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.

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.

A total of 60 founders of 34 Indian new-age tech companies took home INR 307.08 Cr in cumulative annual salary in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24)!

However, the average founder salary plummeted 25.6% to INR 4.93 Cr in FY24 from INR 6.63 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

It is pertinent to note that the Indian startup ecosystem continued to be in the grip of the funding winter, which began in 2022, in FY24. As investors tightened the purse strings following the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, there was mayhem in the Indian startup ecosystem, which was riding high on the bull run of 2020 and 2021.

Consider this: The total funding raised by Indian startups fell to $25 Bn in 2022 from $42 Bn a year ago. This number further plummeted to $10 Bn in 2023 and no respite in 2024 with a total funding raised worth $12 Bn.

This acute funding crunch has meant that Indian startups have had to take drastic measures to cut their costs and extend their runways. Following the onset of the funding winter, startups reduced their advertising and marketing budgets to cut losses or turn profitable in FY23. They also resorted to massive restructuring exercises which resulted in thousands of employees losing their jobs. Some of them even shut down operations.

Amid all these, Inc42 launched ‘Founder Salaries Tracker FY23’ to keep you updated with the salaries of the founders at a time when employees were losing jobs and taking pay cuts.

Continuing that, we are bringing to you the tracker for FY24, which was not much different from FY23. Consolidation remained the main theme in FY24 as well, as startups looked to improve their bottom lines even if they had to compromise on growth in their top lines.

As per the data collated by Inc42, the aforementioned startups posted a cumulative operating revenue of INR 81,937 Cr in FY24. Of these, nine startups reported a combined loss of INR 7,198 Cr, whereas the remaining reported a total profit of INR 7,960 Cr. 

For a deep dive into the financial numbers, take a look at Inc42’s ‘FY24 Financials Tracker’.

Now, let’s delve deeper into the salaries that the startup founders earned in the last financial year. The tracker will keep you informed about the remuneration earned by the founders in FY24, the percentage increase/ decrease in their salaries compared to FY23, and more.

Editor’s Note: This list is not a ranking of any kind. The companies have been placed alphabetically. This is a running list and will be updated periodically.

Founder Remuneration Tracker FY24

Companies are placed in alphabetical order | Data has been sourced from MCA filings, annual reports, and DRHPs |

*Note: Includes Share-based payments, reimbursements, bonus, variable pay, among others

Supam Maheshwari | FirstCry

Supam Maheshwari, the founder of recently listed ecommerce marketplace FirstCry, retained the top spot in terms of annual remuneration in FY24 as well. As per the startup’s red herring prospectus, the founder took home INR 103.8 Cr as remuneration in FY24, which was almost 50% lower than INR 200.7 Cr a year ago.

However, it needs to be highlighted that this amount includes short-term employment benefits, share based payments accrual, and excludes provisions for gratuity, compensated absences and other long term employment benefits which have been actuarially determined and the amounts pertaining to the key managerial personnel (KMP) are not material.

FirstCry reported an operating revenue of INR 6,480 Cr, with a loss of INR 321.5 Cr in FY24. 

Kamath Brothers | Zerodha

Nikhil and Nithin Kamath, founders of Zerodha, clinched the second spot in terms of annual salaries in FY24. Nithin took home INR 33.5 Cr as gross salary during the year, a 30% decline from INR 48 Cr he took home last year. Similarly, Nikhil’s gross salary stood at INR 33.9 Cr in FY24, down 29% from INR 48 Cr in FY23.

However, including the income clubbed under ‘other’ head, their total remuneration stood at INR 96 Cr each. 

Zerodha reported an operating revenue of INR 9,372.1 Cr, while its profit jumped to INR 5,496.3 Cr in FY24. 

Aneesh Reddy | Capillary Technologies

Aneesh Reddy, the founder of SaaS startup Capillary Technologies, was at the third spot in the list. He took home INR 13.3 Cr in the last financial year, an increase of 1,480% from the gross salary of INR 84 Lakh in FY23. Aneesh received a share-based payment of INR 23.1 Cr in FY23, which plummeted to INR 50 Lakh this year. The startup, earlier this year, extended its Series D funding round to $140 Mn, securing $90 Mn in its secondary transaction. 

Bhanu Chopra | RateGain

Publicly listed RateGain’s Bhanu Chopra took home INR 5.8 Cr in FY24, and was fourth on the list. However, his gross salary declined 5% compared to INR 6.1 Cr in FY23. The company’s net profit rose 114% to INR 146.3 Cr in FY24 from INR 68.4 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Operating revenue jumped 69% to INR 957 Cr from INR 565 Cr in FY23. 

Vijay Shekhar Sharma | Paytm

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the founder, chairman, MD and CEO of fintech giant Paytm, was at the fifth spot with an annual remuneration of INR 4.4 Cr during the year under review. Sharma, who is one of the most active angel investors in the county, saw a 10% hike in his annual remuneration in FY24 from INR 4 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Varun Alagh | Mamaearth

Varun Alagh, the CEO of publicly listed beauty care startup Mamaearth, took home INR 3.97 Cr in annual remuneration in the recently concluded financial year. He received a hefty increment of 166.4% compared to INR 1.49 Cr he took home in the previous year. 

In comparison, his wife Ghazal Alagh, who is the cofounder of the startup, took home INR 1.79 Cr in remuneration in FY24, a jump of 80.8% higher than INR 99 Lakh in the previous fiscal year. 

The Delhi NCR-based startup reported an operating revenue of INR 1,919.9 Cr during the year under review with a profit of INR 110.5 Cr.

Edited By Vinaykumar Rai

Last Updated On April 11, 6:00 PM IST

The post Founder Salaries Tracker FY24: How Much Did Startup Founders Earn? appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Very few startups can withstand revenue fluctuations for nearly a decade, and even fewer can hope for a comeback after teetering on the edge amid the pandemic. Aisle, a high-intent dating app, faced a similar hurdle until it was acquired in March 2022 by the technology holding company Info Edge India, which operates platforms such as Naukri, Jeevansathi, 99acres and Shiksha.

But first things first. Launched in 2014 by Able Joseph and Sarath Nair, the app was positioned between Tinder, Bumble or Hinge-like casual dating platforms and online matrimonial services like Shaadi, BharatMatrimony or Jeevansathi.com. The subscription service promised to bridge the two formats — focussing more on all-round compatibility rather than visual cues and ensuring that users looking for serious relationships could find suitable matches.

Additionally, it bucked the conventional wisdom of constant engagement and factored in user churn into its growth outlook, a natural progression when a member meets someone special and exits the platform.      

The Bengaluru-based startup launched several vernacular dating sites and apps, considering how a ‘modern and young India’ would want to pursue love and relationships in a digital-first era. Among these were Arike, the country’s first vernacular dating app for Keralites, Anbe for Tamil users, Neetho for the Telugu populace, Neene (for Kannada speakers) and a few other apps/sites.

Before its acquisition, the startup raised $1.15 Mn across four rounds from a clutch of investors such as Titan Capital, LetsVenture, ah! Ventures and White Unicorn Ventures. Essentially, it was trying to do everything right to drive its business (more on its exclusive features later).

Meanwhile, casual dating apps thrived throughout the pandemic or earlier due to their novelty and convenience. They became immensely popular and Wall Street’s darlings, as nothing more was required than swiping a finger across a smartphone. In 2022, India emerged as the fifth fastest-growing market for dating app spending, with a $31 Mn rise in user expenditure compared to the previous year.

According to Grand View Research, the country’s online dating app market is projected to reach $1.01 Bn by 2030 from $547.9 Mn in 2023, at a 9.2% CAGR. Globally, the revenue forecast is $14.4 Bn.

Despite a growing market for digital dating services, Aisle struggled to achieve profitability. In FY22 (ended on March 31, 2022), the startup generated operating revenue of INR 14.11 Cr but reported a loss of INR 6.25 Cr. The previous year (FY21) saw revenue of INR 7.57 Cr, with a narrower loss of INR 29 Lakh. In fact, FY20 was the only exception, when Aisle posted a modest profit of INR 15 Lakh on revenue of INR 7.61 Cr. Before that, it recorded losses for five consecutive years since FY15. 

The venture was at a critical crossroads as it faced mounting challenges. Should it press forward and take a real shot at building Aisle as one of the largest dating companies? Or should it scale back and rethink the future? As Info Edge stepped in and acquired a 76% stake in Aisle for INR 91 Cr, the startup could push ahead.

Why Info Edge Joined The Aisle Party

An early backer of prominent startups such as Zomato and PolicyBazaar (the foodtech giant and the parent firm of the insurance aggregator are now publicly traded), Info Edge has always been eager to invest in new and differentiated ventures. After acquiring a majority stake in Aisle, it infused an additional INR 30 Cr in March 2025 through its matrimonial portal, Jeevansathi.com. As a result, its total investment in the step-down subsidiary has reached INR 121 Cr. Its shareholding has risen to 92.83% on a fully converted and diluted basis, up from 89.17%.

This strategic push reflects Info Edge’s ambition to dominate India’s up-and-coming online dating market.

“The latest round will help Aisle expand its product offerings and address its working capital requirements. It will further strengthen our offerings in the matchmaking space by addressing the needs of individuals across age groups and backgrounds seeking meaningful connections,” the company said.

An Info Edge spokesperson, requesting anonymity, told Inc42 that the firm gradually increased its stake in Aisle due to the app’s strong user engagement and retention rates among the 25+ age group — a segment often overlooked by global dating platforms.

While many dating platforms grapple with user retention and monetisation challenges, Info Edge has seen distinct value in Aisle’s approach. “Its clear positioning as a ‘high-intent’ dating app has carved a niche among those seeking serious relationships. This aligns well with our understanding of the Indian market, where the emphasis is often on long-term commitment,” the spokesperson said.

“The app’s regional focus has also been a growth driver — especially Arike, which caters to Malayali people. Its success within the country and among the NRIs underscores the potential for culturally curated relationship platforms. This vernacular strategy is critical to our investment thesis in this space.”

Aisle’s Playbook For A Turnaround Amid Stagnation 

With the pandemic gone and barriers against real-life mingling disappearing, will online dating continue to thrive as it did a couple of years ago? A 2023 survey by Pew Research Center revealed that even in the US — the biggest market globally — just 30% of the adults ever used a dating site/app, and only 1% of partnered adults met their current significant other via that route. (For those under 30, it happened to be 50%.) 

According to global estimates, dating app installations and sessions also saw a 13% year-over-year drop from January 2023 to December 2024. International giants like Tinder and OkCupid also witnessed a 20-25% decline in monthly active users between October 2022 and September 2023, indicating slowing growth. Closer home, the stagnation also posed persistent challenges without actual disruptions, and many companies failed to revamp their appeal.

An industry insider terms it a generational shift, pointing out that most millennials are married by now and have outgrown these apps. Young people (read Gen Z) are still keen to try it, but those with less disposable incomes are not willing to pay high subscription fees even for premium features. These daters are increasingly looking to free and popular platforms like Instagram or Snapchat for direct messaging. Conversely, the bulk of the revenue earned by dating apps comes from subscriptions and only a small percentage from digital advertising. Add to that the growing customer acquisition cost and life is anything but rosy for these businesses.   

When Aisle started operating under Info Edge, it underwent a leadership shakeup, paving the path for spinning things around. As confirmed in his LinkedIn post, Founder Able Joseph officially stepped down a year ago. In February 2025, Chandni Gaglani was appointed the new head to lead the company into its next phase of growth.

An alumnus of the Indian School of Business (ISB), she spent more than a decade at Flipkart, Myntra and Udaan, thriving in various leadership roles.

Aisle has developed and deployed several strategies to deepen its competitive advantage post-acquisition. According to Gaglani, the platform now enjoys greater access to Info Edge’s shared resources. Integrating core functions like HR, finance and technology into the startup’s central teams has helped Aisle streamline operations, focus more on innovations and push for market expansion instead of merely coping with day-to-day operational challenges.

Info Edge has invested heavily in Aisle’s technology and product portfolio to improve its performance and ensure a more engaging user experience. According to the spokesperson mentioned earlier, the platform has significantly ramped up its marketing efforts through social media and content-driven campaigns to boost brand visibility and attract a bigger audience.

Aisle’s most significant innovation in this phase is Aisle Experiences, an invite-only programme officially launched in August 2024. It focusses on building a quality-driven community and creating offline events that cater to shared interests, such as wine-and-cheese nights, jam sessions and other interest-based meetups. The goal is to foster genuine connections in a relaxed, safe environment rather than routine swiping or indiscriminate user acquisition.

“Data shows that most meaningful matches occur within common interest groups. Aisle Experiences aims to bring people together based on that insight,” said Gaglani. “When fully rolled out, this initiative will refine the Aisle community through clear brand messaging, data-driven profiling and exclusive invite-only events. These will support its positioning as a premium, intention-driven dating platform.”

Aisle also provides greater transparency by displaying the number of interactions a match had in the past three days. Premium members can benefit from advanced profile filters and photo verification. Recognising the importance of attracting women users, it has also introduced features designed to enhance their experience. Private Mode, for instance, allows women to browse profiles discreetly until they choose to engage. Again, only women can initiate chats after a mutual match to curb unsolicited messages.

To further strengthen its branding, Aisle is experimenting with customised, cohort-based pricing — tailored subscription plans to cater to different users. A recent pilot saw subscription costs reduced by more than 50%, with varying responses across markets. “NRIs responded positively to the price drop, while urban Indians on iOS were more receptive than their Android counterparts. We are moving towards personalised subscription plans based on app usage to make profile-matching more accessible and effective across demographics,” said Gaglani.

Currently, Aisle charges INR 1,500 as a monthly subscription fee.

Historically, Aisle has maintained a lean tech infrastructure, but it is now transitioning to a microservices model that leverages Info Edge’s technological resources. While AI integration is still early, Aisle Network is exploring AI-driven innovations to improve safety, mitigate cybercrime risks and automate profile matching for better quality and match volume.

“Ahead of broader AI integration, we are focussing on AI-led verification, including live checks to detect image-based spoofing,” said Gaglani. “We also plan to introduce AI-powered tools to encourage more meaningful interactions, moving beyond generic conversations.

A Look At Aisle’s Numbers Post Info Edge Acquisition 

Like many of its peers, Aisle struggled to generate substantial revenue in its early years. It failed to surpass INR 1 Cr in the first three years and hit the profit button just once in FY20. But it slipped back in the red and did not see a recovery, although its revenue crept up in FY22. 

The turning point came after the Info Edge acquisition. In FY23, its operating revenue jumped by 123% YoY to reach INR 31.46 Cr. Although losses widened during this period due to increased investments and expansion, its revenue rose 10.6% to INR 34.80 Cr in FY24. Overall, Aisle’s operating revenue soared by nearly 146% in two years. The numbers for FY25 are not out yet, but the company managed to reduce its cash burn by 42% and inched closer to profitability, according to Gaglani. 

User growth across its key apps also remains strong. Over the past two years, Aisle has maintained a steady stream of 1 Mn monthly active users. Within Aisle’s portfolio, the flagship app contributes 50% of revenue and user base, with regional apps like Arike, Anbe and Neetho accounting for the rest, noted Gaglani. The company claims an overall user base of 16 Mn and counting.

In another sign of surefire growth, Aisle has expanded its team from 20 to 49, setting up new divisions and looking at more investments for product and leadership development to fuel continued expansion.

However, Gaglani stresses upholding the core mission. “Globally, dating apps lean towards the hookup culture, but Aisle has always set itself apart. It avoids swipe-based features and encourages deeper engagement,” she said. “More importantly, its apps were primarily created for individuals aged 27-35. Right now, we are seeing an influx of Gen Z users. Nevertheless, our core mission remains unchanged, although we filter our target audience more effectively.”

Aisle’s Roadmap For Scaling Up

Aisle aims to redefine the dating landscape in India, both qualitatively and through tech power. Understandably, AI will be the next big bet for profile matching, along with hyperlocal engagement and experiential dating. Although things are still at an early stage, the company is now refining these strategies to disrupt the industry and chart a course for sustainable expansion.

At the core of its growth strategy lie user engagement, retention drive and moving beyond digital matches to foster community-driven connections.

On the monetisation front, Aisle is optimising its investments instead of dramatically increasing them. The company is implementing a city-specific, hyperlocal strategy to deepen its presence in key markets. This tailored approach ensures that each platform within the Aisle Network delivers a unique value proposition, minimising overlap and maximising user value. In the current financial year, Aisle projects a 70-80% YoY revenue growth from its key apps, driven by deeper segmentation, regional customisation and differentiated offerings across multiple dating platforms.

For Gaglani and her team, going granular and regional matters most as key vernacular apps under the Aisle umbrella have shown strong performance, with its key apps recording 45% YoY growth in FY25. As she noted, India’s dating market is highly diverse, featuring distinct regional behaviours that defy global patterns. Although urban areas may resemble metro trends or even the West, where typical user acquisition metrics look promising on spreadsheets, smaller cities in tier II and III regions offer different values, habits and relationship perspectives. Hence, companies like Aisle must adopt a tailored approach, not a one-size-fits-all model.  

Given the recent capital infusion, it is evident that Info Edge remains committed to these growth strategies for the long term. The internet behemoth considers these platforms complementary to its matrimony service, Jeevansathi. Therefore, it aims to cultivate a suite of offerings that meet diverse user requirements across dating, relationships and matchmaking.

“Over time, Info Edge will invest in these [vernacular] platforms to build a varied portfolio that serves different audiences and relationship goals,” the spokesperson told Inc42. 

Meanwhile, Aisle must prove its mettle, personalise its services, and offer flexibility to all user groups to ensure that the demand for meaningful connections continues to grow in India and around the globe. After all, nearly 50% of Indian men and women never got married, and the number is rising, throwing open a massive market for the likes of Aisle.   

[Edited By Sanghamitra Mandal]

The post The Info Edge Effect: How Dating App Aisle’s Revenue Soared 146% After Acquisition appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Fuelling Bharat’s AI Ambitions

As India races to catch up with global AI advancements, Inc42’s GenAI Summit 2025, held yesterday in Bengaluru, set the stage for a crucial inflexion point in the country’s AI journey. The invite-only event brought together 350+ leaders to discuss the next frontier of AI, from conversational and agentic AI to vertical GenAI solutions.

Everyone had but one thing on their minds — What would it take for India to stand on par with China and the US in terms of deeptech innovations? Understandably, the question takes birth from Union minister Piyush Goyal’s concerns about deeptech innovations that are taking place in India compared to the world.

With this, while some industry stalwarts took the liberty to call a spade a spade, others talked about how AI has helped them take a giant leap in their endeavour to build great businesses from India. 

Here are the key takeaways:

Sovereign AI Is The Need Of The Hour: According to SarvamAI cofounder Vivek Raghavan, India must focus on building a sovereign AI ecosystem to ensure autonomy over its data. 

Deeptech Startups Sob For Risk Capital: Reliance Jio’s chief AI scientist, Gaurav Aggarwal, believes that the paucity of “risk capital” and effectively leveraging swathes of unstructured data are hindering AI development in the country. 

Data Privacy Concerns Among MSMEs: Tally Solutions’ Tejas Goenka said that MSMEs continue to be wary of GenAI-led automation due to data privacy concerns and issues related to inaccuracies and outdated computing infrastructure. 

Greenshoots Of Innovation: While an AI-powered food recognition system has doubled food tracking engagement for health and fitness app operator Healthify, InMobi-owned Glance is working on an AI-led commerce offering that will transform devices like phones or TVs into a hyper-personalised styling and shopping discovery space.

More Is Less In The “Deep” Tech World: It is just the dawn of AI, and Indian companies are already leveraging this emerging tech to the best of their advantage. Here, names like IPO-bound OfBusiness are seen taking charge, exploiting GenAI to automate processes and bring sweeping efficiencies in their operations. 

But, what’s more impressive is that AI bots are today capable of handling more than 70% of travel requests for companies like TBO Tek, showcasing the growing prowess of India in AI adoption.

From The Editor’s Desk

Ather Looks To Trim IPO Size: Amid the ongoing volatility in the Indian stock markets, the EV maker is planning to slash the size of its public issue by at least $50 Mn to $350 Mn. Ather has already received the SEBI nod for its IPO plans. 

Noise Bags $20 Mn: Audio products and wearable startup Noise has raised $20 Mn from its existing investor Bose. The global audio giant first invested $10 Mn in Noise in December 2023 at a valuation of about $426 Mn.

Zepto Nears $4 Bn Annualised GOV: The quick commerce giant’s cofounder and CEO Aadit Palicha claimed that the company has reduced EBITDA (excluding ESOPs) and operating cash flow burn by 50% while clocking nearly 300% YoY growth. 

BharatPe Bags RBI Nod For PA Biz: The fintech unicorn’s subsidiary Resilient Payments has secured final approval from the RBI to operate as an online payment aggregator. This strengthens its position as a full-stack fintech company.

