the state.

This comes amid the world dealing with the US tariff uncertainty. The contract manufacturer may look to diversify its operations and find other geographical alternatives for smooth operations. However, President Donald Trump’s administration has recently lowered imposed counter tarrif on imports of certain categories of products which includes semiconductor equipment, smartphones, flat panel displays, computers and laptops among others for countries like China, Vietnam, Taiwan and India among others. These relief measures have been taken on a temporary basis.

But some US officials have told the media that the federal government plans to launch a national security investigation into semiconductors which could lead to other new tariffs in future.

The post Foxconn Eyeing 300 Acres In UP For First Plant In North India: Report appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The Karnataka government is reportedly planning to introduce a differential fee on app-based aggregators to fund welfare programs for gig workers.

An ET report said that these platforms will pay the fee in the range of 1% to 5%, based on the commission paid to gig workers, with higher rates for platforms generating higher revenues. 

This initiative is part of the Karnataka Platform-Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Bill 2024, which aims to provide social security, occupational health, safety, and grievance redressal mechanisms for gig workers.

The report further said that the state government plans to enact the Bill through an ordinance route. 

Once approved by the Governor, these rules will be framed and placed in the public domain for stakeholder feedback before implementation.

“We will give a month’s time for stakeholders to give their suggestions. We will study and incorporate necessary suggestions,” an official was quoted as saying in the report.

Reportedly, the levy will take at least six months to be rolled out after rules are finalised, and a software system for payment verification will be developed. 

It is pertinent to note that Bengaluru alone has around 2 Lakh gig workers, making the need for such protections in this rapidly growing sector. 

Karnataka’s initiative follows Rajasthan’s landmark law passed in July 2023, which was the first in India to introduce social security measures for gig workers. 

Reportedly, Telangana has also collected a copy of Karnataka’s draft to explore a similar law in the state.

The Centre is also doubling down on initiatives around the welfare of the gig workers. For instance, in the Budget 2025, the government mandated registering gig workers on the e-Shram portal, following which at least 70,000 gig workers have reportedly been registered with the e-Shram portal.

Meanwhile, the central government is also planning to introduce a comprehensive social security scheme for platform-based gig workers. Moreover, the union government is also planning to introduce a pension scheme, requiring platform aggregators to contribute 2% of each worker’s income.

The post Karnataka Govt Planning Differential Fee On Apps To Fund Gig Workers appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Mumbai-based luggage brand uppercase has roped in Indian cricketer Jasprit Bumrah as its investor.

Although the startup did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, but its cofounder and managing director Sudip Ghose told Inc42 that the investment comes as a separate bridge funding round.

ET reported the development first.

“As a part of this expanded partnership, Bumrah will take an active role in product development. He wants to design a backpack and a gym bag which is exclusively needed for sports,” Ghose said.

The startup plans to launch this new product line in the next 3-5 months. The design process has already been started, with Ghose adding that it typically takes 2-5 months, from design to iterations, to launch the product.

Founded in 2021 by Ghose, Uday Sodhi, Arnob Mondal Kumar, Shivaprasad Eregowda, Nidhi Rajora and Dheeraj Goyal, uppercase designs and manufactures eco-friendly travel gear including hard luggage, backpacks, duffel bags, and office satchels. 

The company’s products are global recycling standards (GRS) certified.

In August last year, the startup raised $9 Mn in its Series B funding round led by Accel, along with investors, including Sixth Sense Ventures and Enam Holdings promoter Akash Bhansali.

The company  claims to currently sell through 1,600 points of sale across India and aims to expand to 4,000 points in the coming years. It targets a revenue of INR 250 Cr by 2026 and plans to break even by FY27.

uppercase competes with established players like VIP Industries, Samsonite, and Safari Industries, as well as newer D2C brands such as Mokobara, Nasher Miles, EUME, and ICON.

(The story will be updated)

The post Luggage Brand uppercase Ropes In Jasprit Bumrah As Investor appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The Delhi government’s second phase of Electric Vehicle Policy, which is expected to be enforced soon, will reportedly generate 20,000 new employment opportunities, ranging from running charging stations to taking care of battery recycling.

The policy also aims to set up battery collection centres, while building a wide network of charging and swappable battery stations in the capital.

Delhi environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa told PTI that the scheme will focus on transitioning mass categories vehicles including two-wheelers, three-wheelers, buses, and good carriers into EVs.

Delhi EV policy 2.0, to be formally notified after getting clearance from the Centre, aims to transition the city to electric mobility by phasing out fossil fuel vehicles, including a potential ban on new petrol two-wheelers registrations and a ban on new fossil fuel three-wheelers registrations.

The policy also proposes setting up 13,200 public charging stations and mandates electrification of public transport fleets. 

Under this policy, the capital is also planning to offer a purchase subsidy of up to INR 30,000 for buying EV two-wheelers. As per the draft policy proposal, EV two-wheeler buyers will get an incentive of INR 10,000 per kWh (up to INR 30,000). Besides, an additional INR 10,000 may be offered for scrapping petrol two-wheelers that are over 12-years old.  

Furthermore, the draft proposes first 10,000 women with valid driving licences to be eligible for subsidy, calculated at INR 12,000 per kWh and capped at INR 36,000.

For electric three-wheelers, a subsidy of INR 10,000 per kWh is expected, capped at INR 45,000. With this policy, the government also aims to reduce dependency on CNG autorickshaws by providing scrapping incentives up to INR 20,000 and a replacement incentive of INR 1 Lakh for CNG three-wheelers completing 10 years during the policy period.

While the Delhi government is pushing incentives to increase EV adoption in the national capital, it is also proposing a ban on registration of non-EVs in the near future. If the policy materialises, there will be a potential ban on registration of petrol two-wheelers, starting August 15, 2026. The policy also proposes stopping registrations of fossil fuel-run three-wheelers from August 15 this year. 

As per Vahan data, Delhi’s EV numbers are skyrocketing with 85,285 EVs registered in 2024 against 73,683 units in 2023. 

States Pushing For Rapid EV Adoption 

While Delhi is hopping on the EV wave in the country to reduce pollution in the region, other states, including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, among others, are also pushing EV adoption in their respective regions.

For instance, Karnataka is mulling to provide incentives of up to 25% on capital investments by EV manufacturers and drop road tax and registration charges for hybrid vehicles to promote clean mobility.

During the budget speech for 2025-26, Gujarat finance minister Kanubhai Desai proposed offering a rebate of 5% on motor vehicle tax on “fully-battery” operated EVs. 

Besides, Maharashtra recently approved a proposal allowing EV bike taxis to operate in the state.

The post Delhi EV Policy 2.0 Likely To Generate 20K Jobs appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Deeptech surveillance startup Optimized Electrotech has raised $6 Mn (around INR Cr) in a Series A funding round co-led by Blume Ventures and Mela Ventures. 

The round also saw participation from existing investors, including Venture Catalysts, 100Unicorns and Rajiv Dadlani Group, along with participation from the startups’ cofounder and MD himself Sandeep Shah.

The startup plans to use the fresh capital to accelerate development of AI-powered imaging payloads and high-speed space surveillance systems as well as to expand into overseas markets.

“This funding will help us strengthen our R&D capabilities, build next-gen tech, and extend our reach across critical sectors in India and beyond,” Shah said.

He also told Inc42 that the company is planning to launch a dedicated subsidiary focused on the space tech segment. To support its growth, he aims to raise $5 Mn over the next six months, primarily through strategic investments from semiconductor companies.

Founded in 2017 by Shah, Anil Yekkala, Dharin Shah, Kuldeep Saxena, and Purvi Shah, Optimized Electrotech offers surveillance solutions by building electro-optic imaging systems for defence, aerospace and border security use cases. 

It claims that its indigenously designed and developed AI-driven surveillance platforms allow governments, defence services, paramilitary forces and mining corporations to respond to threats such as unauthorised drone attacks.

It competes against the likes of Bharat Electronics and Tata Advanced Systems, among others, in the multi-spectral imaging category. 

On the financial front, Shah told Inc42 that the company saw a decline in revenue for the year ending March 31, 2025 (FY25) to INR 3 Cr from 4.4 Cr in the previous fiscal year.  Adding to this, its bottomline loss also widened to INR 8 Cr in the year under consideration from INR 5.7 Cr in FY24.

This comes at the heart of deptech startups gaining significant traction from both venture capitalists and the government due to their potential for innovations and longterm growth.

In 2024, the Indian deeptech sector saw a notable increase in deal activity, with $460 Mn raised across 78 deals. Meanwhile, the only startup to have entered the coveted unicorn club this year is also a deeptech startup Netradyne. 

More recently, union minister Piyush Goyal urged the Indian startup ecosystem to move beyond low-value ventures such as food delivery and quick commerce, and instead focus on high-impact areas like semiconductors, robotics, and deep-tech. 

He emphasised that deeptech is crucial for enhancing India’s global competitiveness, while also citing China’s deeptech innovations like Deepseek, as a benchmark.

Also, policymakers are advocating giving this space a high-octane boost in the form of a fund of funds for startups. 

Additionally, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Budget 2025 speech, proposed setting up a new FoF for startups with a corpus of INR 10,000 Cr. 

Besides, an additional INR 10,000 Cr was allocated to the SIDBI FoF for startups, bringing the total corpus to INR 20,000 Cr.

The post Surveillance Startup Optimized Electrotech Bags $6 Mn appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Fintech unicorn CRED is looking to raise $100-200 Mn in a new funding round that would value the Kunal Shah-led startup at $4 Bn post-money, a considerable decrease from its $6.4 Bn valuation set in 2022, as per Economic Times.

The Bengaluru-based startup is in talks with existing investors, including Singapore sovereign fund GIC, Peak XV Partners, Tiger Global, Ribbit Capital and QED Innovation Labs to raise fresh capital.

It is important to note that CRED last raised $140 Mn in its Series F funding round led by GIC in 2022. The round valued the company at $6.4 Bn.

Inc42 has asked for a comment from the company on why it is taking a valuation haircut of almost $2.5 Bn in the new round. The story will be updated based on the response.

As per the report, the fresh funding will ensure that CRED remains well-capitalised to execute the next phase of its growth journey amid increased revenue and reduced cash burn. The fintech giant is eyeing profitability and is likely to launch an initial public offering (IPO) in the next two years. 

CRED saw its operating revenue swell by a whopping 71% to INR 2,397 Cr in the fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 1,400 Cr in the fiscal prior. Despite growth in the top line, CRED’s net loss surged 22% to INR 1,644 Cr during the year from INR 1,347 Cr in FY23.

CRED Presses The Pedal On Super App Ambitions

The brainchild of Shah, CRED started in 2017 as a credit card bill payments platform. However, it has taken a super app path over the past few years as it broadens its fintech ambitions. 

CRED now caters to UPI payments, billing for utilities, vehicle management, travel experiences, among others. Last year, it also acquired investech platform Kuvera to take on the likes of Zerodha, Groww and PhonePe.

In February, the company launched CRED Cash+, a loan against mutual funds product for its customers, a move that pitted it against companies like Jio Financial Services, BharatPe, smallcase and Bajaj Finserv.

Earlier, it was also reported that CRED was mulling to infuse INR 550 Cr in its non-banking finance company (NBFC) Newtap Finance Pvt Ltd. Incorporated in 2021, NFPL is an NBFC that offers short-term personal loans to CRED users.

CRED is not alone in the supper app race. With a burgeoning pool of digital consumers, companies like PhonePe, Groww, Jio Financial Services, Flipkart, among others, have also decided to take a stab at developing an all-in-one app.

Besides CRED, the likes of Groww, PhonePe and BharatPe, are also looking to join the startup IPO party. Groww is reportedly planning to file draft papers for its $1 Bn+ IPO in April-May and is eyeing a public listing by the end of FY26. Meanwhile, PhonePe has also begun preparations for its IPO.

The post CRED Looks To Raise Up To $200 Mn With Steep Cut In Valuation appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Enterprisetech startup Uniqus Consultech is reportedly in advanced discussions with a clutch of new and existing investors to secure fresh capital.

An ET report, citing sources, said that the company is seeking to raise up to $20 Mn (around INR 172.2 Cr) in its Series C funding round at a valuation of $200-250 Mn.

Uniqus is currently in talks with WestBridge, Accel, Norwest, Lightspeed, Bessemer Venture Partners and Peak XV, along with existing investors such as Nexus Venture Partners and Sorin Investments, the report added.

Founded in 2022 by Jamil Khatri and Sandip Khetan, Uniqus specialises in ESG and accounting and reporting consulting.

The startup claims to be operational across eight cities in the US, India and the Middle East with over 500 employees. 

Currently, it caters to more than 200 clients and has also launched an AI assistant for financial reporting and ESG.

Other than Nexus and Sorin, Uniqus is backed by UST and a clutch of angel investors worldwide. 

Inc42 has reached out to Khatri for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on his response.

ET report further said that the startup was valued $100 Mn following its last funding round.

Last year, Uniqus bagged $10 Mn in its Series B funding round to capitalise on its growth as well as scaling up existing solutions and technology.

This comes at a time when the enterprisetech market is projected to net funds to the tune of $2.3 Bn+ in 2025, as per Inc42 data.

During the first quarter of this year, early stage startups, including Singulr AI secured $10 Mn and Gyaan AI (now MaxIQ) raised $7.8 Mn, reflecting the investors’ growing interest in the enterprise tech and SaaS startups. 

According to the Inc42 Funding Report 2024, the Indian enterprise tech sector raised over $1.8 Bn across 167+ deals last year.

The post Uniqus In Talks To Raise $20 Mn In Fresh Funding Round appeared first on Inc42 Media.

India’s evolving fintech landscape has hardly witnessed a raging chorus, with every stakeholder – from regulators to startups and lenders – pressing for a change in guidelines. That’s what is taking the country’s $793 Bn fintech market, on course to surpass $2.1 Tn by 2030, by storm at the moment. 

The stakeholders have reached out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking a green light to charge large merchants on any UPI transactions above INR 2,000. The Merchant Discount Rate (MDR), which is the fee charged to merchants by banks or payment service providers for processing digital transactions through the Unique Payment Interface (UPI), was brought down to zero from January 1, 2020, to push for digital payments. 

But the need to bring back the MDR was amplified with UPI becoming the primary mode of retail payments and RuPay gaining traction, and the industry felt the blanket waiver was no longer necessary to drive digital payments. 

On March 24, the Payments Council of India (PCI) in a letter to PM Modi sought urgent reconsideration of Zero MDR on UPI and Rupay debit card transactions. PCI is an industry body of members like Airtel Payments Bank, Amazon Pay, Google Pay, Cashfree, and Jio Payments Bank. PCI’s call to impose MDR on big-ticket transactions was supported by another industry body, Startup Policy Forum, which counts Razorpay, Groww, and Zerodha as its constituent members. 

They have called for an MDR of 0.3% on UPI payments above the ticket size of INR 2,000 for P2M transactions where merchants have an annual turnover of INR 20 Lakh. The two-tiered approach will balance growth with financial inclusion on one hand, while on the other, foster a sustainable ecosystem for digital payments space.

Banks had earlier requested the government to restore MDR on UPI payments for merchants with an annual GST turnover exceeding INR 40 Lakh. In fact, various industry players have repeatedly demanded that MDR be restored. 

The call for MDR turned louder even as some of the largest players in the ecosystem, especially third-party applications (TPAPs) like Google Pay, PhonePe, and Paytm, maintained an unusual silence on the issue. Together, Google Pay and Phonepe constitute more than 80% of the UPI transactions on a volume basis, while Paytm remains a distant third. 

“While it is true that we have not heard much from the TPAPs on the MDR issue, there is no reason why they should not be supporting this, considering that it will not impact 90% of their transaction volume as the average transaction value for them is below INR 2,000,” Rajesh Londhe, cofounder, Phi Commerce, told Inc42. 

The fintechs and some of the leading banks that have taken up the issue with the RBI have not found any resistance from the regulator. “What the industry has been told is that the regulator is awaiting clarity from the government on MDR and once that happens, the RBI and the NPCI will have no choice but to allow the acquiring banks and payment companies to charge MDR from large merchants,” he said. 

An acquiring bank enables businesses or merchants to accept various types of transactions, including credit or debit cards and other digital payments. 

Sources privy to the discussions among the banks, fintechs and the RBI indicated that the industry hopes to see an announcement from the finance ministry on MDR soon. The participation of some of the largest private lenders has strengthened the case in their favour. 

With the chorus growing louder to reinstate MDR on UPI, we unpack what’s really driving the demand.

What Went Wrong In Zero MDR Regime

The zero merchant discount rate regime was rolled out in January 2020 for RuPay Debit Card and BHIM-UPI transactions through amendments in Section 10A of the Payments and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 and Section 269SU of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The move was intended to accelerate digital payment adoption in the wake of the government’s 2016 demonetisation push towards a cashless economy.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had backed the move, arguing that while the government imposed Zero MDR, the costs incurred in UPI payments were far lesser than the other modes of transactions. 

While the government did not allow banks and payment companies to charge MDR from merchants on any UPI transactions, it compensated banks, PSPs and TPAPs to the tune of 0.15% for UPI transactions below INR 2,000, while there were no sops for big-ticket transactions. 

The incentive payout stood at INR 1,389 Cr in FY22 and it went down to INR 2,210 Cr in FY23. The corpus was raised to INR 3,631 Cr in FY24, but was again brought down to INR 1,500 Cr (revised estimate) in FY25. According to media reports, the allocation has been hacked down to INR 437 Cr for FY26 (projected).

While the government incentives slowed down, UPI transactions gathered momentum, emerging as the most preferred form of digital payments in India. 

In March 2025, UPI processed 18.3 Bn transactions valued at INR 24.7 Tn. The UPI’s share in India’s digital payments pie stood at 83% in 2024 from 34% in 2019, averaging a growth rate of 74% in the five years, as per data collated from The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which runs the UPI. Merchants payments constituted 62% of all UPI transactions. 

Riding on the UPI wave, the government has signed agreements with various countries like France, Singapore, Maldives, and the UAE to develop UPI-like payment systems there and promote cross-border payments. 

Banks and fintech players argued that some of the goals aimed at Zero MDR on UPI had been achieved, with Indian consumer habits also undergoing a seismic shift. 

Why The Call To End Zero MDR Turned Louder

Over the past couple of years, banks, payment processors, and even TPAPs have had to upgrade their tech stacks and bear server costs to accommodate exponentially rising UPI transactions. 

“We have seen frequent outages because of technical issues faced by the NPCI, latency in the bank network, and such challenges. There were five reported UPI outages over the past one year across the country with NPCI attributing the same to some ‘intermittent technical issues’,” founder of a TPAP said. 

While it isn’t certain as to what the specific technical challenges could be, industry analysts say that it has become unsustainable for fintechs and banks to keep up with the rising costs associated with UPI transactions under the current Zero MDR regime.

Some fintech founders complained that the government’s incentives for UPI players were never enough to cover the costs associated with transactions. 