JM Financial Trims Info Edge’s PT: The brokerage has slashed the price target of Naukri.com’s parent company to INR 7,800 from INR 8,750 earlier. JM Financial cited the recent correction in the stock price of portfolio companies Zomato and PB Fintech for the cut. 

RBI To Revise UPI Limits: The central bank has allowed the NPCI to revise transaction limits for P2M payments on UPI to accommodate higher-value transactions in select merchant categories. Currently, UPI payments for both P2P and P2M are largely capped at INR 1 lakh. 

Ola Electric Ropes In EY India: The EV juggernaut is said to have roped in the consulting firm to help it “achieve regional compliance” as Ola Electric looks to push the pedal on same-day deliveries.

Family Office Tracker: With foreign capital drying up, the spotlight is now on Indian family offices to step up and invest more in the private sector. Let’s take some time out to learn more about them.

Inc42 Startup Spotlight

Can NeoSapien’s AI Wearables Help Indians Skip Data Fatigue?

A recent Accenture report found that 76% of consumers in India felt inundated by “too much choice” online. When siblings Aryan and Dhananjay Yadav faced a similar predicament, they sat down to build NeoSapien. 

The Personalised AI Filter: NeoSapien is a deeptech startup developing AI-powered wearables that can integrate seamlessly into daily life. The startup’s flagship product, Neo 1, is designed to function as a “second brain” to augment human cognition, offering real-time insights to help users manage information, improve focus, and make better decisions.

Offering Real-Time Insights With AI: Neo 1 tracks conversations and analyses emotions, offering users the ability to store unlimited memory and enhance their mental capabilities. The product aims to help users unlock their full potential by providing real-time analysis and insights.

Piggybacking On Shark Tank Fame: With Batch 1 selling fast, the company has now rolled out Batch 2 in early access mode at INR 9,999, with no subscription fees for the first year. 

While the official launch is still ahead, can NeoSapien’s personal AI assistant mitigate the information overload of Indians?

The post Fuelling Bharat’s AI Ambitions, Ather To Trim IPO Size & More appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Indian stock markets, like most other equity markets across the globe, plunged today over fears of a global trade war after the US announced tariffs on all countries across the world. In line with this, 10 of the 32 new-age tech stocks under Inc42’s coverage touched fresh lows. 

Shares of FirstCry, TBO Tek, ideaForge, Swiggy, Honasa Consumer, Ola Electric, EaseMyTrip, Tracxn, ixigo and Go Digit touched all-time lows or 52-week lows during the intraday trading today. 

Ola Electric plunged to an all-time low of INR 45.55, about 40% lower than its listing price of INR 75.99. Adding to the EV maker’s regulatory woes, it was reported that the company told the road transport and highways ministry that its February sales figures included customer bookings for 10,866 Gen3 escooters and 1,395 Roadster X motorcycles. While deliveries for the former began in March, those for the latter are yet to commence.

Honasa Consumer also touched a new 52-week low of INR 190 during intraday trading today. The company informed the bourses on Saturday that its CMO Anuja Mishra resigned for unspecified reasons. 

Meanwhile, shares of SME listed companies TAC Infosec and Veefin solutions touched lower circuits today.

Barring Delhivery and Menhood, all new-age tech stocks faced selling pressure during the first trading session of the week. The biggest loser today was CarTrade, with its shares falling 12.24% to end the day at INR 1,464.50. 

Delhivery saw its shares zoom over 5% during the intraday trading today and end 4.53% higher at INR 269.95. This came after the company announced the acquisition of its rival IPO-bound Ecom Express on Saturday in what appears to be a distress sale. The deal values Ecom Express at INR 1,407 Cr, about a fifth of its last private valuation of INR 7,000 Cr. 

The cumulative market cap of the 32 new-age tech stocks fell to $71.92 Bn today from $74.75 Bn at the end of last week. 

Trump’s Tariff War Takes A Toll 

After US President Donald Trump slapped tariffs on imports from almost all countries of the world, China announced counter tariffs on the North American nation. This has led to fears of an imminent global trade war. 

As a result, Sensex plunged 2.95% to end the day at 73,137.90 today. Meanwhile, Nifty 50 fell 3.24% to 22,161.60. Japan’s Nikkei 225 and China’s Shanghai composite index ended with losses of over 7% each today.

Siddhartha Khemka, head of research and wealth management at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said that Nifty 50 saw its worst opening since March 2020 (Covid-19 pandemic) today. 

“The market tumbled as the carnage over high US tariffs and the retaliation by other countries may kickstart a trade war. Though the overall impact on India may be limited when compared with other countries, investors are advised to play cautiously during this fray. Focus will be on pure-play domestic themes, where the rebound is likely to be fair when the dust settles,” Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments, said. 

Moving forward, analysts expect the markets to remain volatile amid the trade tensions and further developments on the tariff front. 

Indian investors will also keep an eye on the meeting of the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which is expected to announce a 25 basis points rate cut on Wednesday (April 9).

Given the new trade barriers from the US, the meeting would be crucial as it comes amid rising global uncertainty due to escalating tariff tensions, said Narinder Wadhwa, MD  and CEO of SKI capital.

He added that a rate cut by the RBI would provide short-term support to Indian equities, particularly in rate-sensitive sectors such as banking, NBFCs, real estate, and auto. “Lower interest rates would reduce borrowing costs and potentially stimulate consumption and investment, offering a cushion against global headwinds,” he said.

The post Manic Monday: 10 New-Age Tech Stocks Touch New Lows On Tariff Turmoil appeared first on Inc42 Media.

With US president Donald Trump announcing tariffs on imports from almost all countries, the global equities market saw trillions of dollars of wealth being wiped out this week. In line with this, the Indian stock markets crashed over 2.5%.

However, it wasn’t an outright gloomy week for new-age tech stocks under Inc42’s coverage. In the first week of April, 16 out of the 32-new age tech stocks gained in a range of 0.21% to a little over 18%. 

Besides, the overall market cap of the new-age tech companies stood at stood at $74.75 Bn at the end of the week, slightly up from last week’s $74.07 Bn.

Veefin Solutions, the biggest loser last week, emerged as the top gainer this week. The stock rose 18.07% to INR 317.25. The company’s shares tanked to a fresh 52-week low of INR 256.10 during the intraday trading on Tuesday (April 1).

The bull run for Veefin came after it announced that it has onboarded public sector banks Bank of Baroda, Central Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, and UCO Bank as customers for its supply chain finance platform PSBXchange by PSB Alliance. 

Other gainers this week included, Zomato, Unicommerce, Yudiz, EaseMyTrip, Swiggy, among others.

Among the list of gainers, fintech major Paytm saw its shares zoom 4.19% to end the week at INR 816.35. With this, the company’s market cap crossed the $6 Bn mark and ended the week at $6.01 Bn. 

The Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led company saw multiple business developments. After informing the bourses last week that it had sold its entire stake in Jugnoo parent Socomo Technologies for INR 3 Cr, this week saw Paytm partner with Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation to deploy more than 400 Paytm innovative All-In-One EDC Devices (card machines) for tax collection.

On Friday (April 4), the company unveiled a new soundbox, Paytm MahaKumbh Soundbox, with added features like real-time payment updates on a display screen and a clear overview of daily transactions. 

Meanwhile, shares of MobiKwik ended the week 6.89% lower at INR 283.85. The stock closed the week 36% lower from its listing price of INR 442.25. 

MobiKwik was among the 16 new-age tech stocks which fell in a range of 0.07% to under 8% this week. TBO Tek was the biggest loser this week, with its shares sliding 7.42% to end at INR 1,115.75. The company’s shares touched an all-time low of INR 1,105.05 during intraday trading on Friday. 

Other losers this week included Zaggle, PB Fintech, BlackBuck, Nykaa, Ola Electric, among others. 

US Tariffs Lead To Bloodbath

US president Trump announced tariffs against over 180 countries on April 2. Apart from country-specific tariffs, he also announced the imposition of a 10% baseline tariff.

In the case of India, Trump announced a 26% tariff. While the tariff on India is lower in comparison to other Asian countries like China, Vietnam, and Bangladesh, it is still higher than what the market expected. 

With China announcing retaliatory tariffs against the US, stock markets slumped globally on fears of a trade war.

Consequently, Sensex ended the week 2.6% lower at 75,364.69 and Nifty 50 declined 2.6% to end at 22,904.45.

“Technically, the Nifty has broken below all major price and moving average supports, indicating potential for further downside. The immediate support lies at 22,600, while a decisive breach could open the door towards 22,100. On the upside, any recovery is likely to face stiff resistance in the 23,100-23,400 zone,” said Ajit Mishra, SVP of research at Religare Broking. 

The markets will keep a keen eye on the retaliatory measures of other countries against the US in the coming weeks.

“Domestically, while the direct impact of these tariffs is relatively moderate compared to other major economies, it remains more substantial than initially projected. As Q4 earnings season approaches, a sequential improvement in corporate performance is anticipated. However, prevailing weak market sentiment suggests that the phase of consolidation may persist in the near term,” said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments.

Besides, the Indian markets will keep an eye on the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, and IIP and CPI data in the next week.

Now, let’s take a detailed look at the performance of some of the new-age tech stocks this week:

Good Week For Zomato

Shares of Zomato gained 4.54% to end the week at INR 210.65. Its market cap also gained $1 Bn from last Friday to end the week at $23.73 Bn.

Here’s what happened at Zomato this week: 

• Brokerage firm Goldman Sachs reiterated its “Buy” rating on the foodtech major and assigned a price target (PT) of INR 310. The brokerage said that investors are effectively assigning negligible value to Zomato’s food delivery business and assuming that Blinkit’s EBITDA margins have structurally halved.
• The NCLT dismissed an insolvency plea filed against the foodtech major by B2B manufacturer Nona Lifestyle over alleged unpaid dues of INR 1.64 Cr on Thursday.
•  It was reported that Zomato laid off nearly 600 employees from its customer support team. The employees were laid off due to performance issues, tardiness, and an overall restructuring effort. 
• The foodtech major allotted 2.17 Lakh equity shares to eligible employees under its existing employee stock option plans (ESOPs).

Ola Electric Shares See A Decline 

Despite multiple new announcements, investor interest in EV major Ola Electric remained subdued this week. The stock ended the week at INR 52.44, down 1% from last week. 

Ola Electric’s shares have been on a downward trajectory since the start of 2025 and have declined over 39% year to date.

In an investor presentation this week, Ola Electric claimed that it managed to trim its service turnaround time from 2.5 days in September 2024 to 1.1 days in the months of January and February. 

Besides, it also claimed to have grown its auto gross margin from 21% at the end of Q3 FY25 to 24% by the end of Q4. 

A day prior to that, Ola Electric’s board approved an infusion of INR 199 Cr in its battery manufacturing subsidiary Ola Cell Technologies (OCT). 

Meanwhile, the company is piloting Hyper Delivery, a same-day registration and delivery service. Starting with Bengaluru, it plans a pan-India rollout in a phased manner this quarter. 

However, it also continues to face regulatory hurdles. As per a report by NDTV Profit, the Maharashtra government has served a notice to Ola Electric to explain why some of its stores in the state are operating without trade certificates. 

“It has been found that your company is operating unauthorised showrooms and stores cum service centres and illegally selling vehicles,” the report quoted the government notice as saying. 

The post Mixed Week For New-Age Tech Stocks Amid Trump’s Tariff War, Paytm & Zomato Among Gainers appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The world’s third largest startup ecosystem has been in the midst of a raging funding winter for a couple of years now. As investors tightened their purse strings, the Indian startup ecosystem has had to go through a lot of pain, which included thousands of employees losing their jobs. 

This was especially true for the fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24), when the funding drought peaked. Far from the capital boom of 2021, when fear of missing out (FOMO) among investors drove a valuation bubble, FY23 and FY24 turned out to be a reality check for the startup ecosystem as many shut shop while others took the debt route to extend their runways. 

However, not everything was doom and gloom. The struggle of the funding winter brought with it sanity in valuations and forced startups to cut their expenses to chart a profitable growth. This trend was evident in the financial statements of Indian startups in FY23 and seems to have continued in FY24 as well.

Of the 112 startups that have released their financial statements for FY24 so far, 45 ended the year with profitable numbers. Their cumulative profit stood at INR 7,137.3 Cr. 

The likes of Zomato, PB Fintech, Honasa, and Milk Mantra turned profitable during the year under review.

Meanwhile, the remaining 67 startups posted a cumulative loss of INR 21,472 Cr, with just Paytm and Ola Electric accounting for more than INR 3,000 Cr of this loss figure. However, it needs to be highlighted that many of these startups were also able to cut their losses in FY24.

In terms of top line, the 112 startups posted a cumulative operating revenue of INR 2.05 Lakh Cr (INR 2,05,407 Cr to be precise) in the year ended March 2024. 

So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the financial performance of these startups in FY24. 

Editor’s Note: This list is not a ranking of any kind, we have placed the companies alphabetically. This is a running list and will be updated periodically.

Inside The FY24 Financials Of Indian Startups

Note: All amount in INR Cr

ACKO’s Net Loss Narrows 9%

ACKO managed to trim its consolidated net loss by 9% to INR 669.98 Cr in FY24 from INR 738.55 Cr in the previous year, on the back of a strong growth in its top line and improvement in EBITDA margin.

The digital insurance policy provider clocked sales of INR 2,106.25 Cr in FY24, a 20% jump from INR 1,758.64 Cr in the previous year.

Including other income, the startup’s total revenue rose 20% to INR 2,160.20 Cr during the year under review from INR 1,796.81 Cr in FY23.

Total expenditure grew to INR 2,830.18 Cr in the year ended March 2024 from INR 2,535.36 Cr last year.

Read More: ACKO’s Revenue Jumps 20% To Cross INR 2,000 Cr Mark In FY24

Amagi’s Loss Declines 24% 

SaaS unicorn Amagi’s consolidated net loss declined 23.72% to INR 245 Cr in FY24 from INR 321.2 Cr in FY23, due to improvement in its EBITDA margin.

The company saw strong business growth, with its operating revenue rising 29.18% to INR 879.1 Cr in FY24 from INR 680.5 Cr in FY23.

Despite the strong revenue growth, Amagi’s total expenditure increased only 13.43% to INR 1,179.1 Cr in FY24 from INR 1,039.5 Cr in FY23.

Read More: SaaS Unicorn Amagi’s FY24 Loss Declines 24% To INR 245 Cr

Apna Trims Net Loss By 57%

Professional networking unicorn Apna trimmed its consolidated net loss by over 57% to INR 51.3 Cr in FY24 from INR 120.3 Cr in the previous fiscal year due to improvement in its EBITDA margin.

Its operating revenue tumbled over 29% to INR 127.6 Cr during the reported period from INR 180.3 Cr in FY23, largely due to a sharp decline in income from software development support services.

Total expenses fell over 37% to INR 191 Cr during the year under review from INR 308.4 Cr in FY23.

Read More: Hiring Platform Apna’s FY24 Loss More Than Halves To INR 51 Cr

Apna Mart’s Loss Jumps 2X

Apna Mart, which is in the process of raising $25 Mn funding, reported a near 2X jump in its standalone operating revenue in FY24. Revenue from operations zoomed 85% to INR 59.4 Cr from INR 32.2 Cr in FY23, as per its filings accessed from Tofler. Net loss surged 52% to INR 33.1 Cr from INR 21.8 Cr in FY23.

Meanwhile, expenses shot up 78% to INR 96 Cr in FY24 from INR 54 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Read More: Apna Mart’s Revenue Surges 85% To INR 59 Cr In FY24

Avanse’s Profit Crosses INR 300 Cr Mark

IPO-bound non-banking financial company Avanse Financial Services posted a profit of INR 342.4 Cr in FY24, a jump of 117% from INR 157.7 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Operating revenue also jumped 74.5% to INR 1,727 Cr in FY24 from INR 989.6 Cr in the previous year. 

Its IPO will comprise a fresh issue of shares worth INR 1,000 Cr and an offer for sale (OFS) component of shares worth up to INR 2,500 Cr. It plans to use the IPO proceeds to increase its capital base to fuel further expansion of its business.

Read More: IPO-Bound Avanse’s PAT Doubles To INR 342.4 Cr In FY24, Operating Revenue Surges 74%

Ather Energy’s Loss Crosses INR 1,000 Cr Mark

IPO-bound Ather Energy’s operating revenue declined 1.5% to INR 1,753.8 Cr in FY24 from INR 1,780.9 Cr in the previous fiscal year. On the other hand, its net loss widened over 22% to INR 1,059.7 Cr from INR 864.5 Cr in FY23.

Total expenses in FY24 stood at INR 2,674.2 Cr, rising marginally from INR 2,666.3 Cr in the previous year.

Read More: Ather Energy FY24: Revenue Declines On Reduction In FAME-II Subsidy, Loss Up 22% To INR 1,060 Cr

Awfis’ Loss Narrows 

Coworking space startup Awfis managed to reduce its loss to INR 17.75 Cr in FY24, a 62% decline from INR 46.6 Cr in the previous year. Though the startup was in loss for the entire fiscal year, it turned profitable in Q4 FY24. It posted a profit of INR 1.4 Cr in Q4 FY24. 

In terms of revenue, Awfis’ operating revenue jumped 55.6% to INR 848.8 Cr in FY24 from INR 545.2 Cr in the previous year. In Q4 FY24, the startup’s operating revenue jumped over 45% YoY to INR 232.4 Cr. 

Awfis went public in May this year. Its IPO comprised a fresh issue of shares worth INR 128 Cr and an OFS component of up to 1.23 Cr shares. Peak XV Partners and Bisque Limited were among the investors who sold shares via the OFS. 

Read More: Awfis Turns Profitable In Q4 With INR 1.4 Cr PAT, Operating Revenue Jumps 45% YoY

BlackBuck’s Loss Falls Below INR 200 Cr Mark

IPO-bound BlackBuck managed to lower its loss by over 30% in the financial year ended March 31, 2024. The logistics startup incurred a net loss of INR 194 Cr, a decline of 33% from INR 290.4 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

The Flipkart-backed startup’s operating revenue zoomed 69% to INR 296.9 Cr in FY24 from INR 175.6 Cr in FY23. It primarily earns revenue by offering payments services, telematics, load marketplace, and vehicle financing services on its platform. 

The logistics unicorn’s IPO will comprise a fresh issue of shares worth INR 550 Cr and an OFS component of up to 2.16 Cr shares (2,16,09,022 to be precise). 

Read More: IPO-Bound BlackBuck Narrows Loss By 33% To INR 194 Cr In FY24

BlueStone’s Loss Narrows By 15% To INR 142 Cr

Omnichannel jewellery brand BlueStone managed to narrow its loss by almost 15% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 142.2 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 167.2 Cr in the previous year. 

Its operating revenue surpassed the INR 1,000 Cr mark during the year under review. Revenue from operations surged over 64% to INR 1,265.8 Cr in FY24 from INR 770.7 Cr in the previous year. 

Total expenditure rose 51.4% to INR 1,445.7 Cr from INR 955.1 Cr in FY23.

Read More: BlueStone FY24: Revenue Surpasses INR 1,000 Cr Mark, Loss Narrows 15% To INR 142.2 Cr

boAt’s Revenue Slips 

Aman Gupta-led boAt saw its operating revenue fall 7% to INR 3,117.7 Cr in FY24 from INR 3,376.8 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Despite the decline in its revenue, the startup managed to narrow its loss by over 38% to INR 79.7 Cr during the year under review from INR 129.4 Cr in FY23.

The audio consumer brand’s expenses fell over 9% to INR 3,233.6 Cr from INR 3,562.1 Cr in FY23.

Read More: boAt’s FY24 Revenue Declines 7% To INR 3,118 Cr

Bombay Shaving Company’s Loss Narrows 

Shantanu Despande-led D2C grooming and personal care brand Bombay Shaving Company’s net loss declined 23% to INR 62.1 Cr in FY24 from INR 80 Cr in the previous fiscal year, as its top line rose and margins improved.

Operating revenue breached the INR 200 Cr mark during the year under review. Revenue from operations rose 26% to INR 204 Cr from INR 161.8 Cr in FY23.

The rise in the startup’s expenditure was lower than the increase in its revenue. Its total expenses grew 13% to INR 295.5 Cr in FY24 from INR 262.6 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Read More: Bombay Shaving Company’s FY24 Loss Declines To INR 62 Cr

BookMyShow’s Profit Breaches INR 100 Cr Mark

Online ticketing platform BookMyShow’s net profit zoomed 27.61% to INR 108.6 Cr in FY24 from INR 85.1 Cr in the previous fiscal year. The Mumbai-based company reported an operating revenue of INR 1,396.8 Cr in FY24, up 44% from INR 975.5 Cr in FY23.

The live events segment saw its revenue nearly double to INR 454.7 Cr from INR 237.5 Cr in FY23, on the back of rising trend of live shows in the country. The online ticketing segment brought in INR 740.7 Cr in revenue.

Read More: BookMyShow Profit Jumps 27% To INR 109 Cr In FY24

CaratLane’s Revenue Breaches INR 3,000 Cr Mark

The Tata-owned omnichannel jewellery startup reported a 42% jump in its operating revenue to INR 3,080 Cr in FY24 from INR 2,169 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

However, net profit declined nearly 5% to INR 78.59 Cr during the under review from INR 82.08 Cr in FY23 due to rise in advertising and “miscellaneous” expenses. 

CaratLane FY24: Profit Declines 5% To INR 79 Cr, Revenue Crosses INR 3,000 Cr Mark

CarTrade’s Profit Halves 

Used car marketplace startup CarTrade saw its profit fall 50% to INR 20 Cr in FY24 from INR 40 Cr in the previous fiscal year. The decline in the loss could be attributed to the startup’s acquisition of Sobek Auto India, comprising OLX Autos C2B business and OLX classifieds business, for INR 535.54 Cr.

CarTrade reported an operating revenue of INR 489.9 Cr in FY24 as against INR 363.7 Cr in the previous year.  

Read More: CarTrade Back In The Black With INR 25 Cr PAT In Q4; Revenue Jumps 38% YoY

Chaayos Loss Reduces By 51%

Popular QSR chain Chaayos reduced its net loss by 50.59% to INR 54 Cr in FY24 from INR 109.3 Cr in FY23, as it cut its expenses and turned EBITDA profitable.

Chaayos’ operating revenue rose a mere 4.89% to INR 248.6 Cr during the year under review from INR 237 Cr in FY23. Including other income, total revenue grew 7% to INR 271.2 Cr in FY24 from INR 253.4 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Chaayos managed to reduce its total expenditure by 3.69% to INR 352.2 Cr in FY24 from INR 365.7 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Read More: Chaayos’ Loss Halves To INR 54 Cr In FY24

Cleartrip’s Loss Crosses INR 800 Cr Mark

Flipkart-owned online travel aggregator Cleartrip’s net loss jumped 18.5% to INR 810.3 Cr in FY24 from INR 683.8 Cr in the previous fiscal year, despite a surge in its top line. 

Cleartrip’s operating revenue almost doubled to INR 97.2 Cr in FY24 from INR 49.4 Cr in FY23. Its revenue would have been INR 622.2 Cr if not for discounts. The company gave INR 524.9 Cr worth of discounts in FY24 as against INR 441.1 Cr in the previous fiscal. 

Cleartrip’s expenses during the period under review jumped 26.7% to INR 988.2 Cr from INR 780.1 Cr in FY23.

Read More: Flipkart-Owned Cleartrip Spent INR 10 To Earn Every Rupee In FY24

Curefoods Net Loss Reduced To INR 173 Cr

Bengaluru-based cloud kitchen startup Curefoods reduced its net loss by 49.64% to INR 172.6 Cr in FY24 from INR 342.7 Cr in the previous fiscal year, as its top line surged and margins improved.

The startup’s operating revenue zoomed 53.17% to INR 585.1 Cr in FY24 from INR 382 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

The startup’s expenses grew only 6.97% to INR 806.8 Cr in FY24 from INR 754.2 Cr in FY23.

Read More: Curefoods’ FY24 Loss Halves To INR 173 Cr

Daalchini’s Loss Declines 34% 

Retail tech startup Daalchini’s consolidated net loss narrowed 34% to INR 8.58 Cr from INR 13.14 Cr in FY23. The startup, which offers vending machines, saw its operating revenue surge as much as 66% to INR 37.31 Cr from INR 22.44 Cr.

Daalchini’s IoT-based smart vending machines are present across 2,600 stores in over 80 cities in India, catering to on-the-go consumption with a specialised supply chain designed to serve 6-meal-a-day to its customers. 

Read More: Daalchini’s Standalone Revenue Jumps 56% To INR 18.3 Cr in FY24

Delhivery’s Loss Narrows By 75% 

Delhi NCR-based Delhivery posted a 75% decrease in its loss in FY24. The logistics unicorn reported a loss of INR 249 Cr during the year as against INR 1,007 Cr in FY23. 

Operating revenue stood at INR 8,141 Cr in FY24, an increase of 12.6% from INR 7,225 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

The startup also reduced its advertising expenses to INR 16 Cr from INR 22 Cr in FY24. 

Read More: After A Profitable Q3, Delhivery Posts INR 69 Cr Loss In Q4 FY24

DealShare’s Revenue Plummets 75%

The Delhi NCR-headquartered startup’s operating revenue plunged nearly 75% to INR 499 Cr in FY24 from INR 1,963.5 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

In line with the fall in revenue, DealShare managed to lower its net loss by 67% to INR 167.7 Cr from INR 503 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

In a bid to improve its bottom line, DealShare cut its expenditure by 70% to INR 768.1 Cr in FY24 from INR 2,557.6 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Read More: DealShare’s FY24 Revenue Plummets 75% To INR 500 Cr

DevX Turns Profitable In FY24

IPO-bound coworking space provider DevX posted a net profit of INR 43.7 Lakh in FY24 as against a net loss of INR 12.83 Cr in the previous fiscal. 

The startup’s operating revenue zoomed 55% to INR 108.08 Cr during the year under review from INR 69.91 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

The coworking space provider’s total expenses rose 37% to INR 119.50 Cr in FY24 from INR 87.49 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Read More: IPO-Bound DevX Posts INR 44 Lakh Profit In FY24

Dezerv’s Revenue Surges 157%

Accel-backed wealthtech startup Dezerv’s operating revenue surged 157% to INR 26.25 Cr in FY24 from INR 10.20 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Despite the growth in its top line, Dezerv’s consolidated net loss rose 95% to INR 74.53 Cr during the year under review from INR 38.20 Cr in FY23, on account of a sharp increase in its expenses.

Dezerv’s total expenditure shot up 108% year-on-year to INR 100.84 Cr in the year ended March 31, 2024. It had incurred expenses of INR 48.42 Cr in the previous year.

Read More: Dezerv’s FY24 Revenue Zooms 157% YoY To INR 26 Cr

DroneAcharya’s Profit Doubles

Pune-based drone startup DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations reported a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of INR 6.2 Cr in FY24, almost double of INR 3.42 Cr profit it posted in the previous fiscal year.

DroneAcharya’s operating revenue increased nearly 90% to INR 35.19 Cr in FY24 from INR 18.56 Cr in FY23. The startup attributed this increase to the company’s steady and consistent growth as a drone solution provider and a drone training organisation.

Read More: DroneAcharya’s Net Profit Doubles To INR 6.2 Cr In FY24, Operating Revenue Jumps 90%

Droom’s Net Loss Narrows 35%

IPO-bound automobile ecommerce platform Droom reported a 35% decline in its consolidated net loss to INR 40.4 Cr in the fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 62.1 Cr in the previous fiscal year due to lower expenses.

A change in its business model resulted in the IPO-bound startup’s operating revenue plunging 66% to INR 85.4 Cr in the year ended March 2024 from INR 253.3 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Droom’s total expenses also fell over 64% to INR 100.9 Cr in the year ended March 2024 from INR 277 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Read More: IPO-Bound Droom’s FY24 Loss Declines 35% To INR 40 Cr

EaseMyTrip’s Revenue Inches Closer To INR 600 Cr Mark

Online ticketing platform EaseMyTrip saw its revenue rise 32% to INR 591 Cr from INR 488.8 Cr in FY23, driven by an increase in sales of air tickets. 

Despite the increase in revenue, the startup’s profit took a hit. EaseMyTrip’s profit fell 23% to INR 103.4 Cr in FY24 from INR 134 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Increase in advertising expenses was among the reasons for the decrease in profit.

Read More: EaseMyTrip Q4: Incurs Loss Of INR 15 Cr Due To One-Time Expenses

Ecom Express Sees Its Loss Decline 67%

IPO-bound logistics startup Ecom Express managed to reduce its net loss by 67% to INR 255.8 Cr in FY24 from INR 428.1 Cr in FY23.

The startup’s operating revenue saw a marginal 2.15% increase to INR 2,609 Cr in FY24 from INR 2,553.9 Cr in the previous fiscal year, as per its DRHP. Total expenses rose marginally by 0.64% to INR 2,921.5 Cr in  FY24, from INR 2,902.8 Cr.

Read More: Ecom Express FY24: IPO-Bound Startup’s Loss Narrows 67% To INR 255.8 Cr

ElasticRun’s Revenue Plummets 49%

Elasticrun reported a 49% decline in its operating revenue to INR 2,434.8 Cr in FY24 from INR 4,738.0 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

In line with the decrease in revenue, net loss fell 42% to INR 359.6 Cr in FY24 from INR 619.0 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

ElasticRun generates revenue through the sale of products and services. Revenue from the sale of products stood at INR 2,023.19 Cr in FY24, a sharp decline from INR 4,366.11 Cr in FY23. However, revenue from the sale of services increased 10.3% to INR 406.30 Cr from INR 368.34 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

The Pune-based startup’s total expenditure fell 47% to INR 2,904.4 Cr from INR 5,452.8 Cr in FY23

Read More: ElasticRun’s FY24 Revenue Narrows To Half, Loss Declines 42%

Fasal’s Revenue Surges Nearly 90%

Agritech startup Fasal’s revenue from operations grew 89% to INR 34.1 Cr in FY24 from INR 18 Cr in FY23. Including other income, Fasal’s total revenue grew nearly 90% to INR 35.5 Cr in FY24 from INR 18.8 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Meanwhile, total expenses rose 34% to INR 69.5 Cr during the year under review from INR 51.6 Cr in FY23. 

Loss increased 6% to INR 34 Cr from INR 32 Cr in FY23. 

Read More: Agritech Startup Fasal’s FY24 Revenue Jumps 89% to INR 34.1 Cr

Fino Payments Bank’s Profit Jumps Over 30%

Mumbai-based Fino Payments Bank’s operating revenue jumped 20% to INR 1,478.3 Cr in FY24 from INR 1,229.9 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Its expenses also grew almost in line with revenue. Total expenses stood at INR 1,391.5 Cr in FY24, up 19% from INR 1,164.8Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Fino’s net profit zoomed 32% to INR 86.2 Cr from INR 65 Cr in FY23. 

Read More: Fino Payments Bank Q4: Net Profit Rises 14% YoY To INR 25.21 Cr

FirstCry’s Loss Declines Over 30% 

Ahead of its IPO, kids-focussed omnichannel retailer FirstCry managed to reduce its net loss by 34% to INR 321.5 Cr in FY24 from INR 486 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Its operating revenue increased 15% to INR 6,480.8 Cr during the year under review from INR 5,632.5 Cr in FY23. Expenses rose 9.2% to INR 6,896.6 Cr from INR 6,315.7 Cr in FY23. 

FirstCry made its public market debut in August. Its shares listed at INR 651 on the NSE, a premium of 40% over its issue price of INR 549.

Read More: FirstCry FY24: Loss Narrows 34%, Revenue Crosses INR 6K Cr Mark Ahead Of IPO

Fisdom’s Loss Narrows 19%

Investment tech startup Fisdom, which is reportedly in talks to get acquired by Groww, managed to narrow its loss by 19% YoY to INR 57.4 Cr in FY24. The Bengaluru-based startup had reported a net loss of INR 70.5 Cr in FY23. 

Its operating revenue grew 28% to INR 82.9 Cr during the year under review from INR 64.7 Cr in FY23. Total expenditure increased 3% YoY to INR 141.7 Cr.

Read More: Investment Tech Platform Fisdom’s FY24 Loss Declines 19% To INR 57 Cr

Fractal Analytics Slips Into The Red

IPO-bound Fractal Analytics reported a consolidated net loss of INR 54.7 Cr in FY24 as against a profit of INR 194.4 Cr in the previous fiscal. While the startup had registered a gain of INR 494.9 Cr from exceptional items in FY23, it incurred a loss of INR 21.8 Cr in FY24 from it. 

The SaaS startup’s revenue from operations surged 11% to INR 2,196.3 Cr in FY24 from INR 1,985.4 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Including other income of INR 45.6 Cr, Fractal’s total income for the fiscal year surged 10% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 2,241.9 Cr. 

Fractal’s total expenses rose a mere 1.1% to INR 2,250.6 Cr from INR 2,225.2 Cr in FY23. 

Read More: IPO-Bound Fractal Slips Into The Red In FY24, Reports INR 54.7 Cr Loss

Freo’s Loss Narrows 65%

Freo narrowed its net loss by 64.54% to INR 14.16 Cr in FY24 from INR 39.94 Cr in the previous year, on the back of improvement in its EBITDA margin. 

Revenue from operations rose 11% to INR 111.46 Cr in the financial year ended March 2024 from INR 99.80 Cr in the previous year. 

The digital banking startup managed to bring down its expenses by 10.28% to INR 125.58 Cr from INR 139.97 Cr in FY23. 

Read More: Freo’s FY24 Loss Declines 65% To INR 14 Cr

Furlenco’s Sales Dip

The Bengaluru-based furniture rental startup’s operating revenue declined 10.4% to INR 139.56 Cr in FY24 from INR 155.78 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Furlenco also managed to lower its loss by 2.3% to INR 129.97 Cr in FY24 from INR 127.04 Cr in FY23.

Total expenditure declined 1.3% to INR 282.1 Cr from INR 285.9 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Read More: Furlenco’s FY24 Operating Revenue Declines 10%, Net Loss Down 2.3%

Gramophone’s Revenue Plunges

Gramophone’s operating revenue slumped 69% to INR 98.2 Cr in FY24 from INR 315.7 Cr in the previous year, as the startup shuttered its marketplace business during the year under review. 

This also led to its expenditure falling 64% to INR 133.4 Cr from INR 374 Cr in FY23. As a result, the startup’s net loss declined 40% to INR 34.8 Cr from INR 57.9 Cr in the previous year. 

Read More: Gramophone’s FY24 Revenue Slumps 69% To INR 98 Cr

Go Digit’s Profit Zooms 5X

Insurtech startup Go Digit posted strong results with a 400% jump in its profit after tax (PAT) to INR 182 Cr in FY24 from INR 36 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

With the sharp growth in health, travel, and personal accident premiums, Go Digit’s total gross written premium (GWP) increased 24.5% to INR 9,016 Cr from INR 7,243 Cr in FY23.

Net earned premium rose over 37% to INR 7,096 Cr in FY24 from INR 5,164 Cr in FY23.

Read More: Go Digit FY24: PAT Jumps Over 5X To INR 182 Cr, GWP At INR 9,016 Cr

HealthKart Becomes Profitable

Delhi NCR-based HealthKart, which bagged a funding of $153 Mn in November 2024, turned profitable in FY24, posting a net profit of INR 38.3 Cr in FY24 as against a net loss of INR 164.7 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

The startup’s sales rose 23% to INR 1,021.5 Cr during the year under review from INR 832.4 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Total expenditure saw a marginal 1% rise to INR 1,031 Cr in FY24 from INR 1,016 Cr in the previous year. 

Read More: HealthKart Turns Profitable, Posts INR 38 Cr PAT In FY24

Infra.Market’s Profit Crosses INR 350 Cr Mark

Mumbai-based Infra.Market reported a profit of INR 378 Cr in FY24, an increase of 144% from INR 155 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

The IPO-bound startup’s operating revenue increased 23% to INR 14,530 Cr from INR 11,846.5 Cr in the previous year. 

In line with the increase in sales, total expenditure grew 23% to INR 14,272 Cr from INR 11,607.6 Cr in FY23. 

Read More: Infra.Market’s FY24 Profit Crosses INR 350 Cr, Sales Breach INR 14K Cr Mark

Jar’s Loss Narrows To INR 104 Cr

Wealthtech startup Jar narrowed its net loss by 15% to INR 103.97 Cr in FY24 from INR 123 Cr in the previous year, as revenue grew and expenses declined. 

Revenue from operations skyrocketed 461% to INR 49.03 Cr in FY24 from INR 8.73 Cr in the last fiscal (FY23).

Including other income of INR 7.37 Cr, total revenue surged 277% to INR 56.41 Cr during the year under review from INR 14.93 Cr in the previous year.

Jar’s total expenses for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024 increased 16.2% to INR 160.3 Cr from INR 137.5 Cr in FY23. 

Read More: Jar Cuts FY24 Loss To INR 104 Cr

Jimmy’s Cocktail’s Revenue Tanks

D2C brand Jimmy’s Cocktails saw its operating revenue decline 30.9% to INR 23.7 Cr in FY24 from INR 34.3 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Including other income of INR 2.9 Cr, the startup’s total income fell 23.3% to INR 26.6 Cr during the year under review from INR 34.7 Cr in FY23.

Despite the decline in its revenue, Jimmy’s Cocktails’ net loss widened 47.1% to INR 10 Cr in FY24 from INR 6.8 Cr in the previous year.

The startup managed to cut its total expenditure by 8% to INR 40.4 Cr in FY24 from INR 43.9 Cr in FY23.

Read More: Jimmy’s Cocktails’ Revenue Dips 31% To INR 23.7 Cr In FY24

Juspay’s Loss Declines 8% 

Fintech company Juspay’s net loss narrowed 7.7% to INR 97.54 Cr in FY24 from INR 105.75 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

It posted a 49.6% rise in operating revenue to INR 319.32 Cr from INR 213.39 Cr in FY23. 

Total expenses climbed 29.5% to INR 443.74 Cr in FY24 from INR 342.59 Cr in FY23.

Read More: Juspay Trims Net Loss To INR 97.54 Cr In FY24

Lenskart’s Revenue Crosses INR 5,000 Cr Mark

Peyush Bansal-led Lenskart saw its sales jump 43% to INR 5,427.7 Cr during the year under review from INR 3,788 Cr in FY23. 

Including other income, total revenue rose 43% to INR 5,609.8 Cr in FY24 from INR 3,927.9 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Lenskart managed to reduce its net loss by 84% to INR 10 Cr in FY24 from INR 64 Cr in FY23. 

Read More: Lenskart’s FY24 Loss Declines 84% To INR 10 Cr

Kuku FM’s Revenue Inches Closer To INR 100 Cr Mark

Kuku FM saw its operating revenue increase over 100% in FY24. Revenue from operations zoomed 114% to INR 88 Cr from INR 41.1 Cr in FY23.

The IFC-backed startup saw its expenditure increase 21% to INR 200 Cr in FY24 from INR 165.4 Cr in the last fiscal year.

It also managed to bring down its loss. Net loss stood at INR 96 Cr in FY24, down 18% from INR 116.5 Cr in FY23. 

Read More: Kuku FM’s FY24 Revenue Jumps 114% To INR 104 Cr

ideaForge’s Profit Nears INR 50 Cr Mark 

ideaForge reported its third consecutive profitable fiscal as the drone maker clocked a net profit of INR 47.8 Cr in the fiscal ended March 2024. This was an increase of almost 50% from INR 31.9 Cr. Its profit stood at INR 44 Cr in FY22. 

Operating revenue also soared more than 70% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 186 Cr during the year under review.

Meanwhile, expenses zoomed 81% to INR 282.9 Cr in FY24 from INR 155.6 Cr in the previous year. 

Read More: ideaForge PAT Slips 30% QoQ To INR 10.3 Cr In Q4

iD Fresh Foods Turns Profitable

The Bengaluru-based read-to-eat food maker turned profitable in FY24, posting a net profit of INR 1.84 Cr as against a loss of INR 23.25 Cr in FY23. 

iD Fresh Foods clocked a 16% increase in its operating revenue to INR 395.76 Cr in FY24 from INR 340.9 Cr in the previous year. 

Total expenditure grew 8.4% to INR 398.75 Cr during the year under review from INR 367.94 Cr in FY23. 

Read More: iD Fresh Food Turns Profitable In FY24, Posts INR 1.8 Cr PAT

InCred’s Profit Surges 2.6X 

The fintech startup’s operating revenue crossed the INR 1,000 Cr mark during the year under review. InCred saw its top line grow nearly 47% to INR 1,270 Cr in FY24 from INR 864.6 Cr in FY23.

Meanwhile, profit soared 162% to INR 316.3 Cr from INR 120.9 Cr in FY23. Rising finance costs and employee benefit expenses pushed up InCred’s total expenses by over 37% YoY to INR 871.3 Cr during the fiscal year under review. 

Read More: InCred FY24: Profit More Than Doubles To INR 316.3 Cr, Revenue Crosses INR 1,000 Cr Mark

IndiaMART’s Revenue Crosses INR 1,000 Cr Mark

The B2B ecommerce major posted a 17% rise in its net profit to INR 334 Cr in FY24 from INR 283 Cr in the year-ago period. 

Operating revenue jumped 21% to INR 1,196 Cr in the fiscal ended March 2024 from INR 985 Cr in FY23. On similar lines, total expenses also rose 20% to INR 910.7 Cr in FY24 from INR 756.7 Cr in the previous fiscal year. This increase in expenditure was largely attributable to a sharp jump in employee benefit costs, which rose 27% YoY to INR 507 Cr during the year under review. 

Read More: IndiaMART Q4: Profit Surges 78% YoY To INR 99.6 Cr

IPO-Bound IndiQube’s Loss Widens By 72%

IndiQube’s net loss widened 72% to INR 341.51 Cr in FY24 from INR 198.10 Cr in the previous year, primarily due to a sharp increase in loss on fair valuation of financial liabilities.