“It is crucial for payment companies to rely on sustainable models to whatever extent possible.This has been in the works for a while. The timing now seems right because the government has completed its initial digitisation and UPI groundwork. Now, the focus is on making the system sustainable while ensuring quality for those supporting it,” Rohit Taneja, founder and chief executive of Decentro, a banking integration platform for merchants, told Inc42. 

“Banks, in particular, have been vocal about this. Any senior banker would say that while UPI is great for maintaining trust, it is incredibly costly. They are expecting better support and incentives from the government, which has been the broader discussion,” he added.

Taneja went on to add that government incentives cannot be a solution since banks and fintech will have to first spend on infrastructure costs to enable transactions, and then only the government incentives will cover the costs. “Moreover, these incentives have been heavily skewed towards a few players, and they clearly benefited the most,” Taneja added.

Zero MDR is not the only issue that has roiled the fintech space. The dominance of TPAPs like PhonePe and Google Pay has created an uneven field in the consumer-facing UPI apps market. Industry leaders have long argued that this is against competitive practices.

The NPCI had called for limiting the market cap of UPI for each TPAP to 30% of the market share, but over the last couple of years, it has repeatedly deferred the deadline for this. 

Will MDR Restoration Be A Nemesis For UPI

“Certainly not,” the founder of a Bengaluru-based TPAP platform ruled out the possibility of a downfall for the UPI in bringing back the merchant fees. “Our demand is only to charge big merchants for transactions above INR 2,000. Big-ticket transactions make up only 10% of the UPI volumes.” 

PCI members Inc42 spoke to said the majority of the UPI volume is made up of micro-transactions, or those below INR 2,000. Also, the government incentives were for micro-transactions on the UPI and not large-ticket transactions. Since Zero MDR was a sweeping regulation, banks and payment companies weren’t charging merchants anything. 

Rajesh Londhe of Phi Commerce argued that the demand of charging 0.3% on each big transaction would not necessarily impact merchant behaviour or lead them to opt for other payment methods. 

“Merchants typically adopt the payment methods that consumers prefer. A decade ago, people asked for POS machines, but today, QR codes are the norm. The same will continue even after MDR is introduced. UPI adoption will not decline – it will simply create a more balanced ecosystem,” Londhe said. 

There are murmurs in fintech circles that some payment gateway companies were charging a certain percentage of the transaction amount as a payment processing charge disguised as hidden fees or convenience fees. 

“Once this merchant discount rate (MDR) comes into play, the concept of free UPI will no longer exist. Large merchants expect UPI transactions to be free, which puts pressure on PGs (payment gateways) to monetise through credit cards or offer additional services at very low margins – sometimes as low as 0.1% or 0.2%. This is not a sustainable solution,” Taneja said.

“Once the free aspect is removed, merchants can no longer expect free UPI transactions by default, since the government won’t mandate it. Each PG will develop its own pricing strategy. Some PGs may still choose to offer free UPI transactions, but it won’t be a universal rule.” he added.

The NPCI, however, negated the complaints of the payment service providers. The absence of MDR is not deterring new participants from joining the UPI ecosystem, NPCI managing director and chief executive Dilip Asbe was quoted as saying in the media recently, with 50 TPAPs keen on boarding the real-time payment rails.

What Keeps Third-Party Big 3 Silent On MDR Issue 

As the demand to end the Zero MDR regime grows louder, the silence from the big three consumer-facing UPI apps — PhonePe, Google Pay, and Paytm — hasn’t gone unnoticed, especially in the wake of the government slashing incentives over the past month.

Some of the big TPAPs are also members of the PCI, which has been leading the rally against Zero MDR. 

Although restoration of MDR on UPI is not likely to have any financial impact on these applications since most transactions are micro-transactions on these apps, these players are concerned that the merchants may pass on the costs being charged to the consumer that may, in turn, impact the userbase of these apps. 

The MDR being proposed to be charged from merchants will be shared between the acquiring banks and the payment gateways, not the TPAPs. Only if a TPAP has its own payment gateway business, like PhonePe or Paytm, will it make revenue out of the MDR ambit.

“Google Pay doesn’t have its own PG business. PhonePe and Paytm’s PG businesses are small, compared to mature players. This regulation although would not impact them directly, there are concerns of a spill-over effect on the consumer behaviour if large merchants are charged and they pass it on to consumers.This could impact the UPI userbase which, in turn impacts these TPAPs,” the Bengaluru TPAP founder pointed out.

Any erosion in the user base would also concern the government, which has been promoting UPI on international stages. 

What Lies Ahead For Debates And Deterrents 

Taneja of Decentro believes that the larger concern with the government lies in the challenges faced by banks, including some of the biggest lenders, in maintaining the infrastructure associated with a huge volume of UPI transactions.

“The government is also concerned about the sustainability of banks. In an extreme scenario, there could be a major financial crash due to banks being unable to sustain the system. That would be a far bigger problem. So, banks are already spending heavily on maintaining the UPI ecosystem. That is why we have seen even the likes of HDFC Bank and several big lenders supporting this demand,” Taneja said.

Londhe of Phi Commerce, however, ruled out such a possibility, saying that the concerns of shifting consumer behaviour because of the reintroduction of MDR were unfounded since businesses cannot charge any additional convenience fee to the consumer without government approval.

“The kind of UPI transactions which will most likely come from the UPI purview will involve large merchants and enterprises who will be ready to absorb a 0.3% cost for a large transaction or to retain consumers and not pass it on,” said the founder of a large payments gateway startup that deals with enterprises.

Taneja added that in such transactions the majority of the volume gets generated by the top 1% or 5% of high-spending individuals in India. “Most of them wouldn’t mind paying a convenience fee of INR 1 or INR 2. BookMyShow is a great example. When you book tickets online, you pay an INR 90 convenience fee, yet people prefer booking online rather than going to the theatre in person,” he added.

While there is a lot of chatter going on within the banking and fintech circles across India over the MDR issue, all eyes are now set on the next big move by the government and whether FM Sitharaman would further reduce the MDR incentives to banks and fintechs in the FY27 from an allotment of INR 437 Cr in FY26 or altogether cut back on incentives and introduce MDR on large UPI transactions.

[Edited By Kumar Chatterjee]

The post End Of Free UPI? Why Fintech Startups Want MDR appeared first on Inc42 Media.

India’s startup ecosystem is experiencing a rapid transformation as a new generation of powerful and tech-savvy consumers takes centre stage in the Indian market. As Gen Z, Gen Alpha, and Silvers emerge as new consumer cohorts willing to engage with emerging homegrown brands over new online channels like quick commerce, ONDC & social commerce.

In addition, Gen AI is reshaping how brands engage with consumers – it’s a perfect storm for the next level of disruption for digital native brands. This new-age brand ecosystem presents an unprecedented opportunity for Indian founders, as it is eliminating barriers to starting up & mapping their early journey to product-market fit.

Within the tremendous potential of this ecosystem, however, we continue to see promising founding teams often stumble soon after clearing their initial hurdles. The vaunted PMF doesn’t come in time before the runway expires – which is a potentially lethal setback in the hyper-competitive market of today.

Navigating the early stages of a startup has 4Ps (pitches) to get right – the employee pitch, the partner pitch, the investor pitch & the consumer pitch. The last of these is also most important – achieving a strong product-market fit is critical not only for scale but for the very survival of a business.

This is where sector-specific expertise of specialist venture capital (VC) firms can play a pivotal role in the success of startups. While founders undoubtedly remain exceptionally perceptive and innovative about capitalising on market opportunities, the unique blend of financial support, networks, sectoral learnings and strategic guidance from specialist VC firms supports founders with critical guidance to effectively execute their vision.

They serve as a stabilising presence in the most crucial stage of a company’s lifespan and provide the necessary mentorship and assistance to chart the best path to the next stage of growth.

Choosing their first VC partner is one of the most important decisions any entrepreneur will make. Specialist VC firms bring immense value during the earliest stages of startup building, where their expertise in operational, marketing, and distribution strategies helps startups scale efficiently and rapidly.

Their developed playbooks and insights through years of sectoral experience provide founders with a roadmap to navigate this complex phase of growth.

Typically, there is a significant drop-off that happens in the number of startups that make it from the seed to pre-Series A funding rounds. In the consumer space, for example, there are several early-stage business challenges to navigate – like finding the right formulators & suppliers, issues with consumer insight generation, new product development velocity, & post launch evaluation benchmarks.

There are also operational challenges like building strong D2C sales channels, hiring the right early teams, and creating partnerships with ecommerce platforms. Sector specialist VCs can increase the probability of success for these founders in these early stages by providing an enabling ecosystem, sharing their learnings, and plugging in their network for growth. This has helped increase founders’ probability of finding the right product-market fit.

What sets specialist VC firms apart is their long-term commitment to the brands they invest in & how they take an active role in supporting startups throughout their journey. Since these firms are married to the sector, they can be true partners and stay engaged through multiple funding rounds while offering continuous strategic support.

This deep involvement enables founders to remain focused on growing their brand without the constant pressure of securing additional funding. It ensures that founders have the resources and guidance needed to scale and succeed.

Today, the success of any early-stage startup is determined not only by the product it offers but by the quality of the partners it chooses. Specialist VCs today provide more than just financial backing – they offer invaluable expertise, mentorship, and connections that can make all the difference in the early stages of growth.

For founders looking to build successful brands in India’s evolving market, partnering with a specialist VC firm at an early stage could be the key to unlocking long-term success, and leveraging their expertise to power their brand to be a sectoral leader in record time by avoiding known errors. Here’s to making new mistakes and building great brands!

The post Specialist VCs On Ride To Empower Early-Stage Startups appeared first on Inc42 Media.

With new updates on tariff and counter tariffs coming almost on a daily basis, the last week was one of the most volatile weeks for the Indian equity market in recent times. 

After plunging sharply on Monday, the Indian market regained some of the lost ground over the rest of the week. The week had only four trading days, as the stock markets were closed on Thursday on the occasion of Mahavir Jayanti. 

Despite the recovery after Monday’s (April 7) decline, a majority of new-age tech stocks remained under pressure this week. Nineteen out of the 32 new-age tech stocks under Inc42’s coverage fell in a range of 0.44% to under 9% this week. 

FirstCry parent Brainbees Solutions took the biggest dent this week, with its shares plunging 8.51% to end Friday’s (April 11) trading session at INR 326.90.

The company’s shares, along with 9 other new-age tech stocks, touched an all-time low of INR 301 on Monday. 

Among the list of losers, shares of CarTrade saw intense volatility. After ending Monday’s session down over 12%, the company’s shares surged over 11% during the intraday trade on Friday. Yet, the company’s shares ended the week 7.90% lower from last Friday’s close at INR 1,536.85. 

Meanwhile, shares of Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Electric crashed 4.29% this week to end at INR 50.19. Amid growing regulatory troubles, the company’s shares touched an all-time low at INR 45.55 this week. 

Addressing reports about it counting sales of vehicles for which deliveries weren’t started in its February numbers, Ola Electric said this week that the sales numbers were based on paid and confirmed orders, not “preliminary bookings”. Later in the week, it rolled out the first set of Roadster X motorcycles from its factory in Tamil Nadu’s Krishnagiri. 

Swiggy, TBO Tek, Honasa Consumer, Fino Payments Bank, ideaForge, Go Digit, ixigo, were among the other losers this week. 

Meanwhile, 13 new-age tech stocks ended the week in the green, gaining in a range of 0.46% to over 9%. The top gainer this week was EaseMyTrip, with its shares gaining 9.17% to end at INR 13.09. The  gains came after the company’s shares also touched a fresh 52-week low of INR 10.71 on Monday. 

Yesterday, the online travel aggregator said that its board approved the allotment of 12.57 Cr equity shares on a preferential basis for a non-cash consideration for acquisition of stakes in various companies.

The list of gainers this week also featured new-age tech companies with the biggest market cap – Eternal, Paytm, PB Fintech. 

As a result, the total market cap of the 32 new-age tech companies went up marginally to $74.78 Bn from last week’s $74.75 Bn.

Now, let’s take a deeper look at what happened in the broader market last week. 

Tariff Troubles Hit Sentiment 

Tariff and counter tariff imposition announcements by China and the US resulted in mood swings in the global equities markets this week.

While the Indian market began the week on a bearish note, sentiment improved significantly in the subsequent sessions after US President Donald Trump deferred imposition of tariffs on all countries, except China, for 90 days. 

Further, the RBI cut the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6% this week. On Friday, the central bank also announced that it will purchase government securities worth INR 40,000 Cr on April 17, marking its third open market operation (OMO) purchase of gilts. A significant improvement in Indian rupee value and a weakening dollar also led to an improvement in market sentiment. 

Yet, Sensex and Nifty 50 ended the week in the red, both declining 0.3% from last Friday’s close to end at 75,157.26 and 22,828.55, respectively. 

However, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their selling in the Indian market. FIIs have sold equities worth INR 31,988 Cr in the month of April so far, taking their total selling in the equity market in 2025 to INR 1.62 Lakh Cr. 

“A clear pattern in FPI strategy will emerge only after the ongoing chaos dies down. In the medium term, FIIs are likely to turn buyers in India since both the US and China are heading for an inevitable slowdown as a result of the ongoing trade war. Even in an unfavourable global scenario, India can grow by 6% in FY26,” said Dr. VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments. 

Moving forward, the US-China trade war, the outcome of the ongoing bilateral trade negotiations between India and the US, and the ongoing earnings season would decide the market trends in the following. 

With that said, let’s dive into the performance of a couple of new-age tech stocks this week.

Delhivery Confident About Ecom Express Acquisition

Last week, Delhivery announced the acquisition of rival Ecom Express for INR 1,407 Cr, about 20% of its last private valuation.

Following this, the stock gained 5% on Monday. However, it declined significantly during the rest of the week. The company’s shares ended the week at INR 246.85, down 4.41% from the previous week. With this, its market cap stood at $2.14 Bn, down about 5% from last week’s $2.25 Bn. 

A potential reason driving the bear sentiment was investor skepticism over Delhivery’s integration of Ecom Express.

Delhivery’s $200 Mn acquisition of partial truck load (PTL) logistics platform SpotOn Logistics in 2021 caused significant integration challenges. 

However, Delhivery clarified on Friday that the Ecom Express acquisition poses “significantly” lower risks compared to its acquisition of SpotOn.

It added that no new technology integrations will have to be “created or changed” as part of the deal as there is a near total overlap (nearly 100% in customer count and 95% in terms of revenue) between Delhivery and Ecom Express. 

Nykaa’s Strong Q4 Projections

Last Sunday (April 6), beauty and personal care major Nykaa gave a strong business update for Q4. Nykaa said that its net revenue grew in the low to mid-20% range year-on-year (YoY) in the March quarter. 

“Nykaa’s full financial year FY25 revenue growth is estimated to be at similar levels in mid twenties, indicating consistent growth across all quarters of FY25,” the company said.

The company added that the beauty vertical remained the key growth driver, with its gross merchandise value (GMV) projected to grow in the low 30% range, significantly ahead of industry benchmarks, in Q4. 

On the back of these projections, Nykaa’s shares gained 1.58% from last week to close at INR 179.65. 

The post New-Age Tech Stocks See Bearish Sentiment Amid Volatile Market, FirstCry Biggest Loser appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Startup initial public offerings (IPOs) were a rage in India in 2024. As many as 13 new-age tech companies listed on the bourses last year and cumulatively raised INR 29,070 Cr via their public listing.

From sector giants Swiggy and FirstCry to SME maverick TAC Infosec, 2024 was abuzz with healthy activity on the IPO front. Not just this, public listings also proved to be money makers for the early backers of these companies, with some VCs and PEs minting returns of over 30X. 

While 2024 was a blockbuster year for Indian startup listings, will the momentum seep into 2025 too? It definitely seems so. As per Inc42 data, 23 startups were in various stages of undertaking their IPO preparations at the start of 2025. While some of them have already received SEBI’s nod to go ahead with their public issue, others are lining up bankers to helm their respective IPOs. 

As many as 11 startups have already filed their draft red herring prospectuses (DRHPs) with SEBI, including Ather Energy, Ecom Express, ArisInfra, Avanse Financial Services, BlueStone, among others. Of these, six have received the regulatory nod to go ahead with their listings. 

Then, there are sectoral giants such as CarDekho, InCred, OfBusiness and Ola Consumer that too are pushing the pedal on listing on the bourses later this year. 

So, what is powering this startup IPO frenzy? One of the key factors that is likely to contribute to the public listing mania in 2025 is India’s strong position in the equities market. While the last few months have seen a major correction, there is bullishness in the medium to long-term. Besides, more rationalised valuations sought by startups in 2024 is expected to further create healthy momentum for new-age tech IPOs this year too. 

“The successful public listings of a sizable number of PE/VC-backed companies and, importantly, the improved performance of many of these companies post their listing is an incentive for investors to further explore the IPO route for liquidity. Also, post-downturn, valuations are more realistic and attractive for long-term investors,” said Lightbox Ventures founder and managing director (MD) Sandeep Murthy.

While the overall outlook for startup IPOs is positive in 2025, challenges remain. The focus of investors continues to remain on profitable and sustainable ventures. Additionally, investors also want potential listees to differentiate themselves on aspects such as scalability, market penetration, advanced technology integration, premium offerings, sustainable features and products tailored to specific industries.

“Startups also need to be cognizant about the valuations at which they want to list. Unrealistic, high valuations come with the risk of poor subscription and underperformance of the stock post listing, both bad for investor confidence in new-age businesses,” added Murthy.

Nevertheless, for now, the Indian startup ecosystem continues to revel in IPO spring. Forging ahead with innovation and grit at its heart, the homegrown new-age tech landscape appears to be headed for a “record-breaking” year on the IPO front.

With much remains to be said and done, we, at Inc42, have compiled a list of Indian new-age tech companies that plan to list on the exchanges this year and next. But, before we dive into the list, here are the latest developments from the Indian IPO landscape: 

Latest Updates:

• Consumer services startup Urban Company’s board approved a proposal to raise up to INR 528 Cr via fresh issue as part of its proposed IPO
• Wakefit has selected Axis Capital, IIFL Capital Services and Nomura as bankers for its upcoming INR 1,500 Cr to INR 2,000 Cr IPO
• EV maker Ather Energy is mulling trimming its IPO size by at least $50 Mn amid the ongoing volatility in the Indian and the global stock markets

The companies have been listed in an alphabetical order | Data has been sourced from Inc42, respective DRHPs, MCA filings and other media reports | Asterisk (*) specifies reported numbers.

Now, let’s take a detailed look at the list: 

Startups That Have Filed DRHP

ArisInfra

Founded in 2021 by Ronak Morbia and Bhavik Khara, ArisInfra is a B2B ecommerce platform that utilises artificial intelligence (AI) to simplify procurement of construction materials. It links real estate developers with vendors for sourcing building materials, and also offers project management services.

Backed by Think Partners, Logx Venture Partners, PharmEasy cofounder and chief executive officer (CEO) Siddharth Shah, and Karbonite Ventures, the startup has bagged more than $25 Mn in funding to date. 