However, revenue from operations surged 44% to INR 867.66 Cr during the year under review from INR 601.28 Cr in FY23.

The IPO-bound managed office space provider saw its total expenses zoom 51% to INR 1,252.48 Cr during the year under review from INR 829.20 Cr in FY23.

Read More: IPO-Bound IndiQube’s Loss Widens 72% To INR 341.5 Cr In FY24

InsuranceDekho Turns Profitable

Auto marketplace CarDekho’s insurance arm InsuranceDekho turned profitable in FY24 on the back of a multifold jump in revenue. The startup reported a net profit of INR 85.7 Cr during the fiscal year under review compared to a loss of INR 51.6 Cr in FY23. 

Operating revenue zoomed 670% to INR 743.6 Cr from INR 96.5 Cr in FY23. The startup’s total expenditure also rose 360% to INR 699.2 Cr in FY24 from INR 151.9 Cr in the precious fiscal year. 

Read More: InsuranceDekho Turns Profitable, Posts INR 86 Cr PAT In FY24

ixigo’s Profit Triples 

Online travel aggregator ixigo had a bumper year as its net profit more than tripled to INR 73.1 Cr from INR 23.4 Cr in FY23. 

The travel tech major’s operating revenue increased almost 31% to INR 655.9 Cr in the reported fiscal year from INR 501.2 Cr in FY23. This came largely on the back of broad-based growth across its business verticals and healthy uptick in annual active users. 

Total expenditure jumped almost 30% YoY to INR 627.8 Cr in FY24.

Le Travenues Technology, the parent company of the travel tech startup, made a stellar debut on the stock exchanges in June 2024 and listed at INR 138.10 per share on the BSE, a 48.5% premium from the issue price of INR 93. 

Read More: ixigo FY24: Profit Jumps Over 200% To INR 73.1 Cr, Train Bookings Biggest Revenue Source

Josh Talks Trims Loss By 25%

Delhi NCR-based media and entertainment startup Josh Talks pruned its loss by 25% in FY24 to INR 9.88 Cr from INR 13.21 Cr loss it incurred in the previous fiscal year.

Revenue from operations rose 2% to INR 18.71 Cr from INR 18.29 Cr in FY23. Including other income of INR 65.40 Lakh, the startup’s total revenue for the fiscal stood at INR 19.37 Cr. This number was 3% higher than the INR 18.80 Cr total revenue for FY23. 

The startup also managed to lower its total expenditure by 9% to INR 29.2 Cr in FY24 from INR 32 Cr. 

Read More: Josh Talks FY24: Losses Come Down 25% To INR 9.8 Cr, Revenue Up 2%

LeadSquared’s Revenue Rises 9%

WestBridge Capital-backed SaaS startup LeadSquared reported a marginal 0.73% increase in its net loss to INR 162.24 Cr in FY24 from INR 161.06 Cr in the previous year.

Operating revenue rose 9.12% to INR 279.29 Cr during the year under review from INR 255.93 Cr in FY23. Including other income of INR 45.9 Cr, the Bengaluru-based startup’s total revenue jumped 9.77% year-on-year to INR 325.2 Cr.

LeadSquared’s overall expenses rose 6.6% to INR 486.45 Cr during the year ended March 31, 2024 from INR 456.21 Cr in the previous year.

Read More: SaaS Unicorn LeadSquared Posts INR 162 Cr Loss In FY24

Lendingkart’s Profit Declines 97%

Lendingtech startup Lendingkart reported a 97.2% decline in its consolidated net profit to INR 3.25 Cr in FY24 from INR 118.8 Cr in FY24, primarily due to a sharp increase in impairment loss on financial assets, loans and advances.

However, operating revenue zoomed 36.6% to INR 1,090.6 Cr during the year under review from INR 798.4 Cr in the previous year.

Lendinkart’s total expenses rose 58.92% to INR 1,194.3 Cr during the year ended March 31, 2024 from INR 751.5 Cr in the previous year. 

Read More: Lendingkart FY24: Profit Declines 97% To INR 3.25 Cr

M2P Reports INR 134 Cr Loss

Fintech startup M2P Fintech’s loss stayed flat in FY24. The startup posted a loss of INR 133.5 Cr in FY24, an increase of 0.15% from INR 133.3 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

However, this came at the cost of its top line. The startup’s operating revenue slipped 13.3% to INR 382 Cr in FY24 from INR 440.7 Cr in FY23. 

M2P’s total expenses declined 15.4% to INR 527.6 Cr in FY24 from INR 623.3 Cr in the previous year. The startup’s spending on employees jumped 33.46% to INR 251.3 Cr from INR 188.3 Cr in FY23.

Read More: M2P Fintech’s FY24 Loss Stagnant At INR 133 Cr

Mamaearth Turns Profitable In FY24

Honasa Consumer Ltd, the parent entity of D2C unicorn Mamaearth, returned to the black during the year under review. After posting a net loss of INR 150.9 Cr in FY23, the startup minted a profit of INR 110.5 Cr in FY24. 

Operating revenue rose 28.6% to INR 1,919.9 Cr from INR 1,492.7 Cr in FY23. Total expenditure jumped 21.3% to INR 1,822.4 Cr in FY24 from INR 1,501.6 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Read More: Honasa FY24: Mamaearth Parent Turns Profitable For Full Fiscal Year

MapmyIndia’s Profit Jumps 25% 

Geotech company MapmyIndia reported a profit of INR 134.4 Cr in FY24, up 25% from INR 107.5 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Operating revenue rose more than 34% to INR 379 in the year ended March 2024 from INR 281 Cr in FY23. Meanwhile, total expenditure increased 36% YoY to INR 240.9 Cr on the back of a sharp rise in other expenses, which rose 73%.

Read More: MapmyIndia’s Q4 PAT Jumps 35% YoY To INR 38 Cr

Mensa Brands Trims Loss

House of brands Unicorn Mensa Brands’ consolidated net loss declined about 31% to INR 155.85 Cr in FY24 from INR 227.03 Cr in the previous fiscal. 

The startup’s operating revenue increased 11.6% to INR 557.66 Cr during the year under review from INR 499.63 Cr in FY23. Including other income of INR 40.53 Cr, total income stood at INR 598.20 Cr in FY24.

Mensa Brands managed to cut its total expenses by 7% to INR 712.60 Cr in FY24 from INR 763.22 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Read More: Mensa Brands’ FY24 Loss Narrows 31% To INR 156 Cr

Milk Mantra Back In The Black

Bhubaneswar-based dairy tech startup Milk Mantra turned profitable in FY24, posting a net profit of INR 9.8 Cr as against a net loss of INR 12.3 Cr in the previous fiscal year. It is pertinent to note that the startup slipped into the red for the first time in FY23 after eight straight years of profitability. 

Operating revenue stood at INR 276.4 Cr in FY24, a marginal increase of 1.3% from INR 272.9 Cr in FY23.

 In terms of expenditure, the startup’s total cost fell a little over 7% to INR 269.1 Cr in FY24 from INR 289.5 Cr in the previous year. 

Read More: Milk Mantra Back In The Black With INR 9.8 Cr Profit In FY24, But Growth Remains Muted

Minimalist’s Profit Jumps 2X In FY24

D2C skincare brand Minimalist’s net profit more than doubled to INR 10.9 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 5.2 Cr in FY23, on the back of a strong growth in its top line.

The Rajasthan-based startup’s revenue from operations surged 89% to INR 347.4 Cr during the year under review from INR 183.8 Cr in FY23.

Expenditure rose largely in line with the growth in its sales. Total expenses jumped 84% to INR 331.7 Cr in FY24 from INR 180.2 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Read More: D2C Brand Minimalist’s FY24 Profit Doubles To INR 10.9 Cr, Revenue Up 1.9X YoY

Mintifi’s Profit Jumps 273%

Supply-chain financing startup Mintifi’s net profit zoomed 273% to INR 92.53 Cr in FY24 from INR 24.79 Cr in the previous year on the back of robust growth in its topline and improvement in margins.

Revenue from operations surged nearly 72% to INR 383.67 Cr during the year under review from INR 223.20 Cr in FY23. Including other income of INR 17.80 Cr, total revenue climbed almost 77% year-on-year to INR 401.47 Cr in the year ended March 31, 2024.

Mintifi’s total expenses also rose sharply to INR 276.68 Cr in FY24, up nearly 44% from 192.35 Cr a year ago

Read More: Mintifi’s FY24 Profit Zooms 273% To INR 92.5 Cr

Mokobara Halves Its Loss

D2C luggage startup Mokobara’s loss nearly halved to INR 4.24 Cr in FY24. It had posted a loss of INR 8.22 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Revenue from operations jumped 120% to INR 117.44 Cr from INR 53.27 Cr it reported in FY23. Total expenditure nearly doubled to INR 123.28 Cr from INR 61.85 Cr in FY23.
Read More: Mokobara’s Revenue Surges 2.2X To INR 117 Cr In FY24

Mosaic Wellness’ Revenue Crosses INR 300 Cr Mark

Health and wellness startup Mosaic Wellness saw its consolidated operating revenue zoom 60% to cross the INR 300 Cr mark in FY24. It posted revenue from operations of INR 333.32 Cr during the year under review as against INR 206.20 Cr in FY23. Including other income of INR 8.37 Cr, total income stood at INR 341.69 Cr in FY24.

The startup’s loss declined 38% to INR 38.78 Cr in FY24 from INR 62.19 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Total expenses rose at a lower pace than the increase in its top line. Expenses grew 38% to INR 380.47 Cr from INR 275.80 Cr in FY23. 

Read More: Mosaic Wellness’ FY24 Revenue Surges 60% To Cross INR 300 Cr Mark

Myntra Turns Profitable 

Fashion ecommerce giant Myntra turned profitable in the fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24), posting a consolidated net profit of INR 30.9 Cr as against a loss of INR 782.4 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

The profitability came on the back of a bump in Myntra’s topline and slight reduction in its expenses in the fiscal. 

The startup’s revenue from operations stood at INR 5,121.8 Cr in FY24, up about 15% from the INR 4,465 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Myntra cut its expenses slightly to turn profitable in the fiscal. In FY24, the startup spent INR 5,123 Cr, down 3% from the INR 5,290.1 Cr it spent in the prior fiscal.

Read More: Myntra Turns Profitable In FY24, Revenue Soars 15%

Navi Finserv’s Operating Revenue Takes Hit 

Navi Finserv’s consolidated operating revenue fell 6.6% to INR 1,906.2 Cr in FY24 from INR 2,040.6 Cr in FY23. The startup’s profit from continued operations also slipped 41% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 155.6 Cr in FY24. 

It is pertinent to mention that Navi Finserv divested its entire holding in microfinance subsidiary Chaitanya India Fin Credit Private Ltd during the year under review. Including profit from discontinued operations, its net profit more than doubled to INR 545.1 Cr in FY24 from INR 264.2 Cr.

Total expenses saw a marginal increase to INR 1,750.4 Cr in the reported year from INR 1,743.9 Cr in FY23, with finance cost alone comprising over 37% of its total spending.

Read More: Navi Finserv FY24: Revenue Falls 6.6% To INR 1,906 Cr, Profit Down 41% YoY

Nazara’s Profit Increases By Over 20% 

Gaming major Nazara Technologies reported an operating revenue of INR 1,138.2 Cr during the year under review. This was an increase of 4.3% from INR 1,091 Cr in FY23. 

Profit jumped 21.7% to INR 74.7 Cr from INR 61.3 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Nazara’s total expenses stood at INR 1,112.4 Cr in FY24, an increase of 5.7% from INR 1,051.7 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Read More: Nazara Q4: Profit Shrinks To INR 18 Lakh, Operating Revenue Declines To INR 266.2 Cr

Nykaa Nearly Doubles Its Profit 

Fashion ecommerce startup Nykaa reported an operating revenue of INR 6,358.6 Cr in FY24, 23.6% higher than INR 5,143.8 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Its profit increased 89.5% to INR 40 Cr in FY24 from INR 21.1 Cr in FY23. 

The Falguni Nayar-led unicorn’s total expenditure grew 23.5% to INR 6,346.5 Cr in FY24 from INR 5,135.6 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Read More: Nykaa FY24: Despite Q4 Slide, Profit Rises By 80% For Full Fiscal Year

OfBusiness’ Revenue Crosses INR 19,000 Cr Mark

B2B marketplace OfBusiness’ consolidated operating revenue surged over 25% to INR 19,296.3 Cr FY24 from INR 15,342.6 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Net profit increased by over 30% to INR 602 Cr from INR 463 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Total expenses jumped 24.3% to INR 18,695.7 Cr in FY24 from INR 15,037.5 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Read More: OfBusiness FY24: Profit Surges Over 30% To Cross INR 600 Cr Mark

Ola Consumer’s Loss Narrows

Ola Consumer’s parent ANI Technologies reported a 57.46% decline in its consolidated net loss to INR 328.5 Cr in FY24 from INR 772.2 Cr in the previous fiscal year. The decline in loss came on the back of a sharp 42.28% reduction in employee benefit expenses.

However, its operating revenue took a hit. ANI Technologies’ operating revenue slipped 5.48% to INR 2,011.9 Cr in FY24 from INR 2,128.5 Cr in FY23.

The company’s expenditure for FY24 declined 16.3% to INR 2,106.7 Cr from INR 2,516.7 Cr in FY23. 

Read More: Ola Consumer’s FY24 Loss Declines 57% To INR 329 Cr

Ola Electric Breaches INR 5,000 Cr Revenue Mark

Recently listed two-wheeler EV startup Ola Electric reported a 90% jump in its revenue to INR 5,010 Cr in FY24 from INR 2,630 Cr in the previous year, on the back of increase in sales of its EV scooters. 

The Bhavish Aggarwal-led startup also managed to cap the increase in loss ahead of its IPO. Its net loss rose 7% to INR 1,584.4 Cr in FY24 from INR 1,472 Cr in the previous year. Employee benefit expenses increased to INR 439 Cr from INR 427 Cr in FY23. 

Read More: IPO-Bound Ola Electric’s FY24 Net Loss Widens To INR 1,584 Cr, Revenue Jumps 90%

OneCard’s Revenue Crosses INR 1,400 Cr Mark

Peak XV Partners-backed fintech unicorn OneCard’s operating revenue zoomed 163% to INR 1,425.58 Cr in FY24 from INR 541.16 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Including other income of INR 39.19 Cr, total revenue for the fiscal stood at INR 1,464.77 Cr.

The startup incurred a net loss of INR 401.15 Cr in FY24, down 1.1% from INR 405.66 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Expenses also surged during the fiscal year as its top line grew. OneCard spent INR 1,865.92 Cr in FY24, up about 87% from INR 999.51 Cr in the previous fiscal. 

Read More: OneCard’s FY24 Revenue Surges 2.6X To INR 1,425 Cr

OPEN’s Revenue Slumps To INR 25 Cr

Neobanking startup OPEN’s operating revenue declined 17% to INR 24.8 Cr in FY24 from INR 29.9 Cr in FY23.

Including other income, the startup’s total revenue declined 13% to INR 46.1 Cr from INR 53.1 Cr in FY23. 

With the decline in revenue, the Temasek-backed startup’s net loss also reduced 30% to INR 170 Cr during the year under review from INR 242.2 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Total expenditure fell 34% to INR 194.6 Cr in FY24 from INR 296.5 Cr in FY23. 

Read More: OPEN Spent INR 195 Cr To Earn INR 25 Cr Revenue In FY24

Oxyzo’s Profit Rises To Almost INR 300 Cr

Fintech unicorn Oxyzo, led by couple Ruchi Kalra and Asish Mohapatra, reported a 47% rise in profit to INR 290 Cr in FY24 from INR 198 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Operating revenue zoomed 58% to INR 903.3 Cr from INR 569.9 Cr in FY23. Oxyzo primarily earns revenue from the interest it earns by offering loans to small and medium enterprises.

Read More: Fintech Unicorn Oxyzo’s Profit Zooms 47% To INR 290 Cr In FY24

OYO Turns Profitable With INR 229 Cr PAT As Employee Costs Halve

IPO-bound OYO posted a net profit of INR 229.5 Cr during the year as against a net loss of INR 1,286.5 Cr in the previous financial year. 

However, its operating revenue remained almost flat during the year under review. Revenue from operations stood at INR 5,388.7 Cr in FY24, a decline of 1.3% from INR 5,463.9 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

The startup managed to reduce its total expenditure by 16% to INR 5,725.7 Cr in FY24 from INR 6,799.6 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Read More: OYO Turns Profitable With INR 229 Cr PAT In FY24 As Employee Costs Halve

Paytm’s Revenue Nears INR 10K Cr Mark

Troubled fintech giant Paytm posted a revenue of INR 9,977.8 Cr in FY24, an increase of 24.8% from INR 7,990.3 Cr in the previous year. It also managed to narrow its loss by 19.3% to INR 1,422.4 Cr from INR 1,775.6 Cr in FY23. 

However, it needs to be mentioned that the Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led company’s revenue is likely to take a hit in FY25 due to the RBI’s crackdown on Paytm Payments Bank. 

Read More: Paytm Q4: Net loss Widens To INR 550 Cr

PB Fintech Operating Revenue Crosses INR 3,000 Cr Mark

PB Fintech, the parent company of insurance tech platform PolicyBazaar, saw its revenue cross the INR 3,000 Cr mark in FY24. Its operating revenue rose 34.4% to INR 3,437.6 Cr during the year under review from INR 2,557.8 Cr in FY23. 

The company also turned profitable, posting a profit of INR 64.61 Cr during the year under review compared to a loss of INR 487.9 Cr in FY23. 

Read More: PB Fintech Stock Goes Through Market Swings After Reporting Profitable Q4 FY24

Perfios Profit Zooms Past 800%

SaaS startup Perfios saw its consolidated net profit jumping 819.2% at INR 71.7 Cr in FY24 from INR 7.8 Cr. Revenue from operations jumped 37.1% to INR 557.8 Cr during the year under review from INR 406.8 Cr in FY23.

In line with the surge in its revenue, Perfios’ total expenses zoomed 28.2% to INR 495.5 Cr in the year ended March 31, 2024 from INR 386.4 Cr in FY23.

Read More: Perfios FY24: Profit Jumps 819% To INR 71.7 Cr

Perfora’s Sales Jump 180%

D2C oral care startup Perfora’s operating revenue skyrocketed 180% to INR 42.2 Cr in FY24 from INR 15.1 Cr in the previous fiscal year amid rising demand for electric toothbrushes and other oral care products.

Despite strong growth in the top line, the startup’s consolidated net loss more than doubled to INR 10.7 Cr in FY24 from INR 4.9 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Amid a surge in sales, the D2C oral care startup’s overall expenses ballooned 167% to INR 54 Cr during the year under review from INR 20.2 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Read More: Perfora’s FY24 Revenue Zooms 180% YoY To INR 42 Cr

PharmEasy’ Net Loss Halves

Epharmacy PharmEasy saw its consolidated net loss halve to INR 2,531.1 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) on the back of a decline in its expenses and exceptional items. The company’s net loss declined 51.35% from INR 5,202.5 Cr in FY23.

The company, which was hit by financial and operational struggles in the recent past, also saw a 14% decline in operating revenue to INR 5,644 Cr from INR 6,643.9 Cr in FY23. 

Total expenditure declined 19.16% to INR 7,254.8 Cr in FY24 from INR 8,974 Cr in FY23

Read More: PharmEasy’s FY24 Loss Halves To INR 2,531 Cr

PhonePe’s Revenue Breaches INR 5,000 Cr Mark

Walmart-backed fintech giant PhonePe reported an operating revenue of INR 5,064 Cr in FY24, an increase of 74% from INR 2,914 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

It also managed to reduce its net loss by 28% to bring it under INR 2,000 Cr. The company’s net loss stood at INR 1,996 Cr during the year under review as against INR 2,795 Cr a year ago. Excluding share based payment expenses of INR 2,193 Cr, PhonePe posted adjusted profit after tax of INR 197 Cr in FY24 as against a loss of INR 738 Cr in FY23.

Read More: PhonePe Narrows Net Loss To INR 1,996 Cr In FY24

Pilgrim’s Sales Near INR 200 Cr Mark

The Mumbai-based D2C beauty and personal care startup, which recently bagged INR 200 Cr funding, saw its operating revenue increase 160% to INR 199 Cr in FY24 from INR 77 Cr in FY23. 

In line with this, expenses shot up 130% to INR 230 Cr from INR 99 Cr in FY23. The biggest expenditure was marketing, which zoomed over 100% to INR 109 Cr in FY24.

Pilgrim’s loss increased 14% to INR 26.3 Cr during the year under review from INR 23 Cr in FY23. 