In August 2024, the startup kicked off its IPO proceedings by filing its DRHP with SEBI to raise INR 600 Cr via its IPO. Its public issue will comprise solely a fresh issue of shares, and there will be no offer for sale (OFS) component. 

Later on, the company, in an addendum to its DRHP, informed the markets regulator that it has trimmed the size of the fresh issue in the IPO to INR 579.6 Cr from INR 600 Cr earlier. It received approval from the market regulator for its public listing in November 2024.

In January 2025, the B2B ecommerce platform undertook a pre-IPO placement to raise INR 80 Cr by issuing 36.03 Lakh equity shares for INR 222 per share. 

The startup plans to use the IPO proceeds to repay outstanding credit, support working capital requirements, potential acquisitions and investments in its subsidiary. 

ArisInfra’s consolidated net loss jumped 11.95% YoY to INR 17.33 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), while revenue from operations fell more than 6% YoY to INR 696.84 Cr during the fiscal under review.

Ather Energy

Founded in 2013 by Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain, Ather Energy is one of the biggest players in the Indian electric two-wheeler segment. The startup manufactures and services electric scooters and operates its own charging infrastructure.

The EV major has raised more than $431 Mn in funding to date from the likes of Hero MotoCorp, GIC, Tiger Global, among others. 

The Bengaluru-based startup commenced its proceedings in June 2024 as its board passed a resolution to convert the startup into a public company, considered the first towards an IPO. A couple of months later in September, the startup filed its DRHP with SEBI for its IPO. 

As per the draft IPO papers, Ather’s public issue comprises a fresh issuance of shares worth INR 3,100 Cr and an offer-for-sale (OFS) component of up to 2.2 Cr equity shares. Last heard, the company was eyeing a valuation of $2.4 Bn for its upcoming IPO, a premium of over 80% from over its last fundraise.

In December 2024, the company received SEBI’s approval to go ahead with its IPO plans. 

The proceeds from the IPO will be utilised for kickstarting the construction of its upcoming manufacturing facility in Maharashtra, R&D, marketing initiatives, and other general corporate purposes.

In March 2025, reports surfaced that the EV maker was eyeing a valuation of $1.6 Bn for its much-awaited IPO, which could happen by April 2025. However, amid the global market turmoil, Ather Energy, in April 2025, was said to be looking to trim the size of its public issue by at least INR 430 Cr. A report claimed that company’s shareholders were mulling offering a lower number of shares under the OFS component.

Ather Energy’s net loss zoomed 22.5% to INR 1,059.7 Cr in FY24 from INR 864 Cr in the previous fiscal. Meanwhile, operating revenue rose a mere 0.4% to INR 1,789.10 Cr during the year under review from INR 1,783 Cr in FY23.

Avanse Financial Services

Founded in 2013, Avanse is a non-banking financial company (NBFC) that offers education financing for students and educational institutions in India. Its products also cater to students looking to study abroad and in India. 

The company filed its DRHP in June 2024 for an INR 3,500 Cr IPO. The IPO will comprise a fresh issue of INR 1,000 Cr and an OFS component of shares worth up to INR 2,500 Cr.

In July 2024, SEBI returned the non-bank lender’s DRHP on “technical grounds”. A month later, the company refiled its draft IPO papers with the market regulator. Subsequently, SEBI gave its nod to the NBFC for the IPO in October 2024.

Backed by the likes of Warburg Pincus, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Mubadala Investment Company and Kedaara Capital, the startup has reportedly raised more than $299 Mn in funding to date. 

As per the DRHP, Avanse clocked a net profit of INR 342.4 Cr in FY24, more than doubling from INR 157.71 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Operating revenue also grew sharply to INR 1,726.9 Cr in the fiscal under review from INR 989.5 Cr in FY23.

Aye Finance

A brainchild of Sanjay Sharma and Vikram Jetley, Aye Finance was founded in 2014. The NBFC’s unique selling proposition (USP) lies in its AI-powered credit assessment algorithms that it leverages to offer loans to small businesses across the country. 

The NBFC has secured $500 Mn in funding to date and counts the likes of Google, ABC Impact, Dutch entrepreneurial development bank FMO, among others, as investors. In the run up to its IPO in January 2025, it secured INR 110 Cr in debt from a clutch of investors, including Northern Arc, ASK Financial Holdings, MAS Financial Services and CredAvenue.

Prior to that in early December 2024, the NBFC’s board approved a proposal to raise up to INR 1,450 Cr through an IPO. Consequently in mid-December, the company filed its draft red herring prospectus with the SEBI for a public listing. 

The markets regulator greenlit the NBFC’s IPO plans on April 3, 2025. 

As per the DRHP, Aye Finance’s IPO will comprise a fresh issue of shares worth INR 885 Cr and an OFS component of INR 565 Cr. The OFS will see the likes of investors such as LGT Capital, CapitalG, A91 Fund, MAJ Invest and Alpha Wave offload their stake in the company. 

The NBFC plans to use the fresh proceeds to meet future capital requirements and for undertaking existing business activities.

Aye Finance’s net profit declined marginally to 107.8 Cr in the first half (H1) of FY25 as against INR 113.89 Cr in the year-ago period. Alongside, operating revenue soared to INR 692.24 Cr during the period from INR 472 Cr in H1 FY24.

BlueStone

Founded in 2011 by Gaurav Singh Kushwaha and Vidya Nataraj, BlueStone is an omnichannel jewellery brand that sells rings, pendants, earrings and other products. Backed by Prosus, Steadview Capital and Think Investments, the startup has raised more than $184 Mn in funding till date. 

Kicking off its IPO proceedings in August 2024, the jewellery startup raised INR 900 Cr as part of a pre-IPO funding round that catapulted its valuation to $970 Mn. Just four months later in December, the omnichannel jewellery brand filed its DRHP for an INR 1,000+ Cr IPO.

SEBI issued its observation letter to BlueStone to go ahead with the IPO on April 1, 2025.

The IPO will comprise a fresh issue of shares worth INR 1,000 Cr and an offer-for-sale component of up to 2.40 Cr equity shares. Existing investors Accel, Kalaari Capital, Saama Capital and IvyCap Ventures will offload their stake in the company via OFS.

It plans to use the IPO proceeds to fund its working capital requirements and for general corporate purposes. 

On the financial front, BlueStone reported a net loss of INR 59.2 Cr against an operating revenue of INR 348 Cr in the first quarter (Q1) of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25). 

DevX

Founded in 2017 by Parth Shah, Rushit Shah and Umesh Uttamchandani, DevX offers coworking space solutions, managed office spaces, among others.

The startup, backed by Kalpesh Gala, Unmaj Corporation, and Bidiwala Family Office, last raised $7 Mn in a mix of debt and equity in February 2024. DevX currently operates over 25 coworking spaces in more than 10 Indian cities, including Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Bengaluru, Delhi, Surat, among others. 

The coworking startup initially filed its DRHP with SEBI in September 2024 for a listing on the NSE and the BSE. At the time, DevX’s IPO consisted solely of a fresh issue of 2.47 Cr shares and no OFS component. 

However, in February 2025, SEBI returned the DRHP of the managed office space provider for unspecified reasons. Subsequently, the company refiled its DRHP with the markets regulator in April 2025. 

As per the updated DRHP, the company has increased the size of its fresh issue to up to 2.75 Cr shares from 2.47 Cr shares earlier. 

It plans to deploy the fresh proceeds for the repayment of debt, expanding its footprint and for general corporate purposes. 

As per the DRHP, DevX reported a net profit of INR 43.7 Lakh in FY24 compared to a loss of INR 12.8 Cr in the previous fiscal. Operating revenue also jumped more than 54% to INR 108.08 Cr in the financial year under review compared to INR 69.91 Cr in FY23. 

It clocked a net profit of INR 38.4 Lakh in the first half (H1) of the fiscal year 2024-25 (FY25) on an operating revenue of INR 59.4 Cr. 

Ecom Express 

Founded in 2012 by the late TA Krishnan, Manju Dhawan, K Satyanarayana and Sanjeev Saxena, Ecom Express is a logistics startup that caters to ecommerce platforms, D2C brands and quick commerce players. 

The startup claims to have 3,000 delivery centres spanning 9.6 Mn sq. ft. of space and delivers orders to 27,000 pin codes in 2,700 cities and towns across the country. In April 2025, listed logistics unicorn Delhivery said that it will pick up a 99.4% stake in Ecom Express for INR 1,407 Cr ($164.5 Mn) in a fire sale. 

While Ecom Express’ IPO plans seem to be hanging in balance now, the company, in August 2024, had filed its DRHP with the market regulator SEBI for an INR 2,600 Cr IPO. The logistics startup received SEBI’s approval for its IPO in December 2024. 

As per the draft papers, the proposed public issue comprised a fresh issue of shares worth INR 1,284.5 Cr and an OFS component of up to INR 1,315.5 Cr. 

Backed by the likes of Warburg Pincus, PG Esmeralda and BII, Ecom Express has raised more than $275.79 Mn in funding to date. 

The logistics major trimmed its net loss by 67% to INR 255.8 Cr in FY24 compared to INR 428.1 Cr in FY23. Meanwhile, its operating revenue saw a marginal 2.15% YoY increase to INR 2,609 Cr in the fiscal ended March 2024.

IndiQube

Founded in 2015 by Rishi Das and Meghna Agarwal, IndiQube is a coworking space provider that offers workspace design, interior build out and other B2B and B2C-focussed services. 

Backed by WestBridge Capital, Aravali Investment Holdings, and Konark Trust, IndiQube has raised more than $45 Mn in funding to date across multiple rounds. 

Kicking off its IPO proceedings, the Bengaluru-based company turned into a public limited company in December 2024. In the same month, the managed office space provider filed its DRHP with markets regulator SEBI for an INR 850 Cr IPO. In March 2025, SEBI greenlit the coworking space startup’s IPO. 

The company’s IPO will comprise a fresh issue of shares worth up to INR 750 Cr and an offer for sale (OFS) component of up to INR 100 Cr. Promoters and cofounders, Das and Agarwal, plan to offload a part of their stake via OFS.

The company’s shares will be listed on the BSE and the NSE. IndiQube plans to utilise the fresh proceeds to establish new centres, repay certain borrowings, and for general corporate purposes.

IndiQube’s net loss widened 72% to INR 341.51 Cr in FY24 from INR 198.10 Cr in the previous fiscal. However, revenue from operations surged 44% to INR 867.66 Cr during the year under review from INR 601.28 Cr in FY23. 

Smartworks

Founded in 2016 by Neetish Sarda and Harsh Binani, Smartworks is a shared workspace provider that offers customisable coworking solutions for enterprises. 

The startup has raised $41 Mn in funding till date and is backed by the likes of Ananta Capital, Keppel Land and Plutus Capital. 

Taking the first step towards its IPO, the startup turned into a public company in July 2024 and changed its name to Smartworks Coworking Spaces Ltd from Smartworks Coworking Spaces Private Ltd previously.

In August 2024, it filed its DRHP with SEBI for an INR 550 Cr initial public offering and received approval from the markets regulator for its listing in December 2024. 

As per its DRHP, the company’s IPO comprises a fresh issue of equity shares worth INR 550 Cr and an offer for sale (OFS) component of up to 67.49 Lakh equity.  In December 2024, the company received approval from the SEBI to go-ahead with its IPO.

Smartworks trimmed its net loss to INR 49.9 Cr in FY24 from INR 101.4 Cr in FY23. Operating revenue jumped 46% YoY to INR 1,039.3 Cr during the year under review.

Ullu

Founded by the husband-wife duo of Vibhu Agarwal and Megha Agarwal, Ullu Digital is a Mumbai-based OTT platform that deals with the distribution, promotion, exhibition, marketing and delivery of video content on its streaming platform Ullu. 

It filed its DRHP with the BSE SME for an IPO in February 2024. As per the draft papers, the company’s IPO would comprise a fresh issue of 62.63 Lakh shares and would not have OFS component. Ullu Digital plans to raise INR 135-INR 150 Cr via the IPO. 

The platform plans to use the net proceeds raised via the IPO to meet its expenses for production of new content, purchase of international shows, tech investment, and to meet the working capital requirements.

While Vibhu Agarwal holds a 61.75% stake in Ullu Digital, Megha Aggarwal owns 33.25% of the company. 

In March 2024, the OTT streaming platform came under the scanner of multiple government authorities including SEBI, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) for allegedly selling “pornographic” content using school children.

Later on in December 2024, cofounder and CEO Vibhu Agarwal told a publication that Ullu’s IPO was delayed due to certain “obstacles”, adding that the company now plans to hit the bourses by March 2025. However, there have been no further updates on the public listing plans.

Ullu Digital’s net profit declined 16% to INR 12.68 Cr in FY24 from INR 15.14 Cr in the previous fiscal. The streaming major’s revenue from operations rose 7% to INR 99.67 Cr during the fiscal under review from INR 93.15 Cr in FY23. 

WeWork India 

Karan Virwani brought WeWork to India in 2017 through a partnership with his family’s Embassy Group. The coworking major operates over 54 centres spanning across eight cities in India including Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, among others. These centres include over 1 Lakh desks and 8 Mn square feet of space. 

The company has been planning its IPO for some time now. In November 2024, WeWork India rejigged its board and followed it up by raising INR 500 Cr via a rights issue in January 2025. 

Subsequently, in February 2025, the company filed its DRHP with SEBI to raise funds through an IPO. However, the market regulator, in March 2025, said that it has kept the approval for the coworking giant’s IPO in “abeyance”, without specifying any reason. 

WeWork India’s public issue consists solely of an offer-for-sale (OFS) component of up to 4.3 Cr (43,753,952) equity shares 

Of these, promoter group Embassy Buildcon LLP will sell 3.34 Cr shares, while Ariel Way Tenant will offload 1.02 Cr shares. 

As per its DRHP, WeWork India reported a net loss of INR 174.5 Cr in the first half (H1) of the fiscal year 2024-25 (FY25) against an operating revenue of INR 918.1 Cr.

Zappfresh

Founded in 2015 by Deepanshu Manchanda and Shruti Gochhwal, Zappfresh is a D2C meat startup that supplies meat from farms to customers within 90 minutes. 

Taking its first step towards IPO,the startup converted into a public entity in April 2024 after dropping “private” from its name. As per its RoC filings, the company changed its name to DSM Fresh Foods Limited from DSM Fresh Foods Private Limited previously. 

The startup’s parent filed its DRHP for listing on BSE SME in August 2024. Zappfresh’s IPO will comprise a fresh issue of 59.06 Lakh equity shares, with no offer for sale component. 

While there has been clarity on the public issue since then, Zappfresh cofounder and CEO Deepanshu Manchanda, in February 2025, told Inc42 attributed the delays in the company’s public listing to SEBI tightening IPO rules for SMEs in December 2024. Manchanda said that the company is following up with SEBI on the matter and expects Zappfresh to become a listed entity in 2025 itself. 

The D2C meat delivery startup is looking to raise fresh capital in the range of INR 60 Cr to INR 70 Cr via the public issue. 

As per its DRHP, Zappfresh plans to use the proceeds from the IPO to fuel acquisitions, meeting marketing and capital expenditure requirements and for general corporate purposes.

Zappfresh reported a net profit of INR 4.7 Cr in the fiscal 2023-24 (FY24), up 70% from INR 2.7 Cr in the previous year. Meanwhile, operating revenue surged more than 60% to INR 90.4 Cr in the fiscal under review from INR 56.3 Cr in FY23.

Startups Lining Up IPO Plans In 2025

Bira 91

Founded by Ankur Jain in 2015, Bira 91 sells craft, lager and strong beers as well as non-alcoholic beverages. Backed by Sofina, DS Group and Peak XV Partners, Bira 91 has bagged $449 Mn in funding to date across multiple rounds. 

The beer marker’s IPO has been in works for some time now. Although Bira converted into a public company and renamed itself as B9 Beverages Limited back in 2022, it is yet to file its00 DRHP with the SEBI.

However, the company resuscitated its IPO plans in July 2024 amid a spree of new-age tech public listings. At the time, reports said that the alco-beverage brand was looking to list on the bourses in 2026 and had roped in investment banking firm Morgan Stanley to helm its pre-IPO process.

The Delhi NCR-based brand’s operating revenue rose 15% to INR 824.3 Cr in the year ended March 2023 as against INR 718.8 Cr in FY22. Meanwhile, net loss jumped 12% YoY to INR 445.4 Cr in FY23.

boAt

Founded in 2016 by Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta, boAt is a D2C brand that sells products such as headphones, smart watches and speakers. 

The startup has raised more than $171 Mn across multiple rounds from marquee names such as Warburg Pincus,Qualcomm Ventures, Malabar Investments, Innoven Capital, Fireside Ventures, among others. 

boAt has been planning its IPO for some years now. In 2022, it filed its DRHP with SEBI in 2022 for an INR 2,000 Cr public issue but later shelved the plan amid adverse macroeconomic conditions. 

Subsequently, in June 2024, cofounder and CEO Sameer Mehta hinted at an impending IPO and said that boAt would be looking to raise INR 2,000 Cr via the IPO in the next 12-18 months. He also said that the company was looking to turn net profitable yet again in FY25 before moving ahead with IPO plans.

A few months later in September, cofounder and chief marketing officer Aman Gupta echoed the sentiment and said that the startup was eyeing a listing on the Indian stock exchanges in 2025. 

Kicking off its IPO plans in November 2024, boAt reportedly finalised ICICI Securities, Goldman Sachs and Nomura as the bankers to helm its IPO in 2025 at a valuation north of $1.5 Bn. In February 2025, reports claimed that the company was planning to file its DRHP with SEBI via confidential pre-filing route for an INR 2,000 Cr IPO by FY26.

The D2C brand’s board, in late-February 2025, greenlit plans to amend the company’s articles of association (AoA) and raise up to INR 500 Cr via fresh issue of shares during the IPO. Subsequently, the company’s parent Imagine Marketing filed its DRHP via the confidential pre-filing route. 

Meanwhile, on the financial footing, boAt continued to be in the red for the second consecutive fiscal year in FY24. It posted a net loss of INR 79.7 Cr in FY24, down 38% from INR 129.4 Cr in the previous year. Operating revenue also fell 7% to INR 3,117.7 Cr during the year under review from INR 3,376.8 Cr in FY23.

Capillary Technologies

Founded in 2008 by Aneesh Reddy, Capillary Technologies is a SaaS startup that offers omnichannel engagement and commerce solutions. 

With presence spanning India, Southeast Asia, MENA, and the US, the startup has raised more than $239 Mn in funding to date. It is backed by the likes of marquee names such as Avataar Ventures, Filter Capital, Peak XV Partners, among others. 

In January 2025, Inc42 exclusively reported that the company has restarted its IPO preparations and will likely file its DRHP with SEBI for a $200 Mn public offering by June 2025. The IPO will comprise a fresh issue of shares in the range of $12 Mn to $24 Mn while the remaining will be part of the OFS component. 

The promoter group and investors who joined the startup’s cap table over the last couple of years are expected to offload their stakes via the OFS. Capillary is eyeing a valuation in the range of $500 Mn to $1 Bn during the potential public listing. 