Read More: Pilgrim’s FY24 Revenue Jumps 160% To INR 199 Cr

Porter’s Loss Declines 45% To INR 96 Cr 

The Peak XV Partners-backed startup’s loss declined 45% to INR 95.7 Cr in FY24 from INR 174.6 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Operating revenue zoomed 56% to INR 2,733.7 Cr in FY24 from INR 1,737.4 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

The startup’s total expenditure rose 46% to INR 2,862.1 Cr during the year under review from INR 1,964 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Read More: Porter FY24: Loss Declines 45% To INR 96 Cr, Revenue Crosses INR 2,500 Cr Mark

Pristyn Care’s Loss Remains Flat

Healthtech startup Pristyn Care reported a net loss of INR 381 Cr in FY24, down a negligible 0.42% from INR 382.6 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

The startup’s loss was flat despite a strong growth in its top line. Pristyn Care’s operating revenue grew 32.6% to INR 600.5 Cr during the year under review from INR 452.9 Cr in FY23.

It earned INR 226.7 Cr from the sale of products, and generated INR 332 Cr from the sale of services. While the revenue from the sale of services remained stagnant in the period under review, the revenue from products grew 112.6% from INR 106.6 Cr in FY23. 

Total expenditure rose 15.6% to INR 1,013.8 Cr in FY24 from INR 876.8 Cr in FY23.

Read More: Pristyn Care’s Loss Flat At INR 381 Cr In FY24

Purplle’s FY24 Sales Zoom 43% To INR 680 Cr 

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA)-backed unicorn reported an operating revenue of INR 679.6 Cr in FY24, an increase of 43% from INR 475 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Purplle’s total expenditure rose only 15% year-on-year. Its expenses stood at INR 849.6 Cr in FY24 as against INR 738.3 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Purplle managed to reduce its cash burn during the year under review, as a result of which its net loss plummeted 46% to INR 124.1 Cr from INR 230 Cr in FY23.

Read More: Purplle’s FY24 Sales Zoom 43% To INR 680 Cr, Loss Almost Halves

Rare Rabbit’s Profit Doubles 

Radhamani Textiles, the parent entity of Rare Rabbit, posted a profit of INR 74.5 Cr in FY24, up 131% from INR 32.2 Cr in the previous fiscal year

The apparel brand’s operating revenue zoomed 69% to INR 637 Cr during the year under review from INR 376 Cr in FY23. 

The startup’s expenses also increased. However, the rise in revenue was more than the increase in expenses. Total expenditure rose 60% to INR 542 Cr in FY24 from INR 339 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Read More: Rare Rabbit’s FY24 Profit Doubles To INR 75 Cr

RateGain’s Profit More Than Doubles 

Traveltech company RateGain’s consolidated profit after tax jumped 114% to INR 146.3 Cr in FY24 from INR 68.4 Cr in FY23. Its operating revenue zoomed 69% to INR 957 Cr during the year under review from INR 565 Cr in FY23

Employee benefit expenses increased to INR 380 Cr from INR 252.7 Cr in FY23, indicating an increase in employee count. 

Read More: RateGain FY24 Results: Profits More Than Double To INR 146 Cr

Razorpay’s Profit Quadruples 

Peak XV Partners-backed Razorpay posted a profit of INR 33.5 Cr in FY24, an increase of 365% from INR 7.2 Cr in the previous year, as margins improved. 

Operating revenue rose 9% to INR 2,475 Cr from INR 2,283 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Total expenditure stood at INR 2,454.3 Cr, an increase of 7% from INR 2,283.1 Cr in FY23. 

Read More: Razorpay’s FY24 Profit Jumps 4.5X To INR 34 Cr

Rebel Foods’ Loss Narrows By 42%

Cloud kitchen unicorn Rebel Foods narrowed its net loss by 42% to INR 378.2 Cr in FY24 from INR 656.5 Cr in the previous fiscal year. The Faasos-parent trimmed its loss on the back of an increase in its top line and controlled expenses.

Rebel Foods’ operating revenue jumped 19% to INR 1,420.2 Cr in FY24 from INR 1,195.2 Cr in FY23. Total expenses increased marginally by 1.6% to INR 1,857 Cr from INR 1827 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Read More: Rebel Foods FY24: Net Loss Nearly Halves To INR 378 Cr, Revenue Up 19% YoY

IPO-Bound Smartworks’ Loss Falls 51% 

IPO-bound coworking space provider Smartworks’ net loss narrowed 51% to INR 49.8 Cr in FY24 from INR 101.02 Cr in the previous fiscal year. The startup, which recently filed its DRHP to raise over INR 550 Cr via its IPO, saw its operating revenue jump 46% to INR 1,039.4 Cr during the year under review from INR 711.4 Cr in FY23. 

Total expenditure increased 34% to INR 1,180.7 Cr from INR 880.2 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Read More: Smartworks DRHP: FY24 Loss Declines 51% To INR 50 Cr, Revenue Crosses INR 1,000 Cr Mark

Swiggy’s FY24 Revenue Crosses INR 10K Mark

IPO-bound Swiggy managed to narrow its loss by 44% to INR 2,350 Cr in FY24 from INR 4,179.3 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Operating revenue stood at INR 11,247.3 Cr, up 1.3X from INR 8,264.5 Cr in FY23. 

The IPO-bound company managed to control the rise in its expenses during the year. Its total expenditure grew a mere 8% to INR 13,947.3 Cr from INR 12,884.3 Cr in FY23.

Read More: Swiggy DRHP: Revenue Crosses INR 10,000 Cr Mark In FY24, Loss Almost Halves

Shadowfax Trims Loss To INR 12 Cr

IPO-bound Shadowfax slashed its net loss by nearly 92% to INR 11.8 Cr in FY24 from INR 142.6 Cr in the previous year, on the back of an increase in its top line and improvement in margins.

Operating revenue jumped 33.19% to INR 1,884.8 Cr during the year under review from INR 1,415.1 Cr in the previous year. 

The logistics major’s total expenses rose 21.9% to INR 1,908.3 Cr in FY24 from INR 1,565.5 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Read More: IPO-Bound Shadowfax’s FY24 Loss Falls 92% To INR 12 Cr

TAC Infosec Reports INR 6 Cr Profit

SaaS cybersecurity startup TAC Infosec reported a net profit of INR 6.33 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), a 23% jump from INR 5.12 Cr in FY23. 

Operating revenue rose 17% to INR 11.84 Cr during the year under review from INR 10.09 Cr in FY23.

Total expenditure for the fiscal stood at INR 5.49 Cr, an increase of 10% from the INR 4.97 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Read More: SaaS Cybersecurity Startup TAC Infosec’s FY24 Profit Rises 23% To INR 6.3 Cr

Tata 1mg Narrows Its Loss By 75% 

The Bengaluru-based startup’s net loss narrowed 75% to INR 313 Cr in FY24 from INR 1,254.8 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

The startup, which primarily earns revenue from sales of medicines, and offering lab and diagnostics test services, saw its operating revenue rise 21% to INR 1,967.7 Cr during the year under review from INR 1,627 Cr in FY23.

It managed to cut its total expenditure by 20% to INR 2,302.7 Cr in FY24 from INR 2,893.6 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Read More: Tata 1mg FY24: Loss Declines 75% To INR 313 Cr On Business Growth, Fall In Expenses

TBO Tek Posts INR 200 Cr Profit 

B2B travel portal TBO Tek, which made a strong market debut in 2024, reported a 35% increase in its net profit to INR 200 Cr in FY24 from INR 148.4 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Operating revenue jumped 31% to INR 1,392.8 Cr from INR 1,064 Cr in FY23. 

Employee benefit expense rose to INR 277.3 Cr during the year under review from INR 228.3 Cr in FY23.

TBO Tek made its public market debut in May. The stock listed at INR 1,426 on the NSE, a premium of 55% to its issue price of INR 920. Similarly, the stock listed at INR 1,380 on the BSE, a premium of 50% to its issue price.

Read More: TBO Tek Q1: Profit Jumps 29% YoY To INR 61 Cr, Revenue Up 21%

Teachmint’s Loss Reduces To INR 110 Cr

Lightspeed-backed edtech startup Teachmint’s consolidated net loss narrowed 37% to INR 110.1 Cr in FY24 from INR 180.7 Cr in the previous year, on the back of a robust growth in its top line and decline in expenses.

Operating revenue increased over 2X to INR 17.1 Cr during the year ended March 31, 2024 from INR 8.1 Cr in FY23. 

Teachmint managed to bring down its total expenses by 26.6% to INR 160 Cr during the year under review from INR 217.9 Cr in FY23.

Read More: Teachmint Cuts FY24 Loss To INR 110 Cr, Revenue Soars 111%

Tracxn’s Profit Tanks In FY24

In what was a sombre fiscal for Tracxn, the market intelligence platform saw its net profit shrink by more than 80% to INR 6.5 Cr in FY24 from INR 33 Cr in the year-ago period. 

Tracxn’s operating revenue rose nearly 6% to INR 82.70 Cr during the year under review from INR 78.10 Cr in FY23.

Tracxn FY24 Results: Profits Shrink By 80% For Full Year

Trust Fintech’s Profit Triples 

The fintech SaaS company’s net profit zoomed 210% to INR 12.5 Cr in FY24 from INR 4 Cr in the previous fiscal year, on the back of a healthy growth in its top line.

The company, which made its public market debut in April 2024, saw its operating revenue jump 55.4% YoY to INR 35 Cr during the fiscal year ended March 2024.

Trust Fintech’s Net Profit Jumps 3X To INR 12.5 Cr In FY24

Ultraviolette’s Loss Jumps 8X

EV two-wheeler startup Ultraviolette’s net loss surged 8X to INR 61.58 Cr in FY24 from INR 7.46 Cr in the previous year. Operating revenue almost doubled to INR 15.8 Cr from INR 8.67 Cr in FY23. 

The startup’s total expenses zoomed 312% to INR 106.89 Cr from INR 25.92 Cr in FY23, outpacing the increase in revenue. 

Read More: Ultraviolette’s Loss Jumps 8X To INR 62 Cr In FY24

Ustraa’s Loss Widens

Men’s grooming D2C brand Ustraa, which is owned by VLCC, saw its net loss jump 25% to INR 50.3 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 40.2 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Revenue from operations declined 2.9% to INR 94 Cr during the year under review from INR 96.8 Cr in FY23. 

Despite the decline in revenue, Ustraa’s total expenses rose 5.1% to INR 144.6 Cr in FY24 from INR 137.6 Cr in FY23. 

Read More: Ustraa’s FY24 Loss Widens 25% To INR 50 Cr

Vedantu’s FY24 Loss Declines 58%

Edtech unicorn Vedantu’s net loss declined 58% to INR 157.52 Cr in FY24 from INR 372.64 Cr in the previous fiscal year on the back of growth in its top line and improvement in margins.

The startup’s revenue from operations increased 21% to INR 184.50 Cr from INR 152.59 Cr in FY23. Including another income of INR 14.73 Cr, total revenue for the fiscal stood at INR 199.23 Cr.

The startup managed to reduce its expenses by 34% to INR 367.79 Cr from INR 553.09 Cr in FY23. 

Read More: Vedantu’s FY24 Loss Falls 58% To INR 158 Cr

Whatfix’s Revenue Crosses INR 400 Cr Mark

SoftBank-backed Whatfix posted a 49% increase in its revenue from operations to INR 425 Cr in FY24 from INR 285 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Including other income, the startup’s total revenue rose 1.5X to INR 445.3 Cr from INR 303.9 Cr in FY23.

Whatfix also managed to lower its loss. Its net loss declined 20% to INR 263 Cr from INR 328.3 Cr in FY23. Besides, the startup’s total expenses rose only 12% to INR 706 Cr from INR 631.3 Cr in FY23.

Read More: Whatfix’s Revenue Jumps 49%, Crosses INR 400 Cr Mark

WonderChef Turns Profitable

Celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor’s D2C startup WonderChef turned profitable in FY24. The D2C kitchenware startup reported a profit of INR 1.55 Cr as against a net loss of INR 51.83 Cr in FY23.

Revenue stood at INR 377.67 Cr, up 20% from INR 315.6 Cr in FY23. Total expenditure rose 16.6% to INR 374.63 Cr in FY24 from INR 321.21 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Read More: Sanjeev Kapoor’s Wonderchef Turns Profitable In FY24

Wow! Momo’s Loss Remains Unchanged In FY24

Kolkata-based QSR chain Wow! Momo’s net loss remained almost flat at INR 114.4 Cr in FY24. This was 0.53% higher than the loss of INR 113.8 Cr in FY23.

Operating revenue rose 13.83% to INR 470 Cr during the year under review from INR 412.9 Cr in FY23. 

The startup’s expenditure for the fiscal year under review grew 11.9% to INR 593.1 Cr from INR 530 Cr in FY23. 

Read More: Wow! Momo’s Loss Flat At INR 114 Cr In FY24

WROGN’s Operating Revenue Slumps 29%

Virat Kohli and Accel-backed youth fashion brand WROGN’s operating revenue slumped 29% to INR 243.8 Cr in FY24 from INR 344.3 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Including other income, total income declined 27% to INR 264.7 Cr in FY24 from INR 361.3 Cr in FY23.

Despite the decline in revenue, WROGN’s net loss rose 28% to INR 56.8 Cr during the year under review from INR 44.3 Cr in FY23.

Read More: Virat Kohli-Backed WROGN’s FY24 Revenue Falls 29% To INR 244 Cr, Loss Up 28%

Yubi’s Loss Narrows By 22%

Lending tech startup Yubi managed to reduce its net loss by over 22% to INR 395.8 Cr in FY24 from INR 509.8 Cr in the previous year.

Operating revenue jumped 47% to INR 483.7 Cr in FY24 from INR 327.6 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

 The Peak XV Partners-backed startup’s total expenses increased marginally to INR 938.8 Cr during the year under review from INR 922.9 Cr in FY23.

Read More: Yubi Group Cuts FY24 Net Loss By 22%, Revenue Jumps 47%

Yu Foods’ Operating Revenue Jumps Over 100%

D2C brand Yu Foods’ operating revenue surged 103.9% to INR 15.7 Cr in FY24 from INR 7.7 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Currently, Yu Foods earns 40% of its revenue from quick commerce, 10% from ecommerce channels, 35% from offline business, and the remaining 15% from airlines.

Its net loss widened 80.5% to INR 11.2 Cr from INR 6.2 Cr in FY23. 

Total expenses zoomed 92.86% to INR 27 Cr in FY24 from INR 14 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Read More: Yu Foods’ FY24 Revenue More Than Doubles To INR 15.7 Cr

IPO-Bound Zappfresh’s Profit Rises 70% 

The IPO-bound D2C meat delivery startup reported a 70% jump in its net profit to INR 4.7 Cr during the fiscal ended March 2024 from INR 2.7 Cr in FY23. 

As per its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP), Zappfresh’s operating revenue zoomed over 60% to INR 90.4 Cr in FY24 from INR 56.3 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Zappfresh DRHP: Revenue Surges 60% To INR 90 Cr In FY24, Profit Jumps 70%

Zepto’s Revenue More Than Doubles

Quick commerce unicorn Zepto’s consolidated revenue more than doubled to INR 4,454.52 Cr in the fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24), on the back of growing popularity of quick commerce. The startup’s operating revenue jumped 120% during the year under review from INR 2,025.70 Cr in FY23.

Despite a surge in revenue, it managed a slight reduction in its loss to 2% to INR 1,248.64 Cr from INR 1,271.84 Cr in FY23. The startup spent INR 5,747.21 Cr in FY24, up 72% from INR 3,350.09 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Read More: Zepto’s FY24 Revenue More Than Doubles To INR 4,454 Cr

Zypp Electric’s Revenue Jumps Over 2.5X

The two-wheeler electric bike manufacturer saw its operating revenue surge over 2.5X in the financial year ended March 31, 2024. The Delhi NCR-based startup reported an operating revenue of INR 292.7 Cr in FY24, a jump of 168% from INR 109 Cr in FY23.

However, loss also surged over 125% to INR 91.1 Cr in FY24 from INR 40 Cr in FY23. 

Total expenditure grew 160% to INR 394 Cr from INR 152 Cr in FY23. 

Read More: Zypp Electric’s Revenue Zooms 2.7X, Nears INR 300 Cr Mark

Edited By: Vinaykumar Rai
Last Updated: 5 April, 9:30 PM IST

Note: This story has been edited to correct boAt’s FY24 operating revenue in the table.

The post Indian Startup FY24 Financials Tracker: Tracking The Financial Performance Of Top Startups appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Funding momentum seems to have stabilised at the onset of the fiscal year FY26 sans large ticket-sized transactions. Although small deals pulled up around 32% of the investment activity in the final week of March, overall funding across the Indian startup ecosystem still hovered around the $144 Mn mark in the beginning of April.

Between March 31 and April 5, startups cumulatively raised $144.4 Mn across 22 deals, a meager 0.5% increase from the $143.7 Mn raised by 16 startups in the preceding week. 

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [ Mar 31 – Apr 5 ]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• As has been the story for the past few weeks, fintech continued to be the ‘flavour of the season’ for investors. At least five fintech startups raised $65 Mn during the week, about two-third of the $98.1 Mn raised across five deals last week.
• While healthtech saw a similar number of deals materialise this week as fintech, the sector saw a capital infusion of a mere $4.2 Mn. This comes on the back of Indian Angel Network cofounder Padmaja Ruparel saying that the Indian healthtech sector is witnessing an overall slowdown sans funding and consolidations. He was addressing a session at the Startup Mahakumbh.
• Investors Peak XV Partners, Y Combinator and Antler were the most active investors this week, backing two startups each.
• Seven startups at the seed stage raised about $11 Mn this week, down about 41% from the $18.6 Mn raised by four startups last week.

IPO-Related Developments This Week

• Lendingtech startup Kissht is said to be looking to file for a $225 Mn IPO. According to reports, the startup has ICICI Securities, UBS Securities, and Motilal Oswal as the investment bankers for the proposed public issue.
• During the Startup Mahakumbh, Navi Fintech’s founder Sachin Bansal announced that the startup would look to go for an IPO within the ongoing fiscal year.
• Coworking space provider DevX refiled its IPO papers this week, raising the fresh issue size to 2.75 Cr equity shares from 2.47 Cr shares earlier. Meanwhile, its competitor, IndiQube received SEBI’s approval for its $100 Mn (INR 850 Cr) IPO this week.
• Logistics tech Shadowfax has taken its first step towards public listing, omitting the ‘private’ from its erstwhile name ‘ShadowFax Private Technologies Limited’.

Other Developments Of The Week

• Sustainability-focussed VC firm ZeCa Capital received approval from the markets regulator SEBI to launch its maiden fund with a corpus of INR 150 Cr this week.
• Walmart-owned Flipkart infused $379 Mn in its marketplace arm Flipkart Internet through its Singapore-based holding company.
• Recently launched talent mobility startup BorderPlus acquired German healthcare recruitment firm Onea Care to expand its operations in Germany.
• Car marketplace unicorn Spinny reportedly raised $131 Mn in a round led by US-based Accel Leaders Fund at a flat valuation. However, the startup didn’t announce the funding round this week.
• SpaceBasic, a B2B SaaS company that automates student housing and cafeteria operations, acquired attendance automating platform CAMPUS during the week to expand its university automation operations.

The post From Scapia To Pratilipi — Indian Startups Raised $144 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

“I have a lot of nice things that I could talk to you about, but I have a slide that I want to show you that disturbed me a lot,” commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said during his address at the Startup Mahakumbh today. This came after the minister heaped praises on the country’s burgeoning startup ecosystem, and was his attempt to nudge investors and entrepreneurs to change their priorities and think about big innovations.

During his speech on the inaugural day of the three-day event, Goyal presented a slide, titled “India Vs China: The Startup Reality Check”, which he said someone shared with him a few days ago. It compared the tech innovations in the two countries. 

The slide compared blooming Indian startup sectors like foodtech, D2C and quick commerce with China’s dominance in deeptech sectors like EVs, semiconductors, AI and robotics. 

Goyal addressed almost each of these comparisons and expressed concerns over how Indian innovations are tilted towards convenience-oriented businesses. 

“My reply to this was “very inspiring” and I want each one of you to take some inspiration from this. Some might call me out for comparing with other nations, but I don’t have qualms about that. We are the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem and we should aspire to be the largest in the near future,” Goyal added.

Indian Startup Ecosystem’s Convenience Problem

Starting off with the comparison of food delivery with EV and battery tech, he said India as a nation has been obsessing over food deliveries while our neighbouring country has fortified its tech solutions in the aforementioned deeptech sectors. 

While China has been advancing its tech play, the Indian startup ecosystem is focussed on food delivery apps, which utilise the cheap labour of unemployed youth, he said. 

Goyal also said that many startups in India are selling ice creams by packaging them in an appealing way and labelling them as healthy, which is seldom the case. 

“Are we going to make ice cream or chips?… Aman Gupta, change your investment perspective on Shark Tank!” he remarked.

Gupta, the cofounder of boAt and a judge on TV show Shark Tank India, was among the audience during the address. 

The minister also raised the issue of dearth of domestic capital, which he said has led to foreign investors acquiring Indian startups. 

“When it comes to instant grocery delivery, I don’t have problems, they can list at a few billion dollars, I will be really happy. I only wish that they had more Indian investors rather than foreigners buying all of our startups,” the minister said. 

His comments come on the heels of quick commerce major Zepto and ecommerce giant Flipkart firming up their plans to list on the bourses. While Zepto is backed by foreign investors like General Catalyst, Y-Combinator and Lightspeed, Flipkart is owned by US-based retail giant Walmart.

Earlier in the day, Indian Angel Network cofounder Padmaja Ruparel also highlighted how India is losing out on its early stage healthtech startups to overseas players due to a lack of domestic capital.

While China is also home to a number of foodtech and quick commerce players, Goyal’s comments were aimed at encouraging Indian entrepreneurs and investors to take more risks and come out with innovations in the deeptech sector.

The Need For Deeptech Startups 

During a session at the Startup Mahakumbh earlier in the day, Peak XV Partners’ Rajan Anandan labelled deeptech as the final frontier for the Indian startup ecosystem and expressed confidence that the country would emerge a leader in the sector. However, Goyal shared his displeasure with the current state of deeptech in India.

Pointing out that the country is home to a very few active deeptech startups, the minister said that the propagation of innovations in such fields is imperative to establish India as a global innovation hub. 

“When I look at deeptech, the numbers are a disturbing sign. Wealth creation in the short term may happen with some of these conveniences. But are we looking at dukaandari (shopkeeping) or are we looking to compete globally with our innovations?” he asked the audience. 

In a bid to promote deeptech in India, the Startup Mahakumbh is also hosting a couple of competitions to promote innovations in sectors like cybersecurity, AI, robotics, biotech, among others. The price pool of these competitions is pegged at over INR 70 Cr. 

Goyal called for a larger pool of INR 500 Cr worth cash prizes for contests hosted at the next edition of the event. He urged defence ministry, Nasscom, and unicorns to pitch in to make the pool larger moving forward.

The post Piyush Goyal Gives A “Reality Check” To Indian Startup Ecosystem appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The world’s third-largest startup ecosystem was abuzz with activities in the last month of the financial year 2024-25. Amid a growing number of startups gearing up for the D-Street and investors doubling down on their startup bets, Indian startups raised a whopping $1.1 Bn last month, up 58% from the $636 Mn raised in February.

But, it was the country’s direct-to-consumer (D2C) sector that stole the show, as we (Inc42) unveiled the FAST42 2025 Ranking — the coveted list of India’s 42 fastest-growing D2C brands.

However, while we were at it, we realised how far we have come since 2014. In our 11-year-long voyage, we understood what it takes to patiently navigate through thick and thin and emerge triumphant. 30 Startups to Watch, Inc42’s flagship series, is a testament to the same. 

Just like every month, we are back to shine the spotlight on 30 of India’s hottest early-stage ventures that are on the path to disrupting their respective sectors.

While February’s cohort (56th) featured a balanced mix of startups —from deeptech and AI to fintech and D2C — the 57th edition of 30 Startups to Watch, powered by Google, takes things up a notch. 

This time, we’re spotlighting innovators building humanoid robots or harnessing AI for agriculture. Alongside, second and third-time founders are pounding the startup table with bold new bets.

This edition also has investors who have taken an entrepreneurial leap, proving that the Indian startup ecosystem is full of thrilling opportunities.

Now, without any further delay, here are 30 of the most high-impact Indian startups that caught our eyes in March 2025.

Editor’s Note: The list below is not a ranking of any kind. We have listed the startups alphabetically.

1312 Interactive: Building Indian Games For The World

The Hyderabad-based game publisher, which is focussed on premium PC and console titles, was founded in 2023 by gaming industry veterans Deepak Gurijala and Raviteja Mantena to support Indian game developers in taking their games global. 

With India’s gaming landscape rapidly evolving beyond mobile, 1312 Interactive is working to fill key gaps in publishing, marketing, and production. The studio handpicks nearly completed games, primarily in action-adventure, Metroidvania, and puzzle genres, and helps refine them for a global audience. It offers end-to-end support, from quality assurance and localisation to marketing and distribution.

The startup follows a flexible publishing model, providing developers with financial backing through a minimum guarantee while taking on the responsibility of launching their games. As sales grow, developers earn a bigger share of the revenue.

1312 Interactive is currently focussed on expanding its first three titles: Winds of Arcana, Palm Sugar, and Souls of Bombarika.

The goal is to release 6-7 games annually across platforms like Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch, putting India on par with major game-developing nations.

Anmasa: A House Of Nutrient-Rich Foods 

After exiting Milkbasket (acquired by Reliance), Yatish Talvadia has launched a new D2C daily essentials brand, Anmasa, along with Shailendra Upadhyay (founder of Veggie India). Launched in March 2025, Anmasa sells staples like atta, wood-pressed oils, spices, and dry fruits.

Gurugram-based Anmasa became fully operational towards the end of 2024. Currently, the omnichannel startup offers 80+ stock keeping units (SKUs).

The startup’s USP lies in its commitment to providing cold-pressed flour.

Anmasa targets customers who avoid packaged wheat flour from popular brands like Aashirvaad, Pillsbury, or Fortune.

At its current capacity, Talvadia claims to serve more than 2,000 customers through both online and offline channels in Gurugram. The startup is in talks with investors to raise $1 Mn in its pre-seed funding round to expand its presence in the Delhi NCR region.

Anmasa plans to open at least 10 to 12 physical retail outlets, or “experiential centres,” in the region in 2025.

Antithesis: Betting On Beauty And Minimalism

Aparna Saxena, a former partner at Good Capital and ex-member of the Bharat Founders Fund, is on a mission to simplify beauty routines with her new startup, Antithesis. 

Frustrated by the overwhelming number of beauty products that often fail to deliver real results, she saw an opportunity to do things differently.

Antithesis is built on the idea of “the luxury of less” — offering simple, effective beauty solutions backed by data. While the brand hasn’t launched its product lineup yet, it plans to go live by summer 2025.

With India’s beauty and personal care market booming, Antithesis is stepping into a space dominated by players like Nykaa, Conscious Chemist, Minimalist, and Pilgrim. But instead of chasing trends, the brand is betting on minimalism, efficacy, and transparency to stand out.

Arva Health: On A Mission To Transform India’s Fertility Care Landscape

Founded in 2022 by childhood friends Dipalie Bajaj and Nidhi Panchmal, Arva Health is a Bengaluru-based femtech startup addressing India’s fertility challenges. 

The platform offers fertility assessments, expert consultations, egg-freezing guidance, PCOS care, and advanced treatments like IVF and IUI. Through its website and app, users can access 24/7 support from doctors, counsellors, and fertility coaches, making care more accessible.

What started as a personal journey turned into a mission to bridge the awareness and accessibility gap in fertility care. The startup’s founder-led, social media-driven approach has helped it attracted millions of followers. Besides, this approach has also sparked critical conversations around fertility.

Currently operating in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and select rural areas, Arva has served 2,000+ women and witnessed 680% revenue growth, with a steady 38% monthly increase. The NABL-accredited startup partners with leading diagnostic centres like Thyrocare, Redcliffe, and Tata 1MG.

Looking ahead, Arva plans to expand offline with its fertility centres and introduce a men’s fertility vertical.

With India’s IVF market set to cross the $5 Bn mark by 2033, Arva is working to normalise fertility conversations in the country.

axiTrust: MSMEs’ Strategic Financial Partner

Most MSMEs in India struggle with bank guarantees for contracts and orders, tying up valuable resources. Mumbai-based fintech startup axiTrust wants to change this. 

By offering financial products like surety bonds, it’s helping small businesses optimise their capital without the usual collateral hassles.

Founded in 2024 by Aditya Tulsian, Rajeev Chari, and Mukund Daga, axiTrust uses technology to provide real-time financial insights and tailored solutions. 

Its platform integrates smoothly with existing enterprise systems, making it easier for MSMEs to access micro surety bonds and streamline their financial processes.

Beyond financial products, it also offers consulting services, ensuring businesses get solutions that fit their needs. With fresh capital from a $2.6 Mn seed round led by US-based VC firm General Catalyst, the startup is gearing up to expand its team, develop mobile apps, and boost marketing efforts.

With India’s fintech market set to hit $2.1 Tn by 2030, axiTrust is carving out its space by making financial solutions more accessible for MSMEs—helping them grow without unnecessary roadblocks.

Beyond Appliances: Smart Living With Smart Kitchens

After making a mark in restaurant robotics with Mukunda Foods, Eshwar K Vikas is now setting his sights on Indian kitchens. Teaming up with his colleague Rakesh Patel, he launched Beyond Appliances in August 2024 to bring AI-powered innovation to everyday cooking.

The Bengaluru-based startup is reimagining kitchen essentials, starting with smart chimneys and hob-top stoves. Its AI-powered chimneys do more than just suck up smoke — they come with a 7-inch touchscreen, access to OTT and YouTube, predictive maintenance alerts, and a 3D suction system. 

Meanwhile, their Dorado Hobtop features timer-controlled cooking, auto ignition, flame failure safety devices, and digital timers to make cooking safer and more efficient.

With India’s smart kitchen market projected to hit $4.8 Bn by 2030, Beyond Appliances is banking on AI to carve out its niche. But it won’t be an easy ride.

The startup is up against heavyweights like Bosch, Faber, and Glen — brands that have dominated Indian kitchens for years.

By tapping into insights from Mukunda Foods and a network of chefs, Beyond Appliances is fine-tuning its products to better serve Indian households. And so far, the strategy is paying off. Within just six months of launch, the company has already built a strong customer base.

Bonomi: Everyday Coffee At Everyday Prices

For many, the day doesn’t truly begin without a cup of perfectly brewed coffee. Same was the case with Rahul Nijhawan and Vardhman Jain, who set out on a mission to perfect the art of cold brew coffee.

Founded in 2020, Bonomi has been serving affordable, flavourful cold brews in Bengaluru since 2022. It started by serving cold brew and now offers a mix of classic and unique flavours from its two cafes in the city. Beyond Bengaluru, Bonomi ships its cold brews pan-India through its website.  

Interestingly, the startup took an unconventional route to fundraising. About five months ago, Jain turned to social media to seek investors for Bonomi’s seed round. By March 2024, he announced that the round was nearly closed, with just 5% of the funding left to secure.

Bonomi has been EBITDA profitable for the past four months, which is a strong indicator of its sustainable future.

CredResolve: An AI-Powered Debt Collections Platform 

Debt collection remains a major pain point for banks and NBFCs, but GenAI is starting to bridge gaps in this line of work. 

Spearheading this change is Bengaluru-based CredResolve, which uses emerging tech to transform debt recovery and borrower engagement.

Founded in 2023 by Balaji Koustubha, G Prashant Kumar, and Vijay Kumar, CredResolve acts as a bridge between lenders and borrowers, streamlining the entire debt resolution process.

Its AI-driven system scores and categorises borrowers based on their ability to repay. If a borrower defaults, the platform automatically sends digital legal notices and manages litigations online. Additionally, it offers customised workflows for digital communication and provides loan collection agents with daily planners.

CredResolve works with major financial players like IDFC First Bank, L&T Finance, MobiKwik, and Lendingkart.

The Gurugram-based startup recently secured $1.1 Mn in seed funding from UNLEASH Capital Partners and CDM Capital. Last year, it raised $100K in an angel round from PedalStart, Tujala Goud, and others.

Femisafe: Safe & Sustainable Menstrual Solutions

Witnessing firsthand how sanitary pads were being disposed of during the pandemic, childhood friends Noureen Aysha and Naseef Nazar decided to introduce environmentally conscious menstrual health products. 

Launching their  femtech startup Femisafe in 2020, the duo is on a mission to make period care and intimate hygiene more sustainable and accessible. The brand offers innovative, eco-friendly products like menstrual cups, sterilisers, and personal care essentials. 

The startup’s star product is its menstrual cup — a reusable, budget-friendly alternative to pads, priced at under INR 350.  Beyond menstrual care, the brand offers face razors, aloe gels, acne pimple patches, and more.

Focussed on Tier II and Tier III cities, Femisafe is committed to making quality female wellness products accessible while driving awareness for informed health choices.

Firefly Diamonds: Ethically Crafted Lab Grown Diamonds

As lab-grown diamonds gain popularity, both emerging and established players are rushing to capture the market.

One such brand, Firefly Diamonds, was founded in December 2023 by brothers Adit and Aayush Bhansal.

The omnichannel startup sells lab-grown diamond jewellery through its website and retail stores in Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad.

Firefly Diamonds uses advanced scientific techniques to replicate natural diamond formation in a controlled lab environment. The result? Diamonds that are chemically, physically, and optically identical to mined ones but with a much lower environmental impact.

The startup aims to open 20 more stores in the next two years.

Its entire supply chain — growing, cutting, polishing, and jewellery setting — is based in India.

Recently, Firefly Diamonds raised $3 Mn in seed funding from WestBridge Capital. The Mumbai-based company plans to use the funds to expand its retail presence, enhance its digital reach, and launch new collections.

FitFeast: Stirring India’s Protein Revolution

FitFeast, founded in 2021 by Aditya Poddar, is on a mission to make healthy eating simple and accessible for busy individuals. The D2C startup offers high-protein, tasty, and sustainable snacking options.

Its standout product? Protein shakes that come in convenient 50g sachets. Available in different flavours, these shakes are crafted to be both nutritious and delicious. FitFeast also offers a range of peanut butter and protein chips, all free from trans fats and gluten.

The startup kicked off with a $120K pre-seed funding round led by early-stage accelerator ACLR8 in November last year.

It grabbed attention when it landed an INR 50 Lakh deal on Shark Tank from Shaadi’s Anupam Mittal and Veeba’s Viraj Bahl.

Adding to the momentum, cricketer Axar Patel recently joined as both an investor and brand ambassador, further boosting the brand’s credibility and reach.

FluxGen: Making Industries Water-Positive

FluxGen, founded in 2021 by Ganesh Shankar and Emanuel Deepak, is on a mission to make water management smarter and more efficient. The climate tech startup uses AI and IoT to help industries cut down on water consumption by up to 30% with its end-to-end solution, AquaGen.

AquaGen offers real-time insights by tracking water levels, quality, pressure, and groundwater status while also mapping water flow across facilities.

Big names like Indian Oil, Tata, Adani, and L&T are already on board, alongside 120 other clients.

In just four years, FluxGen has racked up several accolades, including winning the KPMG Global Tech Innovator Competition (GTIC) 2024 and the Microsoft Entrepreneurship for Positive Impact Global Award. NASSCOM and DeitY even named it one of India’s 25 most iconic IoT startups.

The startup recently secured INR 28 Cr in a Pre-Series A round led by IAN Group and others. With this fresh capital, FluxGen is doubling down on innovations in groundwater intelligence, wastewater resource management, and water risk analytics.

GoOAT: Balancing Health, Taste & Convenience

Do you often find yourself running in the nick of time in the morning to reach the office, resulting in sacrificing your breakfast? While you might reach in time, missing out on the first meal of the day isn’t doing you any favours. 

That’s exactly the problem Yash Kalra set out to solve when he launched GoOAT in August 2023. The startup is focussed on making breakfast effortless.

The startup’s main USP lies in its flagship spoon-free high-protein oats series, which it says gets ready for consumption in only 30 seconds. 

These easy-to-prepare oats are packed with protein, sourced from pure whey, and enriched with the goodness of chia seeds, flax seeds, and dried fruit powder. Besides, the oatmeal comes in multiple flavours. 

The D2C nutrition brand raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-seed funding round led by D2C Insider Super Angels. Besides, investors like Sirona’s Deep and Mohit Bajaj, Boba Bhai’s Dhruv Kohli, among others, also participated in the round.

With this funding, GoOAT plans to expand its product range and invest in R&D to bring more innovative breakfast options to the table.

Harvested Robotics: Automating Indian Farms 

Farming may be one of the world’s oldest professions, but it has always embraced new technology. So, it’s no surprise that AI, robotics, and drones are now making their mark on Indian agriculture.

Leading this tech revolution is Hyderabad-based Harvested Robotics, founded in 2023 by Rahul Arepaka and George Mathew. The startup is tackling one of the biggest challenges farmers face — labour shortages for weeding and harvesting.

Harvested Robotics is developing autonomous robots that can identify, select, and harvest crops with speed and precision. Equipped with AI-powered vision, advanced sensors, and smart decision-making, these robots navigate complex farm environments and handle delicate produce with care

By automating the harvesting process, the startup aims to reduce labour costs, minimise crop waste, and boost yields, all while making farming more sustainable.

iHub Robotics: Redefining The Future With Intelligent Robotics

Robots aren’t just transforming businesses, they might soon become a part of your everyday life. Sounds futuristic? That’s exactly the vision behind iHub Robotics.

Founded in 2022 by Athil Krishna, Akhil K Haridasan, and Sarath S, the Kerala-based startup is building humanoid robots that can recognise emotions, engage in natural conversations, and adapt to different situations seamlessly.

Their flagship robot, Tara Gen 1, is designed to move like a human. It can overcome obstacles, interact with people, answer questions, and even take on various service roles. 

iHub believes Tara could revolutionise industries like healthcare (as a robotic nurse), education (as a teaching assistant), and customer service (as an executive.

Despite being based in Ernakulam, Kerala, iHub is making waves globally. In January 2025, it became India’s first company to be recognised by NVIDIA and was selected for the NVIDIA Humanoid Robotics Program. 

Irame.ai: Enabling Businesses’ Interaction With AI

Founded in 2023 by ex-Spyne executives Kapil Arora, Ajay Mudhai, and Abhinav Sharma, Irame.ai is reimagining how businesses interact with AI. 

The startup helps organisations automate audits, cut operational costs by 80%, and enhance compliance.

At the heart of Irame.ai is Ira, its first autonomous AI agent, designed to simplify every data-driven workflow — from basic statistical analysis to handling complex multi-document processes. 

The platform also analyses customer feedback across surveys, reviews, social media, and support tickets, offering businesses a 360-degree view of customer sentiment and preferences.

Overall by automating feedback analysis, Irame.ai empowers businesses with real-time insights and personalised recommendations, helping them stay ahead of customer needs, improve satisfaction, and drive growth.

Iyaso: AI-Powered Speech Therapy Platform

For many people, speaking fluently can be a daily challenge, whether due to stammering, slurring, or other speech difficulties. 

Traditional speech therapy is valuable, but it often requires long sessions multiple times a week, which can be difficult to fit into busy schedules.

Iyaso, founded in 2023 by Viraj Kulkarni, aims to make speech therapy more accessible and effective through Eloquent, an AI-powered speech training programme. 

With just 10 minutes of daily practice, Eloquent provides structured guidance to help users build confidence and improve fluency at their own pace.

Since its launch, over 15,000 people across 150 countries have used Eloquent to strengthen their communication skills.

The programme incorporates proven techniques such as fluency shaping, stuttering modification, and cognitive restructuring, allowing users to practice in real-world scenarios and track their progress over time.

Beyond training, Iyaso’s AI offers personalised feedback, progress tracking, and even mood checks to support emotional well-being. 

LAT Aerospace: Building The Future Of Mass Aviation

To make flying taxis a reality in India, Zomato’s ex-COO Surobhi Das has announced the launch of her new aerospace startup LAT Aerospace. 

While details about its roadmap are still under wraps, the startup is building a network of high-frequency, low-cost, 24-seater, short take-off and landing, medium-haul aircraft.  

According to reports, the startup has already raised $20 Mn from Zomato’s Deepinder Goyal in a seed funding round. It now aims to raise another $50 Mn in the round. However, there has been no confirmation on this from the startup.

Meanwhile, LAT is not the first startup to bet on making air taxis a reality in the country. Startups like The ePlane Company and Sarla Aviation are also betting on vertical take-off and landing aircraft for urban air mobility and to combat traffic congestion. 

Naarica: Periodcare Gets A New Name

While living in Paris, Mumbai-based Shruti Chand felt there was a mismatch in the quality of products available in developed countries compared to those in India.

One issue that stood out to her was the low-quality period pads many Indian women rely on. Determined to bring a better, more sustainable alternative, she founded Naarica in 2023, introducing reusable period underwear to replace traditional pads.

Naarica’s period underwear features four absorbent layers in the gusset, capable of holding as much as four pads’ worth of flow and lasting for three years. 

The startup is already making waves, selling 10,000 units per month across India and Sri Lanka.

In addition to selling to customers through its website and ecommerce platforms, the startup operates a B2B vertical, which has partnered with over 40 entities like Delhi University, Amazon Distributors, and YoungIndians to sell their products.

The startup recently raised $30K from ace badminton player Saina Nehwal. Naarica is now aiming to reach 10 Lakh customers in India.

Nabhdrishti Aerospace: Building Micro Gas Turbines for Power & Propulsion

For industries that need smarter and more flexible power solutions, traditional combustion engines often fall short. That’s where Nabhdrishti Aerospace comes in.