This will be the SaaS startup’s second stab at a public listing. In 2021, the company filed its DRHP to raise $114 Mn via its market debut. 

As per Tofler, the company’s India entity closed FY24 with a revenue of INR 150.1 Cr, up marginally from INR 142.6 Cr in the previous fiscal. Its net loss declined to INR 52.3 Cr in the fiscal under review compared to INR 90.1 Cr in FY23.

Captain Fresh

Founded in 2019 by Utham Gowda, Captain Fresh is a B2B startup that exports and sells fish and seafood. Besides operating a marketplace for fisherfolk to sell their catch, it also offers an end-to-end operations management tool for retail outlets and supermarket chains for sale of seafood.

Backed by the likes of Tiger Global, Prosus and British International Investment (BII), the B2B startup has raised more than $172 Mn in funding to date. 

In May 2024, the company appointed Mathew George as its group chief financial officer (CFO) ahead of its potential IPO. Subsequently, in October, it was reported that Captain Fresh had roped in Axis Capital and Bank of America (BofA) as bankers to helm its planned IPO in the second half of 2025. 

In December 2024, reports surfaced that the B2B seafood chain was in discussions with investors to raise $50 Mn to $100 Mn in its pre-IPO round at a valuation of $600 Mn to $650 Mn. The fundraise is expected to include both primary and secondary components, with existing backers such as Accel and Prosus likely to participate.

The B2B seafood startup is looking to raise $350 Mn to $400 Mn as part of its public issue. Of this, half will be part of the fresh issue while the remaining will be the offer for sale (OFS) component. The startup is said to be eyeing a valuation of $1.3 B to $1.5 Bn for the IPO. 

In February 2025, the B2B seafood startup secured INR 250 Cr as part of its ongoing pre-IPO round led by existing investors Prosus Ventures, Accel and Tiger Global.  

CarDekho

Founded in 2008 by siblings Amit Jain and Anurag Jain, CarDekho operates an online car listing platform, insurance platform InsuranceDekho, and lending platform Rupyy. 

CarDekho has so far raised more than $692 Mn in funding and competes with the likes of CarTrade, Spinny and Cars24. During its last fundraise in 2021, the company was valued at $1.2 Bn. 

As per reports, the auto marketplace is in advanced talks to appoint merchant bankers to helm its IPO, and is eyeing a public listing in 2025. The company is looking to raise nearly $500 Mn at a valuation of $2 Bn to $2.5 Bn.

Its early backers, including Peak XV, Google Capital, and Hillhouse Capital, are expected to offload a part of their stakes via OFS. 

CarDekho plans to utilise the proceeds from the IPO to fuel CarDekho’s geographical and category expansion as well as for future acquisitions. 

However, this is not the first time that CarDekho is planning to list on the bourses. While the company internally was looking to list on the bourses in 2021, the plans did not materialise then.

As per MCA filings, CarDekho Group reported a consolidated operating revenue of INR 2,250.43 Cr in FY24, down 3.49% from INR 2,331.88 Cr in the previous fiscal. Meanwhile, the company trimmed losses by nearly 40% to INR 340.08 Cr during the period under review from INR 566.13 Cr in FY23.

Cult.fit

Founded in 2016 by former Myntra cofounder Mukesh Bansal and ex-Flipkart executive Ankit Nagori (left in 2020), Cult.fit operates a chain of gyms, health-focussed cloud kitchen brand Eat.fit, mental wellbeing platform Mind.fit, primary healthcare vertical Care.fit, among others. 

Backed by the likes of names such as Zomato, Accel, Tata Digital, Temasek, Kalaari Capital, and Chiratae Ventures, Cult.fit has raised more than $650 Mn to date. 

Jumping on the IPO bandwagon, the fitness startup, in March 2025, kicked off plans for a public listing. As per a report, the company has shortlisted Axis Capital, Jefferies, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JM Financial as bankers to helm its INR 2,500 Cr public offering.

Cult.fit is reportedly eyeing a valuation of $2 Bn, a steep 27% jump from its last known valuation of $1.56 Bn in 2021 when Zomato invested $100 Mn in the company to acquire a 6.4% stake.

The startup saw its operating revenue zoom 33.6% to INR 926.6 Cr in FY24 from INR 693.7 Cr in the year-ago period. Meanwhile, its consolidated net loss widened 42% to INR 888.5 Cr in the fiscal under review from INR 625.5 Cr in FY23.

Curefoods

Founded in 2020 by Ankit Nagori, Curefoods is a cloud kitchen unicorn that operates a diverse portfolio of brands including EatFit, CakeZone, Nomad Pizza, Sharief Bhai Biryani, and Frozen Bottle. 

It claims to manage more than 200 cloud kitchens and offline outlets across 15 cities in India, offering over 10 cuisines. The startup has raised more than $175 Mn in funding to date and is backed by names such as Iron Pillar, Accel, Three State Ventures, Chiratae Ventures, ASK Finance, among others. 

In January 2025, it was reported that the Bengaluru-based cloud kitchen startup was looking to float a $300 Mn to $400 Mn IPO in the latter part of FY26. The company, which has already initiated talks with bankers for the public issue, will finalise the bankers in the coming days.

On the financial front, the company trimmed its net loss by 49.64% to INR 172.6 Cr in FY24 from INR 342.7 Cr in FY23. Meanwhile, operating revenue zoomed 53.17% to INR 585.1 Cr in FY24 from INR 382 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Droom

Founded in 2014 by Sandeep Aggarwal, Droom operates an ecommerce platform that connects used car dealers with customers. In addition, the company also offers car rental services, and owns a car financing arm, a SaaS vertical, and advertising business. 

The startup has raised nearly $300 Mn in funding to date and is backed by names such as Lightbox, 57 Stars and Seven Train Ventures, among others.

The used car marketplace plans to file its DRHP for an INR 1,000 Cr IPO by June 2025 and is targeting a listing on the exchanges by November 2025. Its public issue will consist of a fresh issue as well as an offer for sale, with the fresh issue likely to be over 50% of the offer. 

Droom is aiming for a valuation of $1.2 Bn to $1.5 Bn for the IPO and has already finalised two middle market banks for the public issue. 

If the plan fructifies, this will be Droom’s second attempt at a public listing. In late 2021, the company filed its IPO papers with markets regulator SEBI to raise INR 3,000 Cr but later deferred the plan due to market volatility.

Meanwhile, the startup also plans to raise nearly INR 200 Cr as part of a pre-IPO round from existing investors and new investors including Indian family offices and high net worth individuals (HNIs). 

In March 2025, the auto tech platform secured $3 Mn in a round co-led by India Accelerator and Finvolve. As per the startup, the proceeds will “expedite” its plans for refiling its draft IPO papers in 2025 itself.

On the financial front, Droom reported a net loss of INR 40.4 Cr in FY24, down 35% from INR 62.1 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Meanwhile, the Lightbox-backed company’s operating revenue also tanked 66% to INR 85.4 Cr in the fiscal under review from INR 253.3 Cr in FY23.

Flipkart

Flipkart was founded in 2017 by Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal. Later, the duo sold a majority stake in the ecommerce juggernaut to Walmart in 2018 for $16 Bn. Since then, the ecommerce major has become India’s biggest online marketplace and has diversified into a host of new areas, including fintech, travel aggregation, and quick commerce. 

Flipkart, which is also backed by Google, was last valued at $35 Bn during a $1 Bn fundraise. 

Arguably the biggest startup in the country by valuation, the ecommerce major is aiming to list on the Indian bourses soon. Flipkart, which has already received internal approvals to shift its domicile to India from Singapore, may launch an IPO by 2025-end or early-2026. 

In February 2025, Inc42 reported that the company has sped up plans for a public listing and has been rejigging its top brass and strengthening its board. In addition, the top brass has issued directions internally to employees to stick to stricter profit targets, pitch plans for new verticals, and scale up revenues.

The ecommerce major’s B2C arm, Flipkart Internet Private Ltd, reported an operating revenue of INR 17,907.3 Cr in FY24, up from INR 14,825 Cr in the previous fiscal. Meanwhile, loss declined 41% to INR 2,358 Cr from INR 4,028 Cr in FY23.

Fractal

Founded in 2000 by Srikanth Velamakanni, Pranay Agrawal and Ashwath Bhat, Fractal is a SaaS startup that offers artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced analytics solutions to enterprises globally. 

Backed by TPG Capital, Khazanah Nasional and Apax Partners, the enterprise tech startup has raised $685 Mn in funding till date. It turned unicorn in 2022 and was last valued at over $2 Bn. 

As per Fractal’s annual report for FY24, the startup converted into a public company from a private company in May 2024.

Last reported, the company was looking to raise $500 Mn to $600 Mn via its IPO at a valuation of around $3.5 Bn. As per reports, Fractal’s public issue will likely have a “large share” of secondary share sale by existing investors, the quantum of which is still yet to be decided. 

Fractal slipped into the red in FY24 as it reported a net loss of INR 54.7 Cr in the fiscal under review as against a profit of INR 194.4 Cr in the previous fiscal. Meanwhile, revenue from operations jumped 11% to INR 2,196.3 Cr in the fiscal ended March 2024 from INR 1,985.4 Cr in FY23.

Groww

Founded in 2017 by Lalit Keshre, Harsh Jain, Neeraj Singh, and Ishan Bansal, Groww is an online discount broking platform that allows users to invest in stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other financial instruments.

The investment tech major has been looking to list on Indian bourses for some time now. Groww shifted its domicile back to India in March 2024 with an eye on an IPO. It also paid a hefty INR 1,340 Cr in taxes to US authorities to reverse flip back to India. 

In January 2025, reports surfaced that Groww’s parent Billionbrains Garage Ventures plans to file its DRHP by April-May 2025 for an IPO worth over $1 Bn. It is eyeing a public listing by the end of FY26. Previous reports noted that the company was targeting a valuation of $7-8 Bn for the IPO.

The company has also finalised five investment banks, Kotak Mahindra Capital, JP Morgan, Axis Capital, Citi and Motilal Oswal, to helm its public listing. The public issue is expected to largely comprise an offer for sale (OFS) component. 

Meanwhile, in March 2025, the IPO-bound invest tech unicorn’s parent, issued bonus compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) to existing investors Peak XV Partners, Ribbit Capital and Y Combinator, as per a CCI notice. The deal also resulted in the collapse of the differential voting rights (DVR) held by Groww cofounders Harsh Jain, Lalit Keshre, Neeraj Singh and Ishan Bansal.

In the same month, the investment tech unicorn was said to be in talks with Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and existing backer Tiger Global to raise $200 Mn ahead of its listing, for which is is likely to seek a valuation of $6.5 Bn.

The company reported a profit of INR 535 Cr in FY24 on an operating revenue of INR 3,145 Cr.

InCred

Founded in 2016 by Bhupinder Singh, InCred Group operates three separate verticals. While InCred Finance is the lending vertical, InCred Capital is the company’s wealth and asset management arm. Finally, InCred Money deals in retail bonds and alternative investments. 

InCred is backed by marquee names such as Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), OAKS, Investcorp, Moore Capital, Elevar Equity, among others. 

In December 2024, reports claimed that the fintech unicorn InCred Financial Services was looking to raise INR 4,000 Cr to INR 5,000 Cr via an IPO in late-2025. The company is said to be eyeing a valuation in the range of INR 15,000 Cr to INR 22,500 Cr. 

InCred’s net profit surged 162% to INR 316.3 Cr in FY24 as against INR 120.9 Cr in the previous fiscal. Operating revenue also soared 47% to INR 1,270 Cr during the fiscal under review from INR 864.6 Cr in FY23.

Infra.Market

Founded in 2016 by Souvik Sengupta and Aaditya Sharda, Infra.Market operates a B2B marketplace that sells construction products and other range of building materials such as concrete, steel, pipes, fittings, and chemicals. 

The startup has raised over $415 Mn in funding to date and is backed by marquee investors such as Tiger Global, Accel, and Nexus Ventures.

Infra.Market has set the ball rolling for its IPO and has shortlisted eight investment bankers, including Kotak Mahindra Capital, IIFL Capital, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, among others, as advisors for the IPO. 

While the company is eyeing raising $500 Mn -$700 Mn via its IPO, it may also increase it further depending on “market conditions”. Its public issue will comprise a fresh issue of shares as well as secondary share sale. 

While the talks are still in early stages, the proceeds from Infra.Market’s potential IPO will be utilised to repay the debt incurred for the startup’s organic and inorganic growth initiatives.

In the run up to the IPO, the company, in January 2025, raised INR 1,050 Cr as part of its pre-IPO round at a valuation of about $2.8 Bn, up over 10% from $2.5 Bn at which it was last pegged. 

The B2B ecommerce major’s net profit narrowed 17% YoY to INR 155.2 Cr in FY23 while operating revenue soared 90% YoY to INR 11,846.5 Cr during the fiscal under review.

InMobi

Founded in 2007 by Naveen Tewari, Piyush Shah, Mohit Saxena and Abhay Singhal, InMobi is an adtech platform that offers a suite of product discovery and monetisation solutions. 

Headquartered in Singapore, the SaaS startup also has offices in Bengaluru, New York, Beijing, London, Dubai, and several other locations. Backed by the likes of Sherpalo Ventures, SoftBank and Kleiner Perkins, InMobi has raised more than $320 Mn in funding till date and was one of the first Indian new-age tech companies to enter the unicorn club in 2011. 

The SaaS startup is eyeing a public listing in India by October 2025 at a valuation of about $8 Bn to $10 Bn. The adtech major is looking to file its DRHP with SEBI for a $1 Bn IPO.

The IPO will comprise a fresh issue of shares as well as an OFS component. However, the IPO size is yet to be finalised, given discussions with bankers are still on. 

However, this will not be InMobi’s first stab at an IPO. In 2021, it was reportedly planning for an IPO but shelved the plans due to adverse market conditions and funding winter.

Innoviti

Founded in 2002 by Rajeev Agrawal, Innoviti is a digital payments solutions provider that allows businesses to accept payments and integrate real-time sales data into critical business processes. 

Backed by the likes of Random Walk Solutions, Bessemer Venture Partners, Patni Family Office India and Alumni Ventures, the startup has raised more than $87 Mn in funding to date.

In August 2024, the company said it was eyeing a public market debut within the next 12 months. But, later on in January 2025, the company yet again extended its IPO deadline and said that it was looking to list on the bourses by 2025-end. 

Innoviti saw its revenue from operations decline marginally to INR 105.6 Cr in FY24, down from INR 110.2 Cr in FY23. Meanwhile, loss also fell to INR 70.5 Cr during the fiscal under review from INR 86.6 Cr in FY23.

Kissht

Founded in 2015 by Ranvir Singh and Krishnan Vishwanathan, Kissht is a digital lending platform which offers personal and business loans of up to INR 5 Lakh. It leverages AI and machine learning algorithms to assess creditworthiness of customers. 

In addition, it also offers health-related insurance products and loans against property. 

In April 2025, reports surfaced that the digital lending startup has shortlisted ICICI Securities, UBS Securities, and Motilal Oswal as the investment bankers for its proposed $225 Mn IPO. The public issue will primarily comprise a fresh issue, and the proceeds will be utilised to fund growth and “new business lines”.

The fintech startup plans to file its DRHP by June 2025 and is eyeing a valuation of $900 Mn to $1.1 Bn for the public listing. 

The startup was valued at $344 Mn during its last fundraise of $80 Mn in 2022. Kissht has raised more than $140 Mn in funding to date and counts the likes of Vertex Growth, Brunei Investment Agency, Endiya Partners, and Ventureast among its backers. 

On the financial front, Kissht’s net profit zoomed 234% to INR 82.46 Cr in FY24 from INR 24.67 Cr in the previous year. Operating revenue surged 60% to INR 412 Cr from INR 258 Cr in FY23.

Lenskart

Founded in 2010 by Peyush Bansal, Amit Chaudhury, and Sumeet Kapahi, Lenskart is an omnichannel eyewear retailer that caters to customers in India, the UAE, Singapore, Japan, among others.

The company claims to have over 2,500 stores and a customer base of 2 Cr.

Jumping on the IPO bandwagon, the startup, in January 2025, initiated talks with bankers for a $750 Mn to $1 Bn IPO. The company is reportedly eyeing a valuation of $7-8 Bn through its IPO and plans to list on Indian bourses toward the end of FY26. If reports are to be believed, the eyewear major is planning to file its draft papers by May 2025 for an IPO at a valuation of $10 Bn. 

By late-January 2025, the company was said to have roped in Kotak Mahindra Bank and Morgan Stanley to helm the IPO. It was said to be looking to raise a pre-IPO round of about $1 Bn.

The eyewear startup narrowed its net loss by 84% to INR 10 Cr in FY24 from INR 64 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Meanwhile, operating revenue jumped 43% to INR 5,427.7 Cr during the year under review from INR 3,788 Cr in FY23. 

Licious

Founded in 2015 by Abhay Hanjura and Vivek Gupta, Licious is a D2C brand that sells meat products. Operating on a farm-to-fork business model, the startup is focused on cold-chain food deliveries, including meat and chicken. 

The startup has raised nearly $555 Mn in funding to date and is backed by the likes of Temasek, 3one4 Capital, among others. 

The Bengaluru-based startup has been lining up plans to list on the bourses and is targeting a 2026 listing. As per the reports, Licious is eyeing a public listing at a valuation of more than $2 Bn. The D2C unicorn was last valued at $1.5 Bn in March 2023.

Licious claims to have trimmed its loss by 44% to INR 293.77 Cr in FY24 from INR 528.5 Cr in FY23. Meanwhile, revenue declined 8.4% to INR 685.05 Cr during the fiscal under review from INR 748 Cr in FY23.

Meesho

Founded in 2015 by Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal, Meesho initially started off as a social ecommerce platform. But, in 2022, it pivoted to the marketplace model, taking on the giants like Flipkart and Amazon.

The ecommerce platform has raised close to $1.36 Bn in funding so far and was last valued at around $5 Bn. 

Meesho’s IPO plans came to light after investor Prosus Ventures, in its half-yearly report for H1 FY25, said that it sees the online marketplace listing on the Indian bourses in the next 18 months.

In contrast, Meesho’s chief financial officer (CFO), in August 2023, said that the company was eyeing a stock market listing in the next 12-18 months.The 18-month deadline ends in February 2025. However, the company is far away from listing as it is yet to reverse flip to the country. However, preparations appear to be underway. 

In August 2024, Meesho announced the appointment of four independent directors, with an eye on shoring up its board ahead of its IPO. Subsequently, in March 2025, reports surfaced that the company had shortlisted Morgan Stanley, Kotak Mahindra Capital and Citi as advisers for its IPO. 

The ecommerce giant is said to be looking to raise $1 Bn at a likely valuation of $10 Bn. It plans to file its DRHP with markets regulator SEBI by April 2025 as it eyes a late-2025 listing. 

In the run up to its IPO, the company’s board, in late March 2025, passed a resolution to allot 20.65 Lakh equity shares to Aatrey and 6.59 Lakh shares to Barnwal on exercise of their ESOPs. 

On the financial front, Meesho narrowed its net loss by 81.8% to INR 304.9 Cr in FY24 from INR 1,675 Cr in the previous fiscal. Operating revenue jumped 32.8% to INR 7,614.9 Cr during the year under review from INR 5,734.5 Cr in FY23. 

Navi 

Founded in 2018 by Flipkart cofounder Bansal and Ankit Agarwal, Navi is a financial services company that offers a range of products, including personal, vehicle, and home loans. Besides digital payments, the company now also offers insurance, and mutual fund investments.

In February 2025, reports emerged that the fintech unicorn had kicked off discussions with merchant bankers to restart its IPO proceedings. While the valuation and other details have not been finalised, Navi is eyeing a public listing in the second half of FY26.

Navi cofounder and executive chairman Sachin Bansal, in April 2025, said that the unicorn is looking to get listed on the bourses in FY26 itself. 

Notably, this is not the first time that Navi has lined up plans to list on the exchanges. In 2022, the company filed its DRHP with SEBI for an INR 3,350 Cr IPO but later shelved the plan amid raging market volatility. 

As per ratings agency Care Ratings, Navi Technologies reported a profit after tax (PAT) of INR 130 Cr in the first half (H1) of FY25 against a total income of INR 2,614 Cr. 

NoPaperForms

A brainchild of Naveen Goyal and Suraj Sapra, NoPaperForms, which was founded in 2017, helps educational institutions and edtech businesses automate student enrollment and fee collection processes. 

Serving 1,200 educational institutions including Manipal University, Shiv Nadar University, and PhysicsWallah, the startup also caters to customers in the UAE and Malaysia.

In March 2025, the Info Edge-backed startup, which operates under the brand Meritto, received a go-ahead from its board to undertake a public listing. 

If reports are to be believed, the SaaS startup has appointed two investment bankers, IIFL Capital and SBI Capital, for its IPO. The startup is eyeing an IPO in a range of INR 500 Cr to INR 600 Cr by the end of this year. 

NoPaperForms, which may file DRHP by Q2 FY26, is likely to seek a valuation of INR 2,000 Cr for the public listing. While Info Edge is yet to take a call on whether it will participate in the startup’s IPO, reports claim that the VC firm is unlikely to sell its stake in the company.

On the financial front, NoPaperForms turned profitable in FY24 and clocked a standalone net profit of INR 4 Lakh in the fiscal under review against a loss of INR 15 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Meanwhile, operating revenues jumped 45.4% to INR 70.03 Cr in FY24 from INR 48.18 Cr in FY23.

OfBusiness

Founded in 2015 by Asish Mohapatra, Ruchi Kalra, Bhuvan Gupta, Chandranshu Sinha, Nitin Jain, Srinath Ramakkrushnan and Vasant Sridhar, OfBusiness operates a B2B ecommerce platform that sells construction materials and offers financing solutions to merchants.

In November, the startup reportedly appointed five investment banks, including Axis Capital, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, Citigroup and Bank of America to oversee its up to $1 Bn IPO.

The startup is said to be in the process of merging and integrating internal businesses ahead of the public listing. It plans to seek approval from SEBI between March and June 2025 and is eyeing a late-2025 listing. 

As per OfBusiness CFO Bhavesh Keswani, the company is targeting a $750 Mn to $1 Bn IPO, which will include a fresh issuance of shares worth $200 Mn. The remaining amount will be earmarked for OFS. 

The B2B marketplace is looking to debut on the bourses at a valuation of $6 Bn to $9 Bn. 

In January 2025, the B2B unicorn converted itself into a public company. Following its board’s approval, OfBusiness rechristened itself as OFB Tech Limited from OFB Tech Private Limited previously.

OfBusiness saw its consolidated operating revenue surge over 25% YoY to INR 19,296.3 Cr in FY24, while net profit soared to INR 603 Cr during the fiscal under review from INR 463.2 Cr in FY23.

Ola Consumer

Founded by Bhavish Aggarwal, Ola Consumer operates a mobility platform that offers ride-hailing, food delivery and financial services. Backed by SoftBank, Ola has raised more than $3.84 Bn in funding till date and is one of the biggest players in the Indian ride-hailing segment. 

In October 2024, it was reported that the startup had sought approval from its investors to turn into a public entity, the first step towards IPO. Subsequently, the company’s shareholders gave their approval to turn Ola Consumer into a public limited company.

Additionally, the company is also said to be finalising the bankers to handle the public issue. 

Previous reports said that the company had held talks with investment banks like Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citi, Kotak, and Axis to helm its $500 Mn IPO at a nearly $5 Bn valuation. 

Ola parent ANI Technologies narrowed its loss by nearly half to INR 772.2 Cr in FY23 from INR 1,522.3 Cr in the previous fiscal. Operating revenue rose 42% YoY to INR 2,799.3 Cr .

OYO

Founded in 2012, OYO is a travel tech startup that offers vacation homes, casino hotels, coworking spaces, budget hotels, corporate stays and more. 

The company has revived its IPO plans yet again and is looking to refile its DRHP by the end of Q1 FY26. As per reports, the latest attempt at an IPO comes after a reshuffle in the startup’s ownership structure, with OYO targeting a valuation of up to $5 Bn for its public listing. 

This comes a year after the Delhi NCR-based hospitality major, in May 2024, officially withdrew its IPO documents. Interestingly, this was OYO’s second attempt at a public listing and it was looking to raise $400 Bn to $600 Bn. 

Notably, this was lower than INR 8,430 Cr ($1.2 Bn) that the company was looking to raise during its earlier attempt at an IPO in 2021. 

The hospitality giant has now expedited its IPO plans amid increasing pressure from its creditors to clear a looming debt repayment. The lenders, including Mizuho Financial Group, have reportedly directed founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal to cough up the $383 Mn he owes as part of a $2.1 Bn loan package or list by October 2025. 

OYO turned profitable in FY24 with a net profit of INR 229.5 Cr against a net loss of INR 1,286.5 Cr in the previous financial year. However, operating revenue declined 1.3% to INR 5,388.7 Cr in FY24 from INR 5,463.9 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

PayU India

Delaying its IPO plans, the Prosus-backed payments solutions startup now plans to go public “sometime after the first quarter” of FY26. As per reports, PayU India has finalised Goldman Sachs as one of the lead bankers to helm the public issue and will likely file its DRHP by early-2025. 

Confirming this, Prosus’ chief investment officer (CIO) Ervin Tu said that it is eyeing a listing for PayU in India in 2025. This is in line with what investor Prosus said in December 2024. At the time, the Dutch investment firm said that it expected the fintech startup to list on the Indian bourses in the next 12-18 months.

Previously, in November 2023, Tu said that PayU could be ready for a public listing in India by the second half of calendar year 2024. At the time, the company was eyeing a $500 Mn IPO but the fintech major later postponed the plans. 

As per the Dutch investor’s annual report, PayU India’s revenue jumped 11% YoY to $444 Mn in FY24. However, this was lower than the 31% revenue growth reported in FY23 and over 40% jump it clocked in FY22.

PhonePe

Founded in 2015 by Sameer Nigam, Rahul Chari and Burzin Engineer, PhonePe is India’s biggest online payments platform. It regularly accounts for nearly half of all Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions processed in the country. 

From offering merely digital payments at the outset, the fintech giant has morphed into a full-fledged financial services platform, offering a host of offerings including insurance products, and broking services to customers. 

The fintech major was acquired by ecommerce juggernaut Flipkart in 2016. Six years later, parent Walmart hived off PhonePe as a separate entity from Flipkart and redomicile the fintech company back to India. In late-2022, PhonePe flipped back to the country, with an eye on listing on Indian bourses. 

However, in June 2024, a senior Walmart executive said that PhonePe’s IPO could take a couple of years, effectively indicating a 2026 IPO. Subsequently in February 2025, the company publicly confirmed that it has commenced preparatory steps in connection with its potential IPO.

The fintech major has picked up four investment bankers, including Kotak Mahindra Capital, JP Morgan, Citi, and Morgan Stanley, to helm its IPO. PhonePe is reportedly eyeing a valuation of up to $15 Bn for its FY26 IPO, which will likely comprise both primary and secondary issuance of shares. 

The fintech major saw its consolidated net loss narrow 28% YoY to INR 1,996 Cr in FY24 while revenue soared 74% YoY to INR 5,064 Cr. 

Physics Wallah

Founded in 2020 by Alakh Pandey and Prateek Maheshwari, Physics Wallah (PW) operates online and offline coaching centres for K-12 students and test preparation platforms for various exams. It also has a skilling arm and a study abroad vertical.

In 2024, PW finalised Axis Capital, Kotak Mahindra Capital, Goldman Sachs, and JP Morgan as the bankers for its proposed $400 Mn to $500 Mn public listing in 2025. As per reports, the public issue will likely be a mix of fresh issuance of shares and offer for sale.

Previous reports noted that the edtech unicorn was eyeing a flat valuation of over $2.8 Bn, the number at which it was last pegged. If the plan fructifies, PW will become India’s first edtech startup to list on the stock exchanges.

Ahead of the public listing, the edtech unicorn, in March 2025, appointed three independent directors to its board – former Zomato deputy CFO and Moonstone Ventures founder Nitin Savara, former RBI regional director Rachna Dikshit, and ex-bureaucrat Deepak Amitabh.

The company also changed the designation of Prateek Boob from executive director to wholetime director of the company for a period of five years, effective February 2025. Not just this, the company also issued bonus equity shares worth INR 212.3 Cr to all its stakeholders in the run up to the IPO in March 2025. 

Subsequently in March 2025, the edtech unicorn finally filed its DRHP via confidential route with the SEBI for an INR 4,600 Cr IPO. As per reports, a big chunk of the public issue will comprise the OFS component.

PW reported a net loss of INR 1,131.2 Cr in FY24 compared to INR 84.06 Cr in FY23. The startup’s operating revenue jumped 2.6X to INR 1,940.4 Cr in the fiscal under review from INR 744.3 Cr in FY23.

Pine Labs

Founded in 1998 by Lokvir Kapoor, Rajul Garg, and Tarun Upadhyay, Pine Labs is a payment solutions provider that sells point of sales (PoS) devices and other payment systems to businesses. It also helps businesses deploy rewards and cashback solutions.

Pine Labs kickstarted its IPO proceedings in June 2024 as it began moving its domicile back to India for a $1 Bn public listing at a valuation of over $6 Bn.

Subsequently, in November 2024, reports surfaced that the fintech major has shortlisted five investment banks – Axis Capital, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, JP Morgan and Jefferies – to helm its IPO, which is expected to be launched in the first half of FY26.

In March 2025, the fintech major’s CEO Amrish Rau said that the company is looking to launch its IPO in the second half of 2025. As per a report, Pine Labs is targeting a $1 Bn public issue, which will comprise a fresh issue of shares as well as an offer for sale component.

Pine Labs has raised nearly $1.6 Bn in funding to date and is backed by the likes of Peak XV Partners, Actis Capital, Temasek, PayPal, Mastercard, among others. 

As per data available on Tofler, Pine Labs reported a 233% jump in its net loss to INR 187.2 Cr in FY24 from INR 56.1 Cr in the previous year. Operating revenue grew 2.2% to INR 1,309.6 Cr during the fiscal under review from INR 1,280.5 Cr in FY23. 

Pure EV

A brainchild of Nishanth Dongari and Rohit Vadera, the startup manufactures electric bikes and scooters namely eePluto 7G MAX, ETRANCE Neo+, ePluto 7G, ecoDryft 350 and 3TrystX.

It has raised more than $14 Mn in funding till date and counts the likes of Bennett Coleman and Company, Hindustan Times Media Ventures, Ushodaya Enterprises, among others, as backers. 

Setting its plans to become India’s second listed EV player in motion, the startup, in August 2024, said it plans to list on the bourses in 2025. 

In March 2025, Inc42 reported that the Hyderabad-based Pure EV’s board passed a special resolution, in September 2024, to change the status of its parent, PuR Energy, from private to public.

However, it continues to be a loss-making entity and reported a net loss of INR 9.3 Cr in FY23. Meanwhile, revenue from operations also declined 42% to INR 131.28 Cr from INR 225.98 Cr in FY22. 

Razorpay

Founded in 2014 by IIT-Roorkee graduates Harshil Mathur and Shashank Kumar, Razorpay is an omnichannel payments and banking platform. Starting off as a payment gateway, the fintech major has grown to a multi-product platform offering SME payroll management, banking, lending, payments, insurance, and other fintech solutions.

Razorpay claims to clock an annualized total payment volume (TPV) exceeding $180 Bn and caters to a majority of India’s unicorns. 

Looking to capitalise on the ongoing startup IPO spring, the fintech major too has accelerated plans to list on the Indian bourses. In February 2025, cofounder and CEO Mathur told Inc42 that the company has pushed the pedal on redomiciling back to India. 

“When we started thinking about our future, especially in terms of an IPO, we had to decide not just when we wanted to go public but also where. It became quite clear to us that India is our home market. This is where people know us, use our services daily — directly or indirectly — so it made logical sense to list here,” Mathur told Inc42.

To date, Razorpay has raised nearly $740 Mn in funding and is backed by the likes of marquee names such as Y Combinator, Tiger Global, Peak XV Partners, Lone Pine Capital, Alkeon Capital Management, GIC, among others. 

The fintech major saw its net profit soar over 365% to INR 33.5 Cr in FY24 from INR 7.2 Cr in the year ago fiscal. On similar lines, operating revenues jumped 9% to INR 2,475 Cr in the fiscal under review compared to INR 2,283 Cr in FY23.

Rebel Foods

Founded by Kallol Banerjee and Jaydeep Barman in 2011, Rebel Foods is a cloud kitchen startup that operates multiple quick service restaurant (QSR) brands such as Behrouz Biryani, Ovenstory Pizza, The Good Bowl, SLAY Coffee and Wendy’s, among others. 

The startup has raised more than $563 Mn in funding across multiple rounds so far and is backed by names such as Coatue Management, Lightbox and Peak XV Partners. Besides, Singapore sovereign investment fund Temasek is also said to be looking to acquire a significant shareholding in the startup.

In October 2024, reports surfaced that the cloud kitchen unicorn was looking to list on the Indian bourses in the next 12-18 months. Ahead of the IPO, the company’s early investors such as Coatue Management, Lightbox and Peak XV plan to offload partial stakes in the startup to Temasek. 

Servify

Founded in 2015 by Sreevathsa Prabhakar, Servify is a B2B device management startup that offers services such as device protection, product buyback, and device exchange. The startup earns a majority of its revenue from sale of services such as device protection plans and platform licences.

Besides India, the startup also operates in countries such as the US, Canada, China, the Middle East, among others. Servify has raised nearly $130 Mn in funding to date and counts names such as BEENext, Blume Ventures, DMI Sparkle Fund, Iron Pillars, among others, as its backers. 

In January 2025, Inc42 exclusively reported that the Mumbai-based startup kicked off preparations for its IPO by roping in three investment bankers. Servify plans to raise $400 Mn to $500 Mn through the public issue at a valuation of $1.5 Bn.

The company’s public issue will primarily comprise the OFS component (about 55-60%), while the remaining 40-45% will be a fresh issue of equity shares. It plans to file its DRHP with SEBI by August 2025 and is eyeing a listing in late-2025 or in the first quarter of 2026. 

The company is also in advanced talks with existing as well as new investors to raise $100 Mn in a pre-IPO round before filing its draft papers at a unicorn valuation. 

On the financial front, Servify saw its operating revenue jump 23% to INR 754 Cr in FY24 from INR 611 Cr in FY23. Meanwhile, net losses declined 59% YoY to INR 93.81 Cr in FY24.

Shadowfax

Founded in 2015 by Vaibhav Khandelwal and Abhishek Bansal, Shadowfax is a logistics startup that offers hyperlocal and on-demand deliveries to businesses. 

The Flipkart-backed startup competes with the likes of Delhivery, Ecom Express, XpressBees, LoadShare, Ripple and Pickrr. It is also backed by the likes of Mirae Asset Venture Investments (India), IFC, Nokia Growth Partners, Qualcomm and Trifecta Capital.

Kicking off its IPO proceedings, the logistics startup turned into a public entity in March 2025 by dropping the word ‘private’ from its erstwhile name “Shadowfax Private Technologies Limited”.

While it is yet to make a formal announcement, the logistics services platform is reportedly looking to raise INR 2,500 Cr to INR 3,000 Cr via its public market debut at a valuation of INR 5,000 Cr to INR 8,000 Cr. There is no clarity on the timeline for the IPO, but its promoters and investors have kicked off discussions with merchant bankers for the IPO.

In February 2025, Shadowfax raised INR 34.24 Cr in its Series F funding round from existing investors Mirae Asset and Nokia Growth Partners. In the run up to its IPO, the company also roped in Bijou Kurien, Ruchira Shukla and Pirojshaw Sarkari as independent directors to its board.

Subsequently in March 2025, the IPO-bound logistics major raised INR 65.4 Cr from its cofounders Vaibhav Khandelwal and Abhishek Bansal at a post-money valuation of $750 Mn. While Bansal infused INR 37.3 Cr, Khandelwal invested INR 28.1 Cr. The fundraise was part of the startup’s larger ongoing funding round of about $50 Mn. 

Shadowfax trimmed its net loss by nearly 92% to INR 11.8 Cr in FY24 from INR 142.6 Cr in the previous year. Revenue from operations jumped 33% to INR 1,884.8 Cr during the year under review from INR 1,415.1 Cr in FY23.

Shiprocket

Founded in 2017 by Saahil Goel, Vishesh Khurana, Akshay Gulati, and Gautam Kapoor, Shiprocket aggregates third-party logistics companies. It partners with 17 courier partners, including Delhivery, FedEx, Aramex, Xpressbees, DTDC, and Shadowfax, and caters to customers across 24,000+ pin codes in India. 

Backed by names such as Temasek, Bertelsmann, Tribe Capital, Lightrock, among others, Shiprocket has raised more than $260 Mn in funding to date. 

Kicking off its IPO proceedings, the logistics unicorn’s board, in January 2025, passed a resolution to convert the startup into a public company from a private one. This comes as the company is said to be eyeing a listing on the bourses by FY26. 

On the financial front, the startup reported a net loss of INR 595 Cr in FY24, up 74.4% from INR 341 Cr in the year-ago fiscal. Its operating revenue jumped 20.8% to INR 1,316 Cr in the year under review from INR 1,089 Cr in FY23. 

Turtlemint

Founded in 2015 by Dhirendra Mahyavanshi and Anand Prabhudesai, Turtlemint operates an insurtech platform that helps financial advisors distribute insurance to their community of customers. The startup claims to have so far catered to more than 3 Lakh advisors across offerings such as car, bike, health, and term life insurance. 

Backed by the likes of Amansa Capital, Jungle Ventures, Peak XV Partners, Vitruvian Partners and Nexus Venture Partners, the insurtech startup has raised more than $197 Mn in funding to date. 