The startup is building small gas turbines to cater to hybrid urban air mobility, unmanned aerial vehicles and decentralised power generation appliances. Founded by Rohit Chouhan, Arjun Srivatsa, Antanu Sadhu in 2023, Nabhdrishti Aerospace is supplying its tech to multiple sectors like power, aviation and drones. 

Its core technology centres around a single-engine core architecture that can be adapted for multiple applications. Its first engine, the ND 400 (400N thrust), is built for distributed power generation in industries like oil & gas and manufacturing, range extenders for heavy vehicles, and commercial power solutions for hospitals and malls.

The startup recently secured $3 Mn from Accel and IIMA Ventures.

Moving forward, it plans to deploy the capital to boost the development and testing of its engine prototypes and acquire talent. 

Neosapien: Personal AI Companion

Founded in 2024 by brothers Aryan and Dhananjay Yadav, NeoSapien is a deeptech startup developing AI-powered wearables that integrate seamlessly into daily life. 

The startup’s flagship product, Neo 1, is designed to function as a “second brain” to augment human cognition, offering real-time insights to help users manage information, improve focus, and make better decisions.

Neo 1 is India’s first AI-native wearable that tracks conversations and analyses emotions, offering users the ability to store unlimited memory and enhance their mental capabilities. The product aims to help users unlock their full potential by providing real-time analysis and insights.

Neosapien gained significant attention when it secured INR 80 Lakh from Namita Thapar during its appearance on Shark Tank India in January.

Demand quickly followed, with Batch 1 units selling out fast. Now, Batch 2 is open for early access at INR 9,999, with no subscription fees for the first year. 

While the official launch is still ahead, NeoSapien is gearing up to ship Batch 1 units and inviting users to experience Neo 1 firsthand through a roadshow for Batch 2.

Northstarz.ai: Eliminate Costly Hiring Errors

Human resource departments have been slow to catch up with AI, mostly because existing tools don’t go beyond basic resume screening. 

This is where Bengaluru-based Northtstarz.ai steps in. Founded in 2022 by industry veterans Avinash Singh, Rajiv Ranjan, and Saurabh Sisodia, the startup has built its own AI models trained on 40,000 real-life interviews to help companies hire smarter and faster.

Originally, the founders started with an employability assessment tool for fresh graduates but soon pivoted to focus on recruiters. Now, Northtstarz.ai offers an AI-powered hiring platform that helps HR teams post jobs, generate role-specific questions, and automate interviews. Candidates can take 15-20 minute virtual interviews, and the AI shortlists top talent based on recruiter preferences. It even detects AI-generated responses to keep hiring fair.

With pricing starting at INR 12,500 for 50 interviews, Northtstarz.ai claims it boosts recruiter efficiency by 3X.

Looking ahead, the team plans to onboard 40-50 more paying customers, build an AI tool for corporate performance management, and expand internationally. 

OSSO: Next-Gen Orthopaedics

Sports injuries, including muscle strains, sprains, and lower limb issues, are common among athletes. To address this, Kunal Kishore Dhawan and Avani Shukla founded OSSO (One Stop Solution for Ortho) in 2024. 

The startup is on a mission to simplify orthopaedic care by bringing everything under one roof — whether it’s treatment for sports injuries, physiotherapy, or regenerative medicine. 

It offers a multi-disciplinary approach that combines orthopaedics with physiotherapy to ensure a full-circle recovery process.

At OSSO, every patient gets a personalised treatment plan designed by both an orthopaedic doctor and a physiotherapist. The startup’s thesis is simple — focus on prevention just as much as recovery, using advanced medical technology alongside hands-on care.

With its first clinic now open in Gurugram, OSSO aims to become a comprehensive care facility for sports injuries and orthopaedic health.

Phot.ai: Charging Up Your Brand Recall

With smartphones in every pocket, faster internet, and changing shopping habits, India’s ecommerce market is thriving. But with endless scrolling, brands often struggle to capture customers’ attention, unless their branding is too powerful to be ignored.

That’s where Gurugram-based Phot.AI comes in. Founded in 2023 by Venus Dhuria, Aneesh Rayancha, and Akshit Raja, Phot.AI helps ecommerce brands create eye-catching product images, ad designs, and marketplace listings without the hassle of manual design. 

Using AI, brands can instantly generate visuals for platforms like Amazon, Shopify, and Meta Ads.

With 3 Mn signups globally, the startup offers 25+ AI-powered photo editing tools and an integrated design studio to streamline content creation.

Phot.AI recently raised $2.7 Mn in a seed round led by Info Edge Ventures, with backing from Together Fund, AC Ventures, and over 50 angel investors. Now, the team is on a mission to make digital branding effortless and impactful.

Rezolv: Empowering Lenders With AI-Driven Debt Recovery

After successfully building Kissht, founders Karan Mehta and Sonali Jindal are back in the game with their latest venture, Rezolv, a digital lending startup tackling one of the biggest pain points in the industry — debt recovery.

Launched in October last year, Rezolv uses AI, GenAI, and advanced analytics to streamline the entire debt collection process, from early delinquencies to write-offs, all within a single platform. 

Its product suite includes full lifecycle management, multi-product support, and adaptive workforce models, helping lenders improve recovery rates.

What sets Rezolv apart is that it allows lending companies to create custom workflows without relying on IT teams.

Despite launching its operations in January this year, Rezolv has already onboarded two NBFC clients. In March, it secured $3.5 Mn in seed funding, led by 3one4 Capital, to scale its platform and expand its reach.

SHOEGR: Revive Your Brogues

We know how much you love to keep your shoes spotless, but let’s be honest, constant cleaning is a hassle. That’s why SHOEGR is making shoe care effortless with its range of cleaning, protection, and storage solutions.

Founded in 2021 by Saurabh Gupta, Anuj Sachdeva, and Ankit Roy, ShoEGR helps you take care of your favourite sneakers or formal shoes at home with easy-to-use kits. Instead of struggling with stubborn stains or worn-out soles, you can now keep your footwear in top shape without the extra effort. 

SHOEGR’s product line surpasses traditional shoe care norms. The startup presents cutting-edge cleaning solutions and stylish storage options, demonstrating its unwavering commitment to seamlessly blend practicality with a trendy edge in each product.

Its product line includes a plethora of shoe care products, including cleaning kits for standard, suede shoes as well as shoe laundry kits.

These kits range from INR 549 to just under INR 3,000.

Sisir Radar: Pioneering The New Era Of Radar-Based Monitoring & Intelligence

For industries that need precise and dependable radar systems, especially in tough conditions, traditional radar technology often falls short. 

Understanding the challenge, Tapan Misra, Soumya Misra, and Urmi Bhambhani founded Sisir Radar. The founders are pushing the boundaries of radar technology with their advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). 

The startup’s solutions cater to defence, intelligence, and commercial applications, enabling 24/7, all-weather earth observation.

Sisir Radar’s tech is built for high-performance surveillance, security, and tracking, making it quite useful for military operations, maritime monitoring, and even air traffic control. 

It has already won two IDEX challenges to develop specialised SAR satellites for the Indian Air Force and is in the running for In-SPACe’s INR 1,500 Cr earth observation satellite project.

The startup recently raised $1.5 Mn in seed funding from Shastra VC. 

Visu.ai: Shielding Retail Stores With AI

No stranger to the startup world, TenderCuts’ founder Nishanth Ravichandran has taken yet another entrepreneurial leap. However, this time, he has AI on his platter.   

Inspired by the experiences he had with his meat delivery startup, Ravichandran launched Visu.ai last month. Visu.ai is an AI-driven platform focussed on retail security.

His experience scaling TenderCuts from a single store to over 60 outlets came with its fair share of challenges, and one of the biggest was internal theft and pilferage.

With no effective solutions in the market, he decided to build one himself.

The platform uses advanced computer vision to provide round-the-clock monitoring for retail stores. Its AI-powered tools, Cashier Watch and Customer Watch, integrate seamlessly with CCTV systems to detect suspicious gestures, shoplifting, and internal fraud.

The system doesn’t just record footage, it actively tracks cash handling, product movement, and theft patterns. According to the company, this real-time monitoring can cut down theft by up to 70%.

Headquartered in London, Visu.ai is setting its sights on the US, UAE, and Canadian markets as it looks to redefine retail security.

Zealopia: Companion In Your Mental Health Journey

India’s mental health crisis is bigger than most people realise, with one out of seven individuals struggling with anxiety or depression. 

Yet, stigma, cultural taboos, and limited access to care keep many from seeking help. The hesitation to openly talk about mental health challenges only adds to the problem.

This is what Zealopia is trying to address. Founded by Ajinkya Bhasme in 2023, the startup is building a community to battle mental health issues among Indians. 

Instead of facing struggles alone, users can connect with others dealing with similar challenges through small, anonymous online support groups of 12 people.

But Zealopia doesn’t stop at peer support. The platform makes professional mental health care more affordable, offering access to expert therapists for just INR 1,000 per month. 

It also goes beyond traditional therapy by incorporating alternative healing methods like dance, music, and art therapy so that members can improve both their mental and physical well-being holistically.

Zelio E-Bikes: Affordable EVs For All

With India’s EV movement gaining momentum, Zelio E Mobility is carving out its space with durable and affordable electric vehicles.

Founded in 2021 by Neeraj Arya, the startup manufactures its escooters in its factory located in Hisar and sells its escooters across India through a network of more than 200 dealers.

In March, the company launched Little Gracy, a low-speed, non-RTO electric scooter for younger riders aged 10-18. Available in three variants, the scooter starts at an accessible price of INR 49,500.

Besides Little Gracy, the startup sells a host of escooters for adults as well as electric three-wheelers. Its products come with telescopic suspensions, anti-theft alarms, USB ports, parking gears, and alloy wheels. 

[Edited by: Shishir Parasher]

The post 30 Startups To Watch: Startups That Caught Our Eyes In March 2025 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Funding Revival Or Stagnation? Q1 2025 Gives Mixed Signals

With more Indian startups preparing for public debuts and investor exits back in focus, Q1 2025 brought early signs of stability to the funding landscape. Backed by a 41% YoY surge in capital, the ecosystem is slowly finding its footing — even as funding levels remain flat compared to previous quarters. 

Let’s take a look at the overall numbers for startup funding in the quarter gone by.

$3.1 Bn Raised: According to Inc42’s latest Indian tech startup funding report, Indian startups raised $3.1 Bn across 232 deals between Jan 1 and Mar 26 — up from $2.2 Bn across 226 deals in the same period last year. The quarter also pushed total startup funding past the $161 Bn milestone. 

Ecommerce, Fintech Still The Hottest: The two sectors continued to dominate India’s startup funding landscape in Q1 2025. Ecommerce topped the charts by deal volume (47 deals) across all stages, while fintech emerged as one of the most funded sectors ($739 Mn), especially at the growth and late stages. 

Funding Uptick Across Stages: On the back of six mega deals, funding raised by late stage startups soared 80% YoY to $1.8 Bn in Q1 2025. While seed stage startups bagged $188 Mn, up 18% from the nearly $160 Mn raised in the year-ago quarter, growth stage startups managed $1 Bn in funding, up 7% YoY.

M&As See A Revival: After a slowdown in consolidation activity last year, the homegrown startup ecosystem made a big comeback on the M&A front in Q1 2025 — be it HUL’s acquisition of Minimalist or Everstone picking up a majority stake in Wingify. 

With expectations for a stronger Q2, let’s dive right into what Q1 FY25 has to reveal in terms of Indian startup funding. Continue reading… 

From The Editor’s Desk

Zomato Axes 600 Jobs: The foodtech major has laid off its employees due to performance issues and AI-led automation. This comes amid slowing growth in its food delivery vertical and rising competition in the quick commerce space.

Spinny Bags $131 Mn: The used car marketplace has raised the mega funding in a round led by Accel to fuel its newly floated NBFC arm. The fundraise pegs Spinny at a valuation of $1.7 Bn to $1.8 Bn on a post-money basis.

Boba Bhai’s Revenue Zooms 6X In FY25: The QSR chain saw its net revenue surge 500% to INR 30 Cr in FY25 from INR 5 Cr in the previous fiscal year. The startup offers bubble tea and serves Korean fusion burgers, ice cream, and fries.

OYO’s Q4 Revenue Outlook: The hospitality giant’s founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal expects OYO’s revenues to zoom 60% YoY to INR 2,100 Cr in Q4 FY25. The company also projects the recently acquired G6 Hospitality to add INR 275 Cr to its coffers in Q4.  

SEBI Greenlights IndiQube’s IPO: The coworking startup received an observation letter from the markets regulator on March 24, clearing all decks for its IPO. IndiQube’s public issue will comprise a fresh issue of shares worth INR 750 Cr and an OFS component of INR 100 Cr.

BorderPlus Acquires German Firm: upGrad cofounder Mayank Kumar’s talent mobility startup has bought healthcare recruitment firm Onea Care for an undisclosed amount. The company also plans to set aside $10 Mn to fuel its M&A playbook. 

The Bear House Nets INR 50 Cr: The D2C menswear brand has secured around $5.8 Mn as part of its Series A round led by JM Financial Private Equity. The Bear House sells premium casual workwear via its website and other ecommerce platforms. 

UPI At An All-Time High: The payments infrastructure clocked 1,830 Cr transactions in March 2025, up 13.6% from 1,611 Cr in the preceding month. Meanwhile, UPI processed transactions worth INR 24.77 Lakh Cr last month, up 12.8% MoM. 

Inc42 Startup Spotlight

Can Neural Defend End The Deepfake Menace? 

Sophisticated scammers are exploiting AI to create deepfake images and videos of prominent figures to promote fraudulent trading apps, leading to significant financial losses for individuals. Existing eKYC processes also struggle with these advanced manipulations. 

Realising that this was a major risk in the era of AI, Piyush Verma, Sivashankar Selvarajan, and Sumit Singh founded Neural Defend in 2024. 

Combating Deepfakes With AI: The Delhi NCR-based startup’s proprietary algorithm leverages AI to analyse images, videos, and audio to identify deepfake manipulations. Neural Defend’s system is also designed for real-time analysis, which is crucial for applications like video conferencing security and eKYC verification where immediate detection is necessary.   

Sitting On AI Gold Mine: As AI witnesses rapid adoption, the cybersecurity startup is looking to shield enterprises battling the deepfake menace. With its AI arsenal, it plans to capture a big pie of the global deepfake tool detection market, expected to breach the $4.1 Bn mark by 2030.

Next On The Cards? Neural Defend aims to secure at least 10 customers and reach $10 Mn in annual recurring revenue (ARR) within a year. It also plans to expand globally by tailoring its deepfake detection solutions for specific industries and ensuring seamless adoption across markets.

Nevertheless, with stiff competition from established giants like McAfee, which, too, has a deepfake detection service in India, can Neural Defend nib India’s deepfake menace in the bud? 

The post Inc42’s Q1 Funding Report, Zomato Axes 600 Jobs & More appeared first on Inc42 Media.

At a time when the Indian startup ecosystem is filled to the brim with the fervour to give investors exits via the public listing route, investors seem to be treading cautiously — at least what Inc42’s latest shows. 

As per Inc42’s “Indian Tech Startup Funding Report, Q1 2025”, even though Indian startups have managed to see a 41% year-on-year (YoY) uptick in funding in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025 (January to March), the metric has largely remained unchanged in comparison to Q2, Q3 and Q4 of 2024.

Indian startups raised $3.1 Bn across 232 deals between January 1 and March 26 versus $2.2 Bn raised in 226 deals in the same quarter last year.

However, in the next three quarters of 2024, the funding amount remained flat at $3.1 Bn in Q2, $3.4 Bn in Q3, and $3.1 Bn in Q3 2024.

Overall, investors wrote an average cheque of $3 Mn for startups during the period. Although this reflects a 23% YoY drop, the median ticket size remained steady compared to the previous quarter.

Notably, industry experts believe that the Indian startup funding landscape, despite a YoY uptick, is undergoing churn. This is because most funds are focussed on finding strong founders with clear paths to revenue and profitability. 

“And this is despite the copious amounts of dry powder VCs are sitting on,” NuVentures Venk Krishnan said, highlighting a major gap in the VC ecosystem. 

Despite the ecosystem crossing $161 Bn in total funding across 11,200+ deals since 2014, the funding momentum in Q1 2025 reveals a more nuanced reality — one shaped by cautious investor sentiment and a sharper focus on quality over quantity. Here’s a closer look at how startup funding trends unfolded this quarter.

Stage-Wise Funding At A Glance

Seed stage startups bagged $188 Mn across 104 deals, up 18% from the nearly $160 Mn raised in the year-ago quarter. In the entirety of 2024, seed stage funding was up 31% to $893 Mn from $681 Mn in 2023. A further 18% rise shows that investors are willing to splurge on new ventures as GenAI takes centre stage.

During the just-concluded quarter, early stage names like Singulr AI and Gyaan AI (now MaxIQ) bagged big bucks to the tune of $10 Mn and $7.8 Mn, respectively, highlighting that investors are happy to loosen their purse strings for enterprise tech and SaaS startups. The trend saw enterprise tech retain its dominance as investors’ favourite sector in this segment.

Meanwhile, growth stage funding, comprising Series B and Series C rounds, did not see much action in Q1. Startups at this stage raised $1 Bn across 68 deals, marking a 7% YoY increase. 

Moving on, the biggest YoY increase in terms of overall funding came for late stage startups. Startups at this stage raised $1.8 Bn+ in 38 deals, up nearly 80% YoY.  

During the period under review (Q1 2025), six startups netted mega funding rounds (above $100 Mn). Indian startups could raise a mere three rounds in the year-ago quarter.  Sequentially, the number of such deals was slightly lower from seven in the final quarter of 2024. 

Healthtech startup Innovaccer raised $275 Mn in a Series F round, registering itself as the largest round of the quarter. Other companies to have raised mega deals during the quarter were — Zolve’s Series B $251 Mn, DarwinBox’s $140 Mn fund raise, Infra.Market’s pre-IPO round of $121 Mn and Leap Finance’s $100 Mn funding. 

Besides, as many as 31 startups raised fresh funds in the range of $20 Mn to $99 Mn during the quarter.

Fintech Sector Remains Investors’ Top Bet

On the back of multiple late stage rounds materialising in the quarter, fintech was investors’ favourite destination, securing $739 Mn versus $610 Mn raised by ecommerce startups and $458 Mn netted by enterprise tech. 

However, when it came to deal count, the fintech sector took the third spot on the Q1 2025 funding podium, with enterprise tech and ecommerce bagging 36 and 47 deals, respectively.   

Interestingly, despite accounting for the largest funding round (Innovaccer), the healthtech sector couldn’t garner much investor interest.

Startups in the sector cumulatively raised $301 Mn. Industry experts have attributed the lack of fresh capital influx in the segment to the monopoly of established players, the capital incentive nature of the business, and a lack of exit opportunities.

M&As See A Revival In 2025

After a slowdown in consolidation activity last year, the startup ecosystem saw a revival in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in Q1 2025. 

A total of 26 M&A deals materialise during this quarter, up 73% from 15 such deals in Q1 2024 and 120% from 12 M&As in Q4 2024. 

Two of the largest acquisitions were HUL’s purchase of D2C skincare brand Minimalist and PE firm Everstone’s acquisition of a majority stake in SaaS company Wingify for around $200 Mn. Minimalist’s founders Mohit Yadav and Rahul Yadav cumulatively made about INR 1,500 Cr. 

The fintech sector was the most active in terms of acquisitions, with companies like Perfios, Incred, and Super.money acquiring smaller startups to strengthen their product offerings.

Bengaluru Is India’s Most-Favoured Investor Destination  

After losing its top spot to Mumbai in 2024, Bengaluru has regained its position as the leading startup hub in Q1 2025.

Startups in Bengaluru raised $1.4 Bn across 78 deals, nearly half of the total funding raised by startups across India during this period. 

Netradyne’s unicorn status and Zolve’s mega funding round contributed to Bengaluru’s strong performance.

Meanwhile, Delhi took second place, with startups raising $690 Mn across 48 deals, and Mumbai slipped to third place, with startups in the city raising $453 Mn across 42 deals. 

[Edited By Shishir Parasher]

The post Indian Startups Raised $3.1 Bn In Q1 2025, But Funding Momentum Remains Flat appeared first on Inc42 Media.

It was a mixed week for new-age tech stocks on the bourses, despite a rally in the broader Indian market in the final week of FY25. Ahead of the start of the earnings season, 20 out of the 32 new-age tech companies under Inc42’s coverage declined in a range of 0.18% to just under 19%. 

BSE SME-listed Veefin Solutions continued its losing streak this week, seeing about 60% erosion in its share prices since January 1. Shares of Veefin slumped 18.96% to end the week at INR 268.70. 

EaseMyTrip was the second-biggest loser this week, dropping 13.51% to end the week at INR 11.72. The decline came despite the company announcing a number of new business initiatives this week, including acquisition of a stake in charter aviation company Big Charter Pvt Ltd.

Other losers this week included Ola Electric, MobiKwik, Swiggy, Zomato and PB Fintech. 