In April 2025, it was reported that Turtlemint was in talks with four bankers – Motilal Oswal, JM Financials, ICICI Securities and Jefferies – to launch its $200 Mn to $250 Mn IPO in late-2025. As per the report, the company plans to file its DRHP with SEBI by June 2025 and hit the bourses by October 2025. 

Turtlemint’s total income surged 3X to INR 507 Cr in the fiscal year ended March 2024 (FY24) from INR 157 Cr in the previous year. However, net profit remained flat at INR 6 Cr during the fiscal under review. 

Urban Company

Founded in 2014 by Abhiraj Singh Bahl, Raghav Chandra, and Varun Khaitan, Urban Company is a hyperlocal services startup that offers a range of services such as home cleaning, appliance salon and massage, repair services, painting, among others.

Backed by Tiger Global, Prosus and Steadview Capital, the Delhi NCR-based startup has raised more than $646 Mn in funding to date. 

In January 2025, reports surfaced that the hyperlocal services startup was looking to file draft papers for its INR 3,000 Cr IPO before the end of March. The company’s public issue will largely comprise fresh issue of shares. 

It has appointed Kotak Mahindra Capital, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to helm the IPO. 

Subsequently, in February 2025, the Gurugram-based home services marketplace’s board approved a resolution to turn the company into a public entity, renaming it from “Urbanclap Technologies India Private Limited” to “Urbanclap Technologies India Limited”. 

In April 2025, Urban Company’s board approved a proposal to raise up to INR 528 Cr via a fresh issue of shares as part of its IPO and an undisclosed amount of offer-for-sale component.

Urban Company reported a loss before tax of INR 93 Cr in FY24, down 70% from INR 312 Cr a fiscal ago. The Gurugram-based startup’s net revenue rose 30% YoY to INR 827 Cr.

Wakefit

A brainchild of Ankit Garg and Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, Wakefit was founded in 2016. The D2C startup sells a range of products such as mattresses, pillows, bed frames, mattress protectors, home decor and furniture. 

Backed by Peak XV Partners, Investcorp, Verlinvest, SIG, among others, Wakefit has raised more than $100 Mn since its inception. It competes with the likes of The Sleep Company, Duroflex, Kurlon and Sleepwell in the burgeoning Indian mattress and home decor market. 

Kicking off its IPO proceedings in April 2025, the D2C startup reportedly shortlisted Axis Capital, IIFL Capital Services and Nomura as bankers for its IPO. The startup is looking to raise around INR 1,500 Cr to INR 2,000 Cr as part of the public listing. However, there was no clarity on the company’s timeline to list on the bourses. 

Meanwhile, on the financial front, Wakefit managed to trim its net loss by 90% to INR 15.05 Cr in FY24 from INR 145.68 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Operating revenue rose 21% to INR 986.35 Cr during the fiscal under review from INR 812.62 Cr in FY23.

Zepto

Founded in 2021 by Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, Zepto is a quick commerce startup that claims to offer 10-minute deliveries of groceries and other items. 

Backed by Y Combinator, Nexus Venture Partners, Glade Brook Capital, Motilal Oswal AMC, the quick commerce startup has raised nearly $2 Bn in funding to date.

In preparation for its IPO, the quick commerce major shifted its domicile back to India from Singapore in January 2025. As part of its public listing plans, the company also set up a new entity, Zepto Marketplace Private Limited to pivot to a marketplace model from its current B2B2C structure. 

In September 2024, it was reported that the quick commerce major commenced active discussions with domestic and global merchant bankers, including Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, for a potential IPO by August 2025. 

Zepto was initially targeting a $450 Mn public issue but later internally increased the size to $800 Mn to $1 Bn, including a $300-400 Mn OFS component. 

It is also looking to shore up domestic shareholding in the company to 50% from 33% currently ahead of the IPO. In March 2025, a report noted that Zepto is pushing existing investors and employees to offload stakes worth $250 Mn at $5 Bn valuation. The private equity arms of Motilal Oswal Financial Services and Edelweiss Financial Services are said to be in talks to lap up the shares.

Zepto’s net loss declined 2% to INR 1,248.64 Cr in FY24 from INR 1,271.84 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Meanwhile, revenue from operations more than doubled to INR 4,454.52 Cr in the fiscal year ended March 2024 from INR 2,025.70 Cr in FY23.

Zetwerk

Founded in 2018 by Amrit Acharya, Srinath Ramakkrushnan, Rahul Sharma and Vishal Chaudhary, Zetwerk connects manufacturers with vendors and suppliers of industrial machine components.

Backed by Greenoaks Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Mars Growth Capital, Peak XV Partners, among others, the B2B manufacturing unicorn has raised more than $793 Mn in funding till date.

In February 2025, it was reported that the Peak XV-backed B2B marketplace had finalised Axis Capital, Goldman Sachs Group and Kotak Mahindra Bank as bankers to helm its potential IPO later in the year.

The company is looking to raise at least $400 Mn to $500 Mn during the IPO and is eyeing a valuation of nearly $5 Bn. The public issue will also reportedly include a “small” secondary component.

In March 2025, Inc42 exclusively reported that the B2B manufacturing unicorn has secured INR 43 Cr in a funding round co-led by Arc Investments and Oriental Biotech Limited.

The contract manufacturing startup saw its loss zoom 82% to INR 108.7 Cr in FY23 from INR 59.76 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Operating revenue jumped nearly 130% to INR 11,448.6 Cr during the fiscal under review from INR 4,960.5 Cr in FY22.

Last Updated: April 13, 09:00 AM IST

The post Indian Startup IPO Tracker 2025 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

At the start of the year, we knew that the IPO momentum was going to be super strong among Indian startups. Some of the most noted companies in the country — PhonePe, Urban Company, OYO, Pine Labs, Zepto and others — are on the cusp of going public and naturally, there was a lot of confidence among investors about exits and maturity in the startup ecosystem.

But in the past month or so, there is also a new wave of caution. Under the President Donald Trump administration in the US, global trade has been shaken to quite some extent, and markets are reacting every day to new developments and changes in trade tariffs.

Many believe this is a temporary pain that should not deter the IPO parade in India, but it will have some impact on new IPOs. The first sign of this was perhaps on display this week as Urban Company finalised its plans for the IPO and received its board approval.

But the final issue size might be well below previous expectations.

For one, the next set of IPOs are likely to be much smaller than the ones we have seen in the past four years. More and more companies will be looking to take a rational approach to fundraising in this current environment, and companies with minimal exposure to global trade winds will be the ones that will cash in.

Take for example, Urban Company, which was bullish about a mega IPO in late 2024 but has had to rejig its plans in the past two months. As we reported this week, the company’s board has approved raising up to INR 528 Cr (about $60 Mn) via a fresh issue in its IPO, in addition to an offer-for-sale component.

Incidentally, earlier this year, when the startup converted into a public entity, reports suggested that Urban Company was planning to file its draft papers for an INR 3,000 Cr IPO ($300 Mn+) before the end of March. While that timeline has since changed, clearly, so has the company’s appetite for fundraise from public markets.

It’s not just Urban Company — even EV maker Ather Energy is cutting its IPO size by at least $50 Mn (about INR 430 Cr) from its earlier target of $400 Mn (about INR 3,460 Cr) amid the ongoing volatility in the Indian and the global stock markets.

The market turmoil might also result in Ather seeking a lower valuation for the IPO, however, as of now, Urban Company’s valuation for the IPO remains under wraps.

The New Look Of Urban Company

Founded in 2014 by Abhiraj Singh Bhal, Raghav Chandra and Varun Khaitan, Urban Company has been in the news recently for its quick commerce transition with the launch of InstaHelp to offer services in 15 minutes. Under it, the startup offers services such as cleaning, cooking, washing and more, connecting users to professionals in their area.

Urban Company’s revenue model has changed quite a bit in the past two years. In fact, the revenue has nearly doubled since the end of FY22, and losses have come down significantly. It saw a near 30% increase in its revenue to INR 827 Cr in FY24 and narrowed its loss before tax to INR 93 Cr.

The company has gone beyond the commission-based model it started with. Today, it operates a marketplace for professionals and even these gig workers have to pay a subscription fee to remain on the platform. In addition to this, there is a commission charged on every job, plus of course revenue collected from consumers.

With the IPO on the horizon, revenue from services is a key focus for Urban Company, along with revenue from products sold to professionals for fulfilling these services. But it’s also adding other pieces such as InstaHelp, its take on quick commerce and venturing into consumer brands.

No Room For Loss-Making IPOs?

“There is no real precedent for a model like Urban Company in the public markets. While most investors and institutions would be familiar with Zomato or Swiggy’s model, they may not quite be in sync with how Urban Company pulls off the operations and the many moving pieces,” said a Bengaluru-based VC fund partner.

According to him, not having a counterpart in the market is often a disadvantage for companies looking to list, as most public markets investors like to have benchmarks for revenue and profitability. Even among the Indian listed companies and new-age tech stocks, there is no precedent for a model like Urban Company.

This is undoubtedly a challenge for the company, similar to what Paytm faced when it listed, and it will have to spend considerable time and effort to convey the model to the investor base.

The other big issue is sustaining profitability even as rules for gig work and part-time professionals change and evolve in the long run. The likes of Zomato and Swiggy have diversified quite a bit and while any changes in gig worker rules will naturally impact them severely, Urban Company is more heavily reliant on gig workers for revenue and business momentum.

It is perhaps for this reason that Urban Company is reported to be mulling a D2C play, launching beauty, wellness, and personal care products for consumers, which could put it in the same league as Nykaa or Honasa, and therefore give investors a better view of its financial roadmap.

The IPO size cut is a strong message that the public market investors are no longer willing to pay 10x or 20x revenue multiples for loss-making startups.

Even though cofounder and CEO Bhal claimed that Urban Company hit profit before tax in the first quarter of FY25, long-term profitability will be key for the company as it hits the public markets trail. This is perhaps the biggest hurdle for Urban Company as it goes through the IPO litmus test.

Stock In Focus: Honasa

Honasa Consumer, the parent of Mamaearth, showed signs of resilience after opening the week at its 52-week low. The stock rebounded on Friday after four sessions of decline, gaining 5.72% on April 11, 2025, outperforming its sector.

In terms of performance metrics, Honasa outperformed the retail sector by 5.35% this week, but it remains below the 5-day, 100-day, and 200-day moving averages, indicating that this may be a temporary bump for the stock.

Incidentally, this past week, Honasa earned a victory in its lawsuit against RSM General Trading LLC in the UAE. A Dubai court ruled in favour of Honasa, overturning a previous ruling which ordered the company to pay AED 25 Mn as compensation. This court case has been an overhang on Honasa for the past year or so, and settling this would allow the company to press ahead with its international business.

Over the past month, Honasa has seen a 7.38% gain in its stock price compared to the 1.68% bump for the overall Sensex. However, the Varun Alagh and Ghazal Alagh-led company’s year-to-date stock performance remains well below par at -8.82%, compared to the Sensex’s decline of -3.57%.

Honasa was not the only major gainer this past week, as a host of new-age tech stocks bounced back after two weeks of pressure. Here’s a look at the top ten stocks last week:

IPO Watch: Upcoming Issues & More

• Paytm Gets Domestic Boost: Domestic mutual funds increased their stake in Paytm to 13.11% in the fourth quarter from 11.2% in the Q3 FY25, primarily led by Nippon India Mutual Fund and Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund
• Wakefit Rises For IPO: Bengaluru-based D2C furniture and mattress startup Wakefit is reportedly looking to make a splash and aims to raise around INR 1,500-2,000 Cr (around $173-231 Mn) through a public offering later this year
• More’s IPO Roadmap: Amazon India backed supermarket retailer More Retail is planning to launch its initial public offering (IPO) next year as it looks to expand its network of supermarket stores in India and cater to the quick commerce boom
• Pine Labs’ Reverse Flip: Making another stride towards its IPO journey, fintech major Pine Labs has now secured the final approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to merge its Indian and Singapore entities and redomicile to India

The post Urban Company Lines Up For IPO Race appeared first on Inc42 Media.

In early 2023, restaurant body National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) was gung-ho about the Open Network For Digital Commerce (ONDC) and so were other retail associations, but two years later, ONDC does not seem to have moved the needle too much.

The buzz was so loud around ONDC in 2023 that various consumer and payments apps such as Paytm, Magicpin, Ola and others joined ONDC as a buyer app, looking to break into the Swiggy-Zomato duopoly.

But that noise is all but a whimper today. Amid a leadership crisis that has seen CEO Thampy Koshy stepping down this week after CBO Shireesh Joshi had quit earlier, ONDC is going through a transition. The number of orders reducing significantly since last year, the government backed network is struggling to meet its milestones.

So let’s catch up with ONDC this Sunday and where it is headed. Will the government-backed network fulfil its promise and potential? Before we find out, here’s a look at the top stories from our newsroom this week:

• Ecom Express Derailed: Once valued at $850 Mn and gearing up for a public listing, Ecom Express has now been acquired by rival Delhivery for just $165 Mn, an 80% value erosion. What went wrong?
• SaaS’s Inflection Point: Indian SaaS startups raised over $2.1 Bn in 2024, up 31% YoY. A growing chunk of this capital is flowing toward companies that are not just building on AI, but being built by AI. Behind this investment flurry
• Behind Aisle’s Boom: Info Edge-owned Aisle’s revenue soared by nearly 146% in two years and the dating app reduced its cash burn by 42% this year. What exactly turned things around for this Tinder and Bumble rival?

From Highs To Lows

ONDC, backed by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), was introduced in December 2021 and launched for public use in 2023. It was seen as an alternative to the marketplaces and aggregators who were dictating terms for sellers. Instead, the ONDC offered an incentive-based structure for apps and an open network of sellers that everyone on the network could access.

That beginning was great —  mammoth discounts rained on food delivery on ONDC, almost 50% cheaper than aggregators like Zomato and Swiggy. The social media buzz pegged ONDC as a Zomato and Swiggy killer.

More than two years down the line, today, the network has crossed 200 Mn lifetime transactions as of March 2025 with a significant increase in annual transactions volume, however did ONDC prove to be a Swiggy, Zomato killer or has it been the other way round?

ONDC, which was tipped to be a one-stop shop for all things digital commerce, is now struggling to compete with well-capitalised startups in food delivery and quick commerce segments.

And the resignation of CEO Koshy this month is another blow. Post his exit, an executive committee has been formed to take things forward, with Nitin Nair who heads logistics, mobility, travel segments and  Vibhor Jain who is the head of network governance and chief operating officer as key members

“It is a seven member committee which has  several vertical heads as members. This executive committee has been tasked with overseeing the operations at ONDC post the exits of the CEO and CBO,” sources told Inc42.

Meanwhile, former CEO Koshy who was also in the founding committee at ONDC,  is expected to help with the transition and will be handing over the charge in June 2025.

Inc42 sent detailed queries to ONDC regarding the above developments. The story will be updated as and when the ONDC spokesperson responds.

Behind The CEO Exit

Speaking to Inc42, T Koshy said he believed it was the right time for him to step down as several milestones in transaction volumes, seller onboarding had been achieved.

“If not sizable, we have initiated an idea, set a stage for alternative stakeholders in digital commerce to access wider markets and build products/ services on top of an open source network. This has never happened in India’s digital commerce industry,” Koshy, whose name had become synonymous with ONDC, told us.

While denying any reports on whether ONDC’s transactions, revenue milestones were missed during the last three years, Koshy responded by saying that any transformative idea in a particular industry takes several years to shape and further more time to be accepted broadly.

“The UPI transformation happened over the course of a decade. While the UPI was made open to public in 2016 the idea was conceived several years ago and then many tweaks were done until the fintech industry recognised this digital payment,” Koshy, who served as executive director of National Security Depository Limited (NSDL) prior to joining ONDC, added.

Koshy added that while one may argue on the metrics like market share etc, to compete with deep pockets of giants like Zomato, Swiggy or Zepto continues to be a challenging task.

“We did not anticipate in the first year of ONDC being made open to the public that we would cross 50 Mn transactions but we did so. We are anticipating 150 Mn transactions in 2025 alone and by all means this is a huge leap,” Koshy added.

Did Quick Commerce Craze Doom ONDC?

Arguably 2023-24 has been a significant transformative year in India’s ecommerce industry with Zomato’s Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart and Zepto leading a consumer behaviour shift in India. The trio have raised $3.5 Bn in 2024 alone via private funds raise, IPO and qualified institutional placement.

A majority of this capital raise has been deployed to strengthen the capital intensive dark store network, offer cashbacks and expand into new categories, impacting not only ecommerce giants like Amazon, Flipkart but India’s mammoth $1 Tn retail industry which includes scores of kirana stores and small shops.

ONDC’s retail transactions also became a casualty of the quick commerce advent with a foreseeable slump in retail orders towards the latter part of 2024 and first three months of 2025.

Retail transactions which include food deliveries, fashion, electronics and groceries have consistently fallen, peaking at 6.5 Mn per month in October 2024 but declining to 4.6 Mn in February 2025 marking a 10-month low.

In the retail segment, the grocery reportedly constituted 1.8  Mn monthly transactions in February 2025 — a paltry number by most comparisons in the grocery space. Sources said that the share of grocery has consistently shrunk in the overall retail order volumes on ONDC whereas food delivery volumes have seen flat growth from the peak of 2024.

“Zepto single handedly changed the narrative of digital retail delivery and consumption by expanding faster and raising mega funds raises in the first half of 2024. Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart have not held back and targeted the markets  quickly capturing almost 90% of the industry. When it started, ONDC was reporting better than expected numbers due to seasonal peak demand in the festive season. After that, it has been a sob story for ONDC retail segment with consistently falling retail transactions,” a source within ONDC added.

Meanwhile, Koshy believes that the idea was not to challenge these large players as competing with flush ecommerce giants is a herculean task. He said that ONDC wanted to prove that an alternative can exist for India’s digital commerce industry.

“If you think about it, this is akin to what happened in the financial services and other industries. Some sort of consolidation will be there but that does not mean there should be no market competitiveness,” Koshy added.

On the other hand ONDC’s founding members that includes Protean eGov Technologies Limited and Quality Council of India and other shareholders like ICICI Bank, Bank of Baroda, Avaana Capital, HUL among others decided to scale down the incentive programme launched at the outset to attract buyers and sellers.

In addition, the buyer side applications like Paytm, Magicpin, Ola and others have also reduced the discounts they were offering to the consumers for retail orders placed via ONDC network. Is ONDC fading away as a result?

Shrinking Discounts Play Spoilsport 

Despite being just a year old in 2024, ONDC started a strategic shift and cut down incentives offered to network participants from the peak of INR 3 Cr in July 2024 per participant, to INR 30 Lakh in December 2024 per participant if sellers averaged 1 Mn monthly orders.

In addition, the network began charging INR 1.50 transaction fees for any transaction above INR 250 from the seller in a move underscoring ONDC’s thrust on maintaining financial stability and operational sustainability.

On the other hand, the buyer-side apps have also significantly reduced the discounts being offered on grocery, food delivery orders which includes players like Paytm, Ola and Magicpin. The operational costs were being supported by the incentives offered by the network shareholders but with that significantly down, buyer apps are finding it increasingly difficult to compete with quick commerce companies.

“PhonePe’s Pincode also opted out of ONDC primarily due to this reason. While the buyer side apps were offering discounts to the buyer, they were not charging high enough commissions from sellers which almost made it difficult for them to sustain,” a senior executive with ONDC associated buyer-app told us requesting not be named.

An ecommerce player which onboards sellers on ONDC stated that in comparison to Swiggy, Zomato which charged restaurants 30%-40% commissions, ONDC’s buyer apps like Paytm, Ola or even Magicpin took a mere 5% commission and have stuck to this low rate despite food delivery seeing an overall slump.

“Even Zomato, Swiggy’s food delivery business has slowed down. But they have been able to post healthy margins due to higher commissions from restaurant partners and other charges being levied on the platform passed on to consumers. For ONDC this proved to be deadly with overall industry slowing and discounts disappearing,” the above person stated.

The Silver Lining For ONDC

Despite retail orders slowdown, mobility and logistics segments have held onto strong transaction volumes and surprisingly performed better than retail.

“Mobility overall is undergoing a rapid shift with Ola, Uber’s dominance withering, Rapido taking over and BluSmart in deep crisis. Namma Yatri which was the first mobility player to onboard ONDC paved the way for zero commission rides which was trend setting for the industry. ONDC in that sense has a first mover advantage and has done good so far,” an ecommerce sector analyst said.

Koshy told us that in addition to ride hailing services, ONDC has been able to rope in various city metros, bus services to facilitate the mobility segment business.

“The mobility segment is now active in three metros and 18 cities. We started mobility services in Bhubaneswar and expanded later on. We are now collaborating with Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) for online sale of DTC bus tickets. Besides, we have made bus bookings available via Redbus,” Koshy added.

The other success story of ONDC seems to be from the logistics industry with the network now onboarding multiple large and small players which include Delhivery, Shadowfax, Loadshare, Ola, Porter, Amazon Logistics, Ekart among others. The logistics orders increased from 35,000 in April 2024 to 2 Mn in February 2025.

“Logistics is perhaps the most important success story to have come out of ONDC so far with a huge gap being filled by logistics players onboarding ONDC and sellers now being given the choice to choose anyone among these players for running their deliveries,” founder of a key logistics company which is working with ONDC told us.

Despite the initial hiccups ONDC has made some strides in the digital commerce but will likely bank on a more financially sustainable model as well as generate heightened consumer awareness in order to give the rivals some competition. As of now, the immediate challenge will be to overcome the leadership crisis and ensure the smooth operations.

“ONDC is here to stay. It is a process in making. Today we have the likes of Reliance, Tata Group and Bajaj joining us besides numerous new age companies from each vertical. We have set the stage and someone will have to take it to the next level,” former CEO Koshy added.

But food delivery and grocery shopping are the most frequent use-cases that ONDC was looking to unlock and gain some advantage over delivery apps and marketplaces. Will the entry of conglomerates and new-age giants force it into a new direction and take it off the public limelight?

Sunday Roundup: Startup Funding, Deals & More

• UPI Goes Down Again: Digital transactions were impacted today due to a widespread outage on the UPI network — the sixth such outage in the past year — with several users reporting failed transactions and payments
• Funding Sees Bump: Between April 7 and 12, Indian startups cumulatively raised $195.1 Mn across 20 deals, marking a 35% surge from the previous week

• Ola’s New Launch: EV major Ola Electric has launched its first Roadster X motorcycle from its Futurefactory, the model which the company had accounted for in its February sales data
• Sovereign Models: Amid the ongoing global AI race, India must focus on building a ‘sovereign AI’ ecosystem to ensure autonomy over its data, Sarvam AI cofounder Vivek Raghavan said at the GenAI Summit By Inc42 this week

Edited by Nikhil Subramaniam

The post Did Quick Commerce Eat ONDC’s Lunch?  appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Messaging platform WhatsApp faced a massive outage today which left users from India and other countries unable to send messages. 

As per DownDetector, users started reporting issues with accessing WhatsApp around 4:30 PM but the issue was resolved around 6 PM. However, the platform became unresponsive again around 7 PM. By 8:16 PM, the outage peaked as many as 2,815 users reported issues with the messaging app on the tracking website. 

87% of the users reported issues with “sending messages”, while 10% flagged issues with the app itself. 

The company has so far not issued any clarification on the matter. However, as per Meta’s dashboard for business products, WhatsApp Business API did face “low disruptions” on April 12, which impacted sending of messages for users of the B2B offering. 

However, the social media giant said that a fix was deployed and the issue was mitigated around 8:40 PM IST. 

Meanwhile, many users took to social media platform X to raise their concerns over service issues while using the messaging platform. One user cited issues with uploading status, while  another flagged “getting a red exclamation mark on sending messages”. Complaints with the messaging app also included chat freezing and glitching on iOS and persistent problems with transferring and restoring backups. 

The interruption at WhatsApp came barely hours after the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), too, was hit by a massive outage. While UPI was restored around 3:39 PM, there seems to be no clarity on what caused the outage. 

This also comes close on the heels of a global outage at social media platform X in March and at workplace communication platform Slack in February this year. 

Notably, this is not the first time that Meta has witnessed technical issues in recent months. In December 2024, Meta-owned social media platforms – Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram – faced a widespread outage across India. 

Prior to that in November and March last year, WhatsApp went down for several users across the country. 

The post WhatsApp Hit By Outage, Users Unable To Send Messages appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Months after announcing acquisitions of businesses in erstwhile uncharted territories, online travel aggregator (OTA) EaseMyTrip’s (EMT) board has approved the allotment of 12.57 Cr equity shares to Jeewani Hospitality, Rollins International, Pfledge Home Health Care Center, and Planet education promoters Gagandeep Singh and Sanket Champaklal Shah on a preferential basis for a non-cash consideration for acquisition of stakes in the companies.

In an exchange filing, EaseMyTrip said that the allotted 12.57 Cr equity shares are worth INR 229.03 Cr, a premium of about 40% considering the closing price of the company’s shares of INR 13.09 yesterday on the BSE. Following the allotment, the allottees will cumulatively hold 3.42% stake in the OTA.

All of the aforementioned acquisitions are part of EaseMyTrip’s bid to expand into newer business segments to charge up its top line.

On December 8, the company sought the approval of its shareholders to allot 12.84 Cr shares to the aforementioned parties at a price of INR 18.22 apiece. 

Of these, 27.44 Lakh were to be allotted for a cash consideration of INR 5 Cr to actress Jacqueline Fernandez, who became its brand ambassador in August 2024. The remaining allotment was to take place for a non-cash consideration.

As per the company’s postal ballot notice, the promoters and promoter group stake in the company will reduce to 48.62% from the erstwhile 50.38% following the allotment of the shares.

Here’s a brief on the contours on the equity allotments made by EaseMyTrip today:

— Jeewani Hospitality was allotted 5.48 Cr shares worth INR 100 Cr. In February 2024, the travel tech major announced an investment of INR 100 Cr for a 50% stake in Jeewani Hospitality Private Limited, a part of the Jeewani Group. The company then shared plans to build a new five-star hotel in the city of Ayodhya with the new acquisition. Jeewani got 1.49% stake in the OTA. 

— Healthtech Rollins International was allotted 3.29 Cr shares worth INR 60 Cr. In September, EMT announced the acquisition of a 30% stake in Singapore-based Rollins International via an equity share swap. Rollins is a subsidiary of RHA Holding and operates multiple healthcare related brands like clinic chain brand The Wellness Co, healthy food brand PureFoods, among others. Rollins will own 0.90% stake in the OTA. 

— EMT allotted 54.88 Lakh equity shares worth INR 10 Cr to Dubai-based healthtech company Pflege Home Health Care Center. In September, the company picked up 49% stake in Pflege Home Health for INR 30 Cr. Pflege facilitates medical tourism, providing services for patients seeking treatment abroad. Pflege will own 0.15% stake in the OTA. 

— Besides allotting shares to Pflege, EMT also allotted 1.09 Cr shares worth INR 19.83 Cr to the Dubai-based company’s selling shareholder Bhisham Sheoran. This is part of the INR 20 Cr share purchase from the healthtech company’s stakeholders. Sheoran will hold a 0.30% stake in EMT post the allotment.

— The company allotted 1.08 Cr shares worth INR 19.60 Cr apiece to the promoters of Planet Education’s – Gagandeep Singh and Sanket Shah. EaseMyTrip announced the acquisition of a 49% stake in the Australia-based study abroad consultant services provider in November. With this stake acquisition, the company has set its sights on the international study tourism segment. Both allottees will own 0.29% stake in EMT.

EMT has continued on its path to expand into new business segments this year as well. Last month, it announced plans to foray into the charter aviation sector with the acquisition of a 49% stake in Big Charter Pvt Ltd. 

Amid the expansion spree, the company’s profitability took a hit in Q2 and Q3 of FY25.

In Q3, the travel tech company’s PAT crashed nearly 26% to INR 34.02 Cr from INR 45.68 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Operating revenue slid 6% to INR 150.56 Cr in the December quarter from INR 160.78 Cr in the same quarter last year. 

Shares of EaseMyTrip ended Friday’s session 8.09 % higher from the previous close on the BSE. 

The post EaseMyTrip Allots 12.57 Cr Shares For Various Acquisitions appeared first on Inc42 Media.

IPO-bound fintech company PhonePe maintained its leadership position in the UPI market in March, processing 864.7 Cr, or 47.25% of the total UPI transactions. On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, this was a 0.28% decline in market share from 765.6 Cr transactions.

The value of transactions handled by PhonePe stood at INR 12.57 Lakh Cr during the month. In terms of transaction value, the Walmart-backed fintech player contributed 50.74% to the total UPI transaction volume in March 2025.

Following its lead was Google Pay, which notched up 36.04% of the total UPI transactions while accounting for 34.98% of the total UPI value. In absolute numbers, Google Pay handled 659.6 Cr transactions worth INR 8.66 Lakh Cr in March.  

Overall, UPI transactions in the country reached a record high of 18.30 Bn in March after falling 5% to 16.11 Bn in February. 

March’s transactions accounted for a total amount of INR 24.77 Lakh Cr, a 12.8% month-on-month (MoM) surge against transactions worth INR 21.96 Lakh Cr in February.

Listed fintech major Paytm grabbed the third spot yet again. It processed 122.1 Cr transactions in March, about 6.67% of the total volume. The value of these transactions was INR 1.32 Lakh Cr, or 5.36% of the total volume.

In March, Sachin Bansal-led Navi processed 32.4 Cr transactions with a total value of INR 18,018.65 Cr. While super.money handled 17.17 Cr transactions with a total value of INR 5,933.08 Cr.

However, Kunal Shah-led CRED continued to lose its market share in the month, with its position tumbling from 6th in February to 7th in March. It processed 14.4 Cr transactions in March, and the value of these transactions was INR 55,091.22 Cr

P2M Transactions On UPI Surpass 1,100 Cr Mark In March

Person to merchant (P2M) transactions on UPI rose nearly 14% to 1146.1 Cr in March. P2M UPI transaction volume stood at INR 6.70 Lakh Cr during the month, up 13.6% from 5.90 Lakh Cr.

Meanwhile, person to person transactions processed by UPI jumped 13.27% to 684 Cr from 604 Cr in the previous month. 

In terms of transaction volume, P2P accounted for 72.93% of the total UPI transactions in March, whereas P2M transactions accounted for the remainder 27.06%.

The data also sheds light on category-wise transactions. While groceries, supermarkets, restaurants and telecommunications services were high transacting categories, utilities, electric, gas, water and sanitary, debt collection agencies, package shops, beer, wine and liquor were tagged under medium transacting categories.

What Else Is Happening In The UPI Ecosystem?

Just a few days ago, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed the National Payments Corporation (NPCI) to revise transaction limits for person-to-merchant (P2M) payments on the UPI to accommodate higher-value transactions in select merchant categories.

Besides, there are proposals for bringing back the merchant discount rate (MDR) in the payment industry, after it was withdrawn in the FY22 Budget to promote digital payments.

Meanwhile, the Centre recently approved an ‘incentive scheme’ with an outlay of INR 1,500 Cr, aimed at promoting low-value BHIM-UPI transactions among small merchants. 

The post PhonePe, Google Pay Continue To Lead UPI In March appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Infosys cofounder Nandan Nilekani believes that building enterprise AI at scale is challenging and takes time to mature, but the most difficult task is implementing AI in the public sector.

Speaking at the Carnegie Global Technology Summit 2025 yesterday, Nilekani said that adopting AI is relatively easier in the consumer space, but at an enterprise level, companies are putting their brand behind an AI-powered offering and even minor errors can affect their image.

He further noted that one of the reasons enterprise AI is progressing slowly is the absence of guardrails to prevent machine errors in operations.

“If the enterprise provides AI at scale and that AI even has 2% error in the way it answers, then that affects the brand itself. That’s one of the reasons why it’s taking so long, because we don’t have the guardrails to ensure that we have absolutely no machine error in these things,” Nilekani said. 

He added that as the expectations from AI are huge, people don’t want even the slightest mistake. 

While speaking about implementing AI in the public sector, he said that the public sector has structural consents, it has ministries, departments, everybody is territorial and data is not always shared. 

“If data is the lifeblood of AI, we have to find a way to bring all of it together, irrespective of which part of the government it comes from,” he added. 

He further underscored that the public sector requires clear commitments and no scope for blowbacks. 

Nilekani in his address also stated that the hype levels for AI are unprecedented, but in reality there are challenges in building AI at scale. It is pertinent to note that building AI at scale is crucial to make it available for the mass. 

Besides, he said that India has also witnessed a balance move from global tech companies to homegrown tech startups backed by venture capital firms. He hailed startups like Meesho, PhonePe, PhysicsWallah, Zepto, Rapido and Urban Company for making strides in their respective sectors. 

A month ago, Nilekani said that India will be home to more than 10 Lakh startups by 2035. 

He added that while the Indian economy grows at 8%, the number of startups in the country would grow by a 20% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) and reach the 10 Lakh mark in the next decade. 

He further said that initial public offerings (IPOs) would also fuel the rise of the Indian startup ecosystem. 

The enterprise software landscape is being transformed by adoption of AI and the rise of new use cases driven by changing consumer behavior. As a result, a slew of startups integrating generative AI and new-age tech advancements in their offerings have gained traction from investors.

Earlier this year, enterprise AI startup Atomicwork raised $25 Mn in a Series A funding round co-led by Khosla Ventures and its existing investor Z47 Partners.

After that, another such startups Singulr AI bagged $10 Mn in a seed funding round co-led by Nexus Venture Partners and Dell Technologies Capital. 

It is pertinent to note that Generative AI (GenAI) in India is on track for an exponential growth with projections estimating a market value of over $17 Bn by 2030.

The GenAI startups have collectively raised more than $1.2 Bn in total funding since 2020, as per Inc42’s report.

The post Building Enterprise AI Is Challenging, Takes Time To Mature: Nandan Nilekani appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Joining the ‘Desh Wapsi’ brigade, customer engagement platform MoEngage is reportedly looking to shift its base to India from San Francisco.

The Goldman Sachs-backed startup is in discussions with a host of advisors and bankers about the potential move, Moneycontrol reported.

“Several SaaS companies are looking to shift base to India as it is much easier to go for an IPO here. MoEngage is in the very initial stages of shifting base to India,” a source was quoted as saying in the report.

Inc42 has reached out to MoEngage cofounder and chief executive Raviteja Dodda for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on the response.

Founded in 2014 by Dodda and Yashwanth Kumar, MoEngage helps consumer brands amplify and scale customer engagement, and it has been providing its services from startups to global enterprises.

Since its inception, the company has raised $207.38 Mn in total funding till date and counts Eight Roads Ventures, Exfinity Venture Partners, Helion Venture Partners and Matrix Partners India among its investors.

This comes at a time when a majority of startups based outside the country have started a counter-trend, known as ‘reverse flipping’, as they look to capitalise on the boom in India’s economy, access to a bigger pool of investors, better initial public offering (IPO) prospects and favourable government policies.

The headquarters’ shift is evidently a step closer to a potential public listing in India, where investors are going all-in for tech-led businesses.

Notably, ecommerce giant Flipkart, fintech unicorn Razorpay, quick commerce unicorn Zepto and fintech company Pine Labs are eyeing a ‘desh wapsi’ in 2025 ahead of their eventual public listings.

Only a day ago, fintech major Pine Labs secured the final approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to merge its Indian and Singapore entities.

The post ‘Desh Wapsi’: MoEngage Looks To Move Domicile To India appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Digital transactions were impacted today due to a widespread Unified Payments Interface (UPI) outage with several users reporting problems in the instant payment interface.

As per DownDetector, a platform that monitors service disruptions based on users’ report, a large number of users flagged the issues with UPI around 11:26 AM.

Further, the outage peaked around 12:54 PM, when more than 2,387 users reported issues on the platform. 

While 81% of the complaints were related to payments, 17% complained of funds transfer and a meager 2% issues related to purchases.

As per social media platform X, many users faced difficulties while making payments on third-party platforms like Paytm and Google Pay, among others. 

“UPI is down again today, all payments are getting failed. At least there should be prior intimation sent in case of planned outage,” a user said. 

However, the service restored functionality as of 3:39 PM, as reports on the downdetector displayed a decline in reports.

Confirming the status on the social media platform X, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) said, “NPCI is currently facing intermittent technical issues, leading to partial UPI transaction declines. We are working to resolve the issue, and will keep you updated.”

But, the NPCI is yet to address about resolving the outage.

This was the sixth major outage for UPI in the past year.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed the NPCI to revise transaction limits for person-to-merchant (P2M) payments on the UPI, earlier this week.

To note, UPI transactions in the country reached a record high of 18.30 Bn in March after falling 5% to 16.11 Bn in February. March’s transactions accounted for a total amount of INR 24.77 Lakh Cr, a 12.8% month-on-month (MoM) surge against transactions worth INR 21.96 Lakh Cr in February.

IPO-bound fintech company PhonePe maintained its leadership position in the UPI market in March, processing 864.7 Cr, or 47.25% of the total UPI transactions, followed by Google Pay, which notched up 36.04% of the total UPI transactions, accounting for 34.98% of the total UPI value.

Additionally, the Centre also approved an ‘incentive scheme’ with an outlay of INR 1,500 Cr recently, to promote low-value BHIM-UPI transactions among small merchants. 

The post UPI Down For Several Users Across Country appeared first on Inc42 Media.

With around eight startups solidifying their public listing plans, multiple new fund launches and consolidation activities, the Indian startup ecosystem was buzzing with activity in the second week of April. 

Amid all this, investment activity in the world’s third largest startup ecosystem also went up a notch.

Between April 7 and 12, Indian startups cumulatively raised $195.1 Mn across 20 deals, marking a 35% surge from the $144.4 Mn raised by 22 startups in the preceding week. 

With that, here’s a recap of what happened over the past week in the Indian startup ecosystem. 