Meanwhile, 12 new-age tech companies gained in a range of 0.57% to just under 12% this week. NSE SME-listed Menhood gained the most this week, ending 11.48% higher at INR 170. With this, the company’s shares have rallied over 60% from its listing price. 

During the week, Menhood parent Macobs Technologies saw major rejigs on its board. Its independent directors Priya Goel and Sunil Kumar Rana resigned and were replaced by Rachna Agarwal and Chetan Kumar Joshi. 

Other gainers this week included Paytm, TAC Infosec, Honasa Consumer, Nykaa, BlackBuck, among others.

Amid the list of gainers, coworking space provider Awfis’ shares zoomed 7.08% to end the week at INR 662.30. Meanwhile, markets regulator SEBI kept the IPO papers of Awfis’ competitor, WeWork India, in abeyance. 

Overall, the total market cap of the 32 new-age tech stocks stood at $74.07 Bn at the end of the week as against $76.65 Bn in the preceding week.

Markets Rally Ahead Of Q4 Earnings Season

The benchmark indices continued their recovery this week after the extended bearish sentiment over the past few months. While Sensex gained 0.6% to end the week at 77,414.92, Nifty 50 moved up close to 200 points from last Friday’s close to end at 23,519.35

The key reason behind the bear run over the last few months was the exodus of foreign institutional investors from the Indian market. After persistent selling, the latter half of March saw FIIs buy into the Indian equities market. 

Analysts attributed the return of FIIs to correction in valuations in Indian equities from the peak of September 2024. 

“Going forward, the trend in FII flows will depend mainly on US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, expected to kick in on April 2. If the tariffs are not severe, the rally may continue,” said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments. 

Now, let’s take a detailed look at the performance of some of the new-age tech stocks this week.

BofA Securities Cautious On Zomato & Swiggy

Zomato and Swiggy had a tumultuous week, which saw BofA Securities downgrade the food delivery giants.

While Zomato dropped 11.45% to end the week at INR 201.50, Swiggy’s shares slid 5.88% to INR 329.90.

In a note on Thursday (March 27), BofA said it expects losses in the quick commerce segment to continue for both Zomato and Swiggy over the next 12 to 15 months due to their expansion spree and intense competition.

BofA also sees a slowdown in the growth of the food delivery segment. The brokerage expects year-on-year gross order value (GOV) growth for food delivery to decelerate to 16-18% in the coming quarters, down from the previously expected 20%. 

Due to these reasons, the firm revised its rating for Zomato to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’. It also cut its price target (PT) for Zomato to INR 250 from INR 300 per share previously. For Swiggy, it revised its rating to ‘Underperform’ from ‘Buy’ earlier and reduced the PT to INR 325 from INR 420. 

Zaggle’s Acquisition Spree Continues

Fintech SaaS company Zaggle doubled down on its inorganic growth plans this week. On Tuesday (March 25), the company acquired an additional stake worth INR 7.25 Cr in digital payments service provider Mobileware Technologies to increase its shareholding to 38.34%. 

Later during the week, it also announced plans to acquire a 45.33% stake in point of sale (PoS) software solutions provider Effiasoft for INR 36.72 Cr in an all-cash deal. On Friday (March 28), it onboarded Wonder Home Finance as a client for its  employee expense management and benefits offerings. 

In December, the company raised nearly INR 595 Cr via qualified institutional placement (QIP) to enable its acquisition spree. Back then, sources within the company told Inc42 that Zaggle would eye three more investments and acquisitions by the end of March 2025.

Despite this, the company’s shares slipped 0.44% this week to end at INR 360.05. The stock has declined 33.97% year to date. 

The post Zomato, Ola Electric Amid Losers In A Mixed Week For New-Age Tech Stocks appeared first on Inc42 Media.

At a time when an increasing number of new-age tech ventures in the country are launching AI platforms for various business use cases — from streamlining customer interactions with agentic AI to improving workflow management —  B2B ecommerce platform OfBusiness has sharpened its AI arsenal.    

Earlier this year, the company launched an AI platform, Nexizo, to help its existing customers gain deeper market insights and optimise their sales, logistics and inventory functions. 

Understandably, the company’s AI push, in the form of Nexizo, has come at a crucial time, as the company gears up for a $1 Bn IPO, likely in the second half of 2025.

But, what is OfBusiness up to when it comes to AI adoption and implementation, one may ask? 

To understand this, we spoke with OfBusiness’ cofounder and chief business officer Nitin Jain, who said that Nexizo is OfBusiness’ extended leap in the realm of AI. 

With this move, the startup has transitioned beyond just showcasing pricing and tender details to assisting enterprises with lead generation. 

Now, before we dive into what OfBusiness is trying to achieve with Nexizo, let’s learn a thing or two about the Gurugram-based unicorn. 

Founded in 2016 by Asish Mohapatra, Nitin Jain, Ruchi Kalra, Vasant Sridhar, and Bhuvan Gupta, OfBusiness offers raw material procurement and financing solutions to SMEs in the manufacturing and infrastructure sectors. 

The categories of these services range from steel and chemicals to polymers and bitumen. The company, which achieved unicorn status in 2021, also runs a fintech arm, Oxyzo.

OfBusiness’ operating revenue jumped 25% YoY to cross the INR 19,000 Cr mark in FY24, while net profit surged 30% YoY to INR 603 Cr.

The company claims to have impacted over 4 Lakh businesses via its tech, with deliveries to more than 13,000 SMEs. It is this user base data the company claims to be leveraging to train AI models and sharpen Nexizo.

OfBusiness’ Brush With AI

Nexizo is not the company’s first and only tryst with AI. According to Jain, OfBusiness had been experimenting with the emerging tech even before OpenAI stirred up a storm worldwide. 

Although at a small scale, the executive said, the startup already had machine learning (ML) models in place to showcase government tenders to its clients.

Before the launch of Nexizo, its AI engine helped its BidAssist platform process and track over 25 Mn data points annually from more than 50 Mn tenders and documents.

“We were the first ones in the B2B world to adopt AI. I, being a computer science engineer, have a passion for looking where I can plug AI into the organisation,” Jain said.

Therefore, with the advent of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the startup decided to automate client interactions. Jain launched a chat assistant that allowed its customers to access market prices of various raw materials. 

It also automated the process of sending various news articles about commodities to OfBusiness’ clients. The platform was also updating prices of 10,000 commodities in real time.

OfBusiness’ Pivot To Proprietary AI

However, this conversational platform functioned as a simple layer over an existing large language model (LLM). The company then realised the need to develop its proprietary AI.

Soon, it focussed on building its own small language models (SLMs) by fine-tuning Llama with its in-house data pool for tender classification and information.

“That’s what Nexizo does – it showcases price and tender information to the clients. It’s like a search engine where, if our clients ask, ‘show me an INR 200 Cr tender in Nashik for energy’, our fine-tuned LLM processes the request, performs tool calling, and fetches the relevant information,” Jain said, breaking down the working of the platform.

The company started training the open-source model with its existing data towards the end of 2023. After being live in the beta version for almost a year, Nexizo was launched around four months ago.

According to Jain, bringing AI assistants to B2B businesses is inherently difficult because the average order value is high at INR 10 Lakh to INR 20 Lakh level. So, human interactions with the sales teams are unavoidable. 

Despite the challenge, Nexizo has managed to gain 1 Mn registered users on the platform with about 400K monthly active users within a short span. 

Our users can be put into two large buckets — small enterprises and contractors, banks or NBFCs and raw materials suppliers. While small enterprises and contractors consume OfBusiness’ information on infrastructure, building roads, rails, buildings, and bridges, the platform helps NBFCs and suppliers generate leads. 

Currently, the platform has about 20 to 25 enterprise clients.

Meanwhile, the company’s BidAssist platform is expected to slowly integrate into Nexizo. OfBusiness is also mulling a new pricing model. Earlier, BidAssist used to charge users to access tender information. Now, the company plans to earn by selling leads to enterprises while giving tender updates for free to its users. However, the company is still experimenting with Nexizo’s monetisation strategy.

OfBusiness’ AI Thesis 

Even though Nexizo is a separate SaaS platform, the business is working because the product is related to OfBusiness’ core offerings. 

“We have targeted people who are looking for tenders on OfBusiness’ platform so that we can use that information to pitch the AI product to them. We again feed this data to train our model,” said Jain.

He believes that AI platforms in sync with their core businesses are there to stay in the long run. If not aligned, the platform must function as a separate business vertical. 

“You can’t make it work in the existing companies as it requires a very different DNA. We started Nexizo because it has tender data for customers and infrastructure accounts for 30% of OfBusiness’ revenue,” Jain said.

This is precisely why Jain bets big on the success of AI initiatives like Zomato’s Nugget and NoBroker’s ConvoZen.AI — because they align with their respective companies’ primary business models.

However, according to the OfBusiness cofounder, most smaller enterprises are currently confused about AI, with many even wondering how to take the AI leap. 

“Many don’t know how to implement AI, whether to use foundational models or fine-tune their own models, or use a wrapper. Even big enterprises are still struggling to find the right use cases of AI, and they often feel that the old practices are yielding better results,” Jain said.

Why AI Adoption Has Been A Challenge In India

Despite too many tall claims, the adoption of AI has largely been a laggard, especially at the enterprise level. According to an Inc42 report, a majority of startup investors believe that most large-scale enterprises in India are struggling to transition their AI use cases from proof of concept to full-scale deployment.

While 66% of India’s top unicorns have started integrating GenAI into their offerings, only 15-20% of proof of concepts by large domestic companies in the country have progressed to production, the report finds. Upskilling the existing employees also remains a challenge that companies need to solve.

In fact, Jain said the company did not hire any new talent to build the Nexizo platform, but upskilled the existing ones.

Meanwhile, he also said that the ecosystem needs more examples from the startup ecosystem to show the way, calling Zomato a front-runner in sharing its own AI knowledge with the world with Nugget.

Top startup leaders in India have reiterated that every business, big or small, must prioritise AI adoption to increase efficiency. Although slow, India’s enterprise-level AI adoption landscape is not gloomy and is constantly evolving. 

Currently, Agentic AI is in the limelight. From Gupshup to Zomato’s Nugget and from Infosys to Zoho – the industry is abuzz with the high autonomous capabilities of GenAI agents.

As GenAI adoption grows on various fronts, expected to become a $17 Bn market opportunity by 2030, a focus on bridging the talent gap will go a long way.

[Edited By Shishir Parasher]

The post Can Nexizo Be The AI Moat For OfBusiness? appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The final week of March was full of activity for the world’s third largest startup ecosystem. As the final quarter of FY25 comes to an end this month, multiple new-age tech companies announced investments within their own subsidiaries, acquisitions, as well as some startups charging up their plans for a public listing in the near future.

Amid this, investment activity in the Indian startups saw a significant uptick during the week. Between March 24 and 29, Indian startups cumulatively netted $143.7 Mn, a 32% increase from the $109.2 Mn raised by startups last week. Meanwhile, the number of funding deals that materialised during the week stood at 16, slightly lower than the 18 funding deals in the preceding week. 

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [ Mar 24 – Mar 29]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• Fintech continued to assert dominance in the funding trends this week. The sector saw five startups raise $98.1 Mn during the week, more than double from the fresh capital influx in the sector in the past week.
• While fintech saw the greatest number of funding deals materialise during the week, enterprise tech and ecommerce segment saw three startups apiece raise $15.6 Mn and $9 Mn over the past week.
• ah! ventures was the most active this week, backing early stage startups Zealopua and Konnect U during the week. Besides, prominent startup investors like Accel, BII, SenseAI Ventures, among others were active during the week.
• Four startups at the seed stage raised $18.6 Mn this week, marking an 84% increase from the $10.1 Mn netted by four startups at this stage last week.

M&A Activities This Week

• Conversational AI startup Observe.AI acquired text-to-speech AI startup Dubdub.ai to bolster its voice AI agents offerings for contact centres. With this, the US-based startup will look to double down on its efforts to develop its conversational AI capabilities.
• SaaS company JungleWorks acquired a majority stake in Outplay to enhance its offering suite. JungleWorks will also be investing $14 Mn to further the growth of Outplay moving forward.
• B2B manufacturing and supply chain enablement startup Groyyo bought a majority stake in Oussum Inc to strengthen its presence in the US B2B fashion retail market.

IPO-Related Developments This Week

• The SEBI has kept coworking space provider WeWork India’s IPO papers in ‘abeyance’. In SEBI’s parlance, “kept in abeyance” means that the regulator’s observations on draft papers are temporarily put on hold, usually pending investigation or regulatory action.
• Ecommerce major Meesho is said to have picked Morgan Stanley, Kotak Mahindra Capital and Citi to helm its $1 Bn IPO that is likely to value the startup at $10 Bn.
• Fitness unicorn Cult.fit has shortlisted Axis Capital, Jefferies, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JM Financial to helm its INR 2,500 Cr IPO.

Other Developments Of The Week

• 2am VC2 launched its second fund to back 30 Indian seed stage startups operating in sectors like consumer tech, fintech, food and beverage, AI and SaaS.
• Daily essentials delivery startup Pluckk is eyeing the raise of $10 Mn in its Series A round from Euro Gulf Investment.
• Gaming giant KRAFTON’s India arm increased its shareholding to 75% in Nautilus Mobile with an additional investment of INR 118 Cr.
• Kouzina Food Tech has acquired a majority stake in Delhi NCR-based cloud kitchen startup MOPP Foods for an undisclosed amount.
• SaaS company Zaggle will be acquiring a 45.33% stake in POS software solutions provider Effiasoft for INR 36.72 Cr in an all-cash deal.
• Quick commerce startup Apna Mart will be raising $25 Mn in funding from Nandan Nilekani-led Fundamentum Partnership Peak XV Partners and Sparrow Capital. The transaction will be a mix of equity and debt.
• Country Delight will be raising about $25 Mn in its Series E funding round, from Temasek’s subsidiary V-Sciences Investments.
• Before its IPO, investment tech major Groww is said to be in advanced talks with GIC and Tiger Global to raise $200 Mn at a valuation of around $6.5 Bn.

The post From smallcase To Lendingkart — Indian Startups Raised $144 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Modern technology is revolutionising industries, driving innovations in smartphones, autonomous vehicles, and advanced AI systems. As India strives for self-reliance in technological advancements, the country has seen a rapid rise in advanced technology startups.

At the core of this transformation lies the semiconductor industry and the government’s intention to give this space a much-needed push.

In 2021, the government launched the Semicon India programme, committing INR 76,000 Cr to incentivise silicon semiconductor fabs, display fabs, compound semiconductors, and more. 

A year later, the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) was introduced to establish India as a global hub for electronics manufacturing and design. 

The Design Linked Incentive (DLI) scheme, part of the ‘Semicon India Future Design’ programme, is one of the many initiatives that offers financial and infrastructure support to boost semiconductor development. It focusses on areas like integrated circuits (ICs), chipsets, Systems on Chips (SoCs), and related designs.

The ‘Make in India’ initiative further reinforces efforts to reduce dependency on imports and strengthen the domestic tech ecosystem. Not to mention, partnerships with global semiconductor giants, including AMD, Micron, and Qualcomm, have complemented these initiatives.

In February 2022, the Tata Group, in collaboration with Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (PSMC), secured approval to establish India’s first semiconductor fab. 

However, this is not India’s first stab at doing something notable in this sector. The country’s journey in the semiconductor space dates back to 1976, with the establishment of the Semiconductor Laboratory in Mohali, Punjab, under the leadership of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. 

Years later, new-age startups have formed a beeline to chase the country’s semiconductor dream that could potentially transform the world for good. 

Amid this and the rising demand for faster and more efficient chips, Indian startups are exploring diverse opportunities in this space. According to an Inc4s2 report, the Indian semiconductor market is projected to become a $150 Bn opportunity by 2030.

As the semiconductor industry rapidly grows in the country, the union government is discussing plans for the rollout of the second phase of the India Semiconductor Mission. The government may also extend support to chip design projects and semiconductor packaging designs.

Investor interest in the sector surged in 2024, with funding for semiconductor startups exceeding $28 Mn from $5 Mn in 2023. Chennai-based Mindgrove Technologies led the way with $8 Mn in funding, followed by FermionIC with $6 Mn.

While much is yet to be achieved, here is the list of startups which are poised to shape India’s semiconductor future.

(Note: The list below is not meant to be a ranking of any kind. We have listed the Indian semiconductor startups in alphabetical order. We will be updating this list periodically. If you would like to refer any startup, write to editor@inc42.com)

AGNIT Semiconductors

Established in 2019 by seven semiconductor experts – Hareesh Chandrasekar, Madhusudan Atre, Mayank Shrivastava, Digbijoy Nath, Muralidharan Rangarajan, Shankar Kumar Selvaraja, and Srinivasan Raghavan – AGNIT Semiconductors specialises in Gallium Nitride (GaN) semiconductor technology. 

The startup designs and manufactures GaN materials (wafers) and electronic components which find use in radio-frequency applications across defense and telecommunication industries.

In 2023, the Ministry of Defence inked a contract with AGNIT for the design and development of advanced GaN semiconductors, slated for integration into the next generation of wireless transmitters for defence applications, including radars and electronic warfare jammers.

In its maiden round of funding, AGNIT bagged $3.5 Mn (INR 29.4 Cr) in its seed funding round co-led by 3one4 Capital and Zephyr Peacock in October 2024. 

The company counts the likes of Infineon Technologies and Innoscience as its competitors. 

Aura Semiconductor

Founded in 2011 by Srinath Sridharan and Kishore Ganti, Aura Semiconductor or Aurasemi is a fabless semiconductor startup designs and supplies mixed-signal integrated circuits (ICs) for various industrial applications, including communication, IoT, and automotive.

It makes products in categories such as timing, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), power, RF, IoT and sensors. Recently, Nasdaq-listed precision timing company SiTime Corporation acquired all time-related products from Aurasemi.

The startup has raised an undisclosed capital via its Series A funding round in 2016 from investors Celesta Capital and Walden Riverwood Ventures.

Blueberry Semiconductors

Founded by industry veterans Nitin Naik and Naveen YK in 2018, Blueberry Semiconductors is a VLSI-focussed startup that helps other businesses develop and implement semiconductor technologies. 

The startup specialises in building application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) and system-on-a-ship (SoC) design.

The startup serves clients across industries like aerospace, automobiles, defense, IT, among others. Some of its clients include Intel, Mahindra, Raymond, SanDisk, among others.

Prior to establishing Blueberry Semiconductors, the founders offered another semiconductor startup named Orange Semiconductors. The startup focused on VLSI services and home automation IoT and was acquired by an Indian product company, Moschip, in 2016.

C2i Semiconductors

Founded in 2024 by Vikram Gakhar, Preetam Charan Anand Tadeparthy, and Ramprasad Ananthaswamy, C2i (abbreviation for conversion, control, and intelligence) Semiconductors is a fabless chip design startup focussed on analogue and mixed-signal designs.   

On the back of over 100 years cumulative experience, the startup’s founders aim to position C2i Semiconductors as a globally competitive player, strengthening India’s presence in the global semiconductor design ecosystem. 

While the startup is yet to launch its products, it is focussed on building chips that are likely to find use in enterprise server power management, AI, telecom, and data infrastructure.

With this, the startup aims to reduce the global carbon footprint through its energy-efficient products. 

Since inception, C2i Semiconductors has raised $4 Mn from deeptech venture fund Yali Capital in November, 2024. 

CalligoTech

Calligo Technologies is a Bengaluru-based fabless semiconductor and systems startup serving segments like high-performance computing, Big Data and AI/ML segments globally. 

CalligoTech has developed a co-processor capable of doing computations using a new number system called Posit, which was invented in 2017. In June 2024, the startup unveiled an 8-core Posit-enabled RISC-V CPU named TUNGA. It claims to be the world’s first in doing so.

The company claims that TUNGA’s energy-efficient design results in lower power consumption and is scalable across a range of applications for HPC and AI. 

The startup is also a beneficiary of the central government’s DLI scheme.

Chipspirit

Founded in 2018, Chipspirit is a Bengaluru-based services and solutions provider in the semiconductor space.

Its application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) design services has a special focus on design and turnkey projects. On the other hand, it also claims to provide fully customisable hardware security solutions.

Chipspirit’s Abhed-1 is a dedicated secure hardware-based offline and online encryption device for transacting classified data over public or open Data networks.

The semiconductor company won the iDEX challenge in March 2019. It is now co-developing its hardware security solutions with Indian Defence under the Centre’s Make-In-India initiative.

As per MeitY’s website, Chipspirit is also one of the beneficiaries of its DLI scheme.

Cientra

Founded in 2015 by Uday Joshi and Sandip Kadtane, Cientra is a semiconductor solutions company, specialising in VLSI, ASIC, FPGA, SoCs, catering to telecom (4G, 5G, IoT), automotive (SDV, ADAS, connectivity, EV) and embedded software.

The semiconductor design solutions of the company include register-transfer level (RTL) design, design verification, physical design, and analogue design and layout offering.

Cientra is a multinational company with offices in India, the USA