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [ Apr 7 – Apr 12 ]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• The week’s largest funding round saw fintech major Juspay raising $60 Mn in its  Series D round led by Kalaari Capital. While the valuation at which the funding round was materialised is yet to be discerned, reports suggest that the round catapulted the startup into the unicorn club. 
• Juspay’s fundraise, along with Easebuzz’s $30 Mn round, ensured that fintech remained the investor favourite segment this week as it has over the past few weeks.
• While fintech remained the most funded sector this week, ecommerce saw the greatest number of eight deals materialise during the week. Startups, including Mosaic Wellness and Noise, among others, raised $66 Mn this week. 
• The most active investors this week were Accel and 100Unicorns, backing two startups apiece. 
• Five startups at the seed stage raised $10.1 Mn this week, down slightly from the $11 Mn raised by seven startups at this stage last week. 

Startup IPO Developments This Week

• SEBI announced the approval of the INR 1,000 Cr IPO of jewellery startup BlueStone and INR 1,450 Cr IPO of NBFC Aye Finance this week.
• Taking its second stab at the bourses, bOAt’s parent Imagine Marketing filed its IPO papers via the confidential filing route this week.
• Enroute to the bourses, fintech major Pine Labs got NCLT’s final approval to reverse flip to India. With this, the startup will be merging its Singapore entity with its Indian entity.
• Amid the ongoing market volatility, EV major Ather Energy is mulling to trim its IPO size from $400 Mn to $350 Mn. Some of its shareholders are likely to cut their stake sales.
• Urban Company’s board approved raising up to INR 528 Cr (about $60 Mn) via a fresh issue in its IPO. The startup’s total IPO size, including the offer for sale component, could go up to INR 3,000 Cr. 
• Peak XV-backed Turtlemint is said to be in talks with bankers to launch a $200-250 Mn IPO within this year.

Fund Updates This Week

• US-based VC firm Expert Dojo launched its third global fund with a target corpus of $100 Mn this week and plans to invest about $15 Mn in Indian startups.
• Asha Ventures secured a commitment of $10 Mn from the British International Investment for its maiden fund.
• InCred Capital’s investment arm InCred Alternatives announced the final close of its maiden private equity fund, InCred Growth Partners Fund-I (IGPF-I), with commitments exceeding INR 575 Cr this week. 
• Neo Asset Management marked the first close of its second private credit fund at INR 2,000 Cr. 

Updates On Startup M&As

• In an announcement on Saturday last week, Delhivery announced the proposed acquisition of rival Ecom Express for $165 Mn.
• Aurionpro announced the acquisition of Fintra Software to enhance its transaction banking offerings this week.
• IndiGo parent InterGlobe Aviation and French hospitality major Accor will soon be picking up a majority stake in hotel chain startup Treebo.
• IPO-bound PhysicsWallah is evaluating seven to eight entities in the UPSC preparation space to strike a buyout deal.

The post From Juspay To Noise — Indian Startups Raised $195 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Last week, the Indian startup ecosystem witnessed a different kind of distress sale. Typically speaking, such deals involve companies going through a downturn, but this time it was for an IPO-bound company —  Ecom Express. 

Listed major Delhivery informed stock exchanges that it is acquiring 99.4% stake in Ecom Express for INR 1,407 Cr ($165 Mn), an almost 80% valuation drop from Ecom Express’s last valuation of INR 7,300 Cr ($850 Mn). 

The deal will go down in history for two reasons. Firstly, this distress sale is arguably the most severe of its kind in Indian startup history. Global marquee investors are expected to take a massive loss in the exit — as we will see. 

And the second: Delhivery, an arch rival for Ecom Express, is the one giving some form of a lifeboat and in the process acquiring a bigger piece of the market share. However, as a result of this acquisition there are grave consequences in store for thousands of employees at Ecom Express, who are likely to take the worst hit in this deal.

If we have to track the distress for Ecom Express, we have to go back to the company’s initial plan in February 2022 for an IPO, which was eventually shelved. 

This was soon followed by the tragic loss of CEO TA Krishnan in 2023. And almost immediately after that Ecom Express found itself without its biggest customer. This is how the past 14 months have unfolded for the company:

• February 2024: Meesho, Ecom Express’ biggest customer, launches an in-house logistics vertical Valmo
• June 2024: Ecom Express shelves plans to raise INR 400 Cr at $1 Bn+ valuation from existing investors, raises INR 1,400 Cr via rights issue
• August 2024: Refiles IPO papers with an aim to raise INR 2,600 Cr from public market after withdrawing first bid in 2022
• September 2024: Delhivery alleges Ecom Express inflated shipment numbers and hid costs in its representations to investors and regulators
• December 2024: Meesho reduced almost 40%-50% of shipment volume with Ecom Express
• January 2025: Several Ecom Express’ clients, including Reliance and Amazon, significantly reduced their orders, according to sources
• February 2025: Shelves IPO plans for a second time; over 500 employees laid off and 1,000 delivery centres shut down
• March 2025: Archrival Delhivery announces acquiring 99.4% stake in Ecom Express for nearly half of its targeted IPO valuation

Ecom Express, which claims to have handled over 2 Bn shipments since inception and reached around 97% of the country’s population, is in a dire situation, with revenue declining in FY25 and losses growing. 

What exactly went wrong for Ecom Express, especially after it was one of the first companies in this space to hit profitability?

Delhivery, Ecom Express, and its investors, such as Partners Group, Warburg Pincus, and British Investment International, did not respond to Inc42’s queries.

Ecom Express’ Missed Growth Curve

Founded in 2012 by the late TA Krishnan, Manju Dhawan, K Satyanarayana and Sanjeev Saxena, Ecom Express offers shipping and fulfilment services for ecommerce brands and B2C marketplaces. It claims to have 3,000 delivery centres with a network that spans 2,700 cities and towns across India.

Till date, it has raised more than $324 Mn in funding from global marquee VCs and private equity funds, including Warburg Pincus, British International Investments (BII), Partners Group and others, across 12 funding rounds, and was last valued at around $850 Mn in 2022.

In fact, Ecom even turned profitable in FY21, well before its competitors, which was an encouraging sign in a sector that has cut-throat competition, low margins, and high operational cost. 

For context, Delhivery reported its first ever profit in Q3 FY24 (Oct-Dec 2024), and Ecom’s other competitor, Xpressbees is yet to book its first profitable year since inception in 2015.

However, cut to 2024 and the picture is different. Ecom Express saw its revenue increase by mere 2.3% to INR 2,653 Cr in FY24, from INR 2,554 Cr a year ago. This growth was the slowest among the competition.

Despite this, by August 2024, Ecom Express had come back to the IPO table after the failed first attempt in 2022. However, as sources have now told Inc42, the DRHP only revealed what Ecom Express wanted to show to the market. 

For instance, it didn’t mention that Ecom Express’ biggest customer Meesho was clearly moving away from the company. Nor did it mention anything about how the company’s service quality was hampered by the exit of key leaders from late 2023. 

As per Delhivery’s latest exchange filing dated April 11, 2025, Ecom Express reported operating revenue of INR 1,912 Cr in the first nine months of FY25, which would take it close to INR 2,500 Cr in terms of full year revenue, or back to FY23 level. 

Moreover, the startup saw net loss increase to INR 398 Cr in this period, with an operational loss of INR 184 Cr. This raises even more questions about why Delhivery is acquiring the company?

“The January to March quarter revenue has fallen by 30% YoY, as the company saw more of its clients pull out,” according to an industry insider aware of Ecom Express’ situation. 

The first trigger was Meesho. 

Meesho’s Breakaway Move That Broke Ecom Express

In late 2023, Ecom Express was busy improving its infrastructure and operations by launching same-day, next-day and express deliveries to fulfill the changing needs of D2C players and ecommerce marketplaces. Then its biggest customer — Meesho — became a competitor.

Ecommerce giant Meesho launched its very own logistics vertical Valmo in early 2024 after months of testing to cut operational costs, and this left a big dent in Ecom’s revenue prospects. 

As per Ecom Express’ DRHP, the company made 52% of its revenue from a single customer, which is most likely to be Meesho. 

The company’s DRHP, filed in August 2024, said that in the past, the business had seen a significant impact from a major customer withdrawing its business. 

It would not be a stretch to say that Ecom Express’ revenue growth between FY22 and FY24 was largely driven by Meesho. In FY22, Ecom Express’ largest customer brought in 29% of all revenue, which nearly doubled in FY24. 

This spike coincided with Meesho’s transition towards a full-blown marketplace rather than an affiliate platform with some bits of fulfillment and seller services sprinkled in. When Meesho took full control of the logistics like any other marketplace, Ecom Express was left with a big hole in its roof.

While such a heavy reliance on one customer is always risky, it had other customers such as Amazon India, Roposo, Shiprocket and others that offered the potential for growth. However, just as Meesho gradually pulled its business away from Ecom Express, others did too. 

It is not unusual for logistics companies to have a large reliance on a small set of customers. However, this needs to be reduced over a period of time. Delhivery’s top five customers contributed 38.4% of revenue in FY24, down from 48.8% in FY19. 

Sources claim the lack of revenue diversification was a problem that Ecom Express had encountered earlier and  the company didn’t learn from its mistakes in the past. The company is said to have faced a similar situation when Shopee abruptly exited India in 2022. 

In 2024, without Meesho, Ecom Express had a problem of excess resources and a wide network that was not being utilised efficiently. It also saw an exodus of long-time employees and key leaders. 

A Tragedy And Key Exits 

After the demise of former CEO Krishnan in October 2023, Ecom Express brought in former Airtel Business chief Ajay Chitkara as the managing director and CEO. 

Chitkara, who came with no prior experience in the logistics industry, was tasked to take the company to a public listing at the earliest, according to sources.

“Chitkara’s primary target was to increase order volume and resume the IPO process, which was shelved two years back,” said one of the sources on the condition of anonymity.

As per industry sources, one of Chitkara’s first measures was slashing down the delivery cost by 30%, causing a stir in the industry and prompting other companies to cut their prices too. This naturally resulted in higher volumes, but put a strain on the infrastructure and impacted quality of service. 

Incidentally, within a year of Chitkara’s appointment, several department heads and CXOs departed the company, allegedly due to differences with Chitkara’s approach.

• Dipanjan Banerjee, who was the chief business officer for over eight years, exited and joined BlueDart as chief commercial officer
• Prashant Gazipur, country head operations and chief process officer at Ecom Express left and joined Delhivery as senior VP
• Sonam Paliwal, who looked after hub and network operations at Ecom Express, quit to join as director of operations at DTDC 

These exits severely impacted day-to-day operations, and while Ecom Express had massive team at its disposal, the new leadership was more focussed on growing volumes. 

Sources in the industry point to regular delays in deliveries to customers, delivery fraud and an overall sub-par customer experience with Ecom Express.

For example, a cursory search of “Ecom Express” on social media will yield posts by disgruntled customers narrating their poor experience around misplaced orders, late deliveries and more.

As per another industry insider, Reliance was the first one to express its dissatisfaction with Ecom Express’ service quality, and the rest followed. “By the end of 2024, most clients cut their business with Ecom Express and moved to competitors. This heavily affected the topline and profitability,” said a source.   

Dropping The B2B Ball

For years, Ecom Express’ singular focus on the B2C ecommerce market was seen as an advantage in the logistics tech space. Umesh Chandra Paliwal, CEO of unlisted trading platform UnlistedZone, had earlier told Inc42 that Ecom Express enjoys higher margins compared to Delhivery, which had a more diversified business, and in the long run, this is preferred. 

Up to 80% of Ecom Express’ business was concentrated in Tier 1 and 2 cities where delivery costs are considerably lower than rural areas or remote locations. This gave it something of an edge on margins and commissions from brands. 

But without its biggest customer Meesho, the stubbornness to not venture beyond B2C deliveries became a thorn in the startup’s growth arc.

“Diversification is a must when you are heading for an IPO. What Ecom Express did was too risky, especially when your largest client becomes your competitor,” said another industry insider in the space, adding that it was “red flag” for anyone who was looking at investing in the IPO.

While Delhivery continues to generate 62% of its revenue from B2C deliveries, it has also added B2B and cross-border deliveries to the mix. FirstCry-owned Xpressbees has also diversified beyond B2C and ventured into cargo and B2B areas.  

“Meesho was a major client for other logistics players too, but having diversified businesses and multiple revenue streams cushioned the likes of Delhivery from getting severely impacted,” another source highlighted.

Even if we talk about ecommerce deliveries, Ecom Express stood second with 27% market share with 514 Mn shipments, as per the industry report section in its DRHP — numbers that have to be taken with a grain of salt.

Moreover, Ecom Express claimed to deliver products in 27,000 pin codes, while as per India government the country has around 19,300 pincodes, excluding army postal services. 

Soon after the DRHP was released, Delhivery alleged that Ecom Express’ shipments stood at about 450 Mn when adjusted for return to origin (RTO) shipments.

The claim was that Ecom Express had counted the initial shipment to the customer and the RTO as two shipments, whereas the industry norm is to record it as one shipment. Ecom Express never responded to this claim publicly. 

What’s also clear is that the startup was never able to capitalise on the growing popularity of quick commerce like its competitors such as Shadowfax, which have partnered with brands to facilitate 10 to 30-minute deliveries.

Real Synergy Or A Baggage In The Making?

With several red flags in the company’s DRHP that would eventually need to be addressed closer to the IPO, Ecom Express was running the risk of a dud listing. It seems that the company was left with little choice than to provide an exit to investors through an acquisition, and found a rescue act in Delhivery.

According to a VCCircle report, Partners Group, which had invested over $250 Mn in Ecom Express and owns just under 50% stake, is set to make a 71% loss on its investment in the exit. Similarly, British Institute of Investment (BII), which has 10% stake, will exit at a 70% loss. 

Inc42 did not receive responses from any investors and shareholders of Ecom Express about the extent of their losses and the state of their investment. 

Incidentally, Ecom Express CEO is in line to receive a bonus of up to INR 15 Cr if the company gets listed or gets acquired, as per details seen by Inc42. 

While it is not yet clear how the acquisition will pan out, we know that the company’s workforce is close to 50,000, with the majority being part-time delivery partners. The company employs around 16,000 full-time workers to manage the operations, engineering and technology teams, sales and marketing and other central functions. 

Their fate remains unknown, but it’s unlikely that Delhivery will absorb all the jobs. Some roles would be redundant while others might not fit within Delhivery’s operational wheel. 

While Delhivery is ambitious and says that the acquisition is expected to make “steady state profits” on retained revenue, assumed to be ~30% of FY25 base, it’s also not clear whether Ecom Express will remain independent of Delhivery, but this scenario seems highly unlikely as Delhivery is the bigger brand and there’s no clear need for a multi-brand strategy in this space unlike ecommerce or SaaS. 

Moreover, Delhivery has only just started showing profitability. It’s not exactly clear how much revenue Ecom Express will be adding to its business, even though the acquisition would definitely add to the costs.

Delhivery’s experience with the previous acquisition of Spoton was also not great. Integrating that acquisition was a major challenge for the company and it resulted in unsavoury complications at the management layer. In this regard, Delhivery claims there is significant operational overlap with Ecom Express to prevent such an issue. 

The one thing that could count in Delhivery’s favour is that with thinning competition in this space, it can dictate the pricing to some extent. However, given that the likes of Meesho’s Valmo, Xpressbees, Shadowfax and others are expanding in the logistics space, this advantage could be short-lived.

[Edited By Nikhil Subramaniam]

The post What Triggered Ecom Express’ $165 Mn Fire Sale To Delhivery? appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Logistics major Delhivery has said that its INR 1,407 Cr acquisition of Ecom Express will help it improve scale and shore up profitability. 

In an exchange filing, Delhivery said that the deal poses “significantly” lower risks compared to its acquisition of partial truck load (PTL) logistics platform SpotOn Logistics in 2021. 

This clarification follows Delhivery last week announcing that it would acquire a 99.4% stake in Ecom Express for INR 1,407 Cr in an all-cash deal. Described as one of the biggest consolidation moves in the B2C third party surface (3PL) logistics segment, the deal had triggered some concerns about its impact on the listed company’s books.

However, citing its rationale for the “lower risks”, the listed logistics major said that no new technology integrations will have to be “created or changed” as part of the deal as there is a near total overlap (nearly 100% in customer count and 95% in terms of revenue) between Delhivery and Ecom Express. 

“Both companies have serviced these customers over several years and all customer-facing business processes… are equivalent or similar in all key respects. Customers are also deeply integrated with Delhivery systems already and will be able to seamlessly route erstwhile Ecom Express volumes into Delhivery’s network,” Delhivery said. 

It added that it can easily accommodate Ecom Express’ parcel volumes and total tonnage carried due to the relatively smaller scale of the acquired startup. 

Giving numbers, Delhivery said that Ecom Express’ volumes are nearly 40% of its express parcel volumes and less than 20% of its total tonnage carried, while SpotOn’s PTL volumes were twice the size of Delhivery’s PTL business at the time of acquisition.

Delhivery also noted that “no new technology development or deployment” will be required to retain a “significant portion” of Ecom Express’ network infrastructure, and the acquisition will involve “very limited integration complexity”.

With regards to challenges related to subsuming Ecom Express’ employees, Delhivery said that its rate of attrition provides “sufficient opportunity” to absorb “qualified operating staff” from the acquired company. 

The Scale & Profitability Factor 

Assuaging investor fears, the logistics unicorn said that the acquisition will help the company improve its overall profitability, scale up its operations and reduce costs.

Explaining the rationale behind the consolidation move, Delhivery said that incremental express parcel volumes flowing into the company following integration with Ecom Express will boost its bottom line. 

“The incremental volumes that we expect to accrue will further improve utilisation of our network assets and improve overall profitability upon completion of integration. We expect revenue from the acquisition will be retained at Delhivery’s high incremental gross margins. Profitability will also be expanded through reduction of overlapping network assets and central overhead costs,” it said. 

As per the filing, Ecom Express’ operating revenue stood at just INR 1,912 Cr in the first nine months of FY25 as against INR 2,609 Cr in the entire FY24. Ecom Express reported a net loss of INR 398 Cr during the nine-month period as compared to INR 215 Cr loss reported in FY24.

The Sahil Barua-led company said that of the total loss, INR 215 Cr was on account of “non-cash loss on fair valuation of financial liability carried at fair value” due to the accounting treatment of compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) in accordance with Ind AS 109 (Indian accounting standards). Adjusted for this, Ecom Express’ net loss stood at INR 184 Cr in 9M FY25.

However, Delhivery shrugged off any major impact on its bottom line due to the mounting losses of Ecom Express. The company expects “retained revenue” post completion of the deal to generate “substantially higher” incremental EBITDA margins compared to Ecom Express’ standalone service EBITDA margins due to Delhivery’s “more efficient cost structure”.

“Further, network footprint and corporate overheads will be rationalised to a level appropriate for the combined business. We therefore expect incremental profits from the retained revenue to substantially offset the temporary costs of network and overheads rationalisation,” added Delhivery. 

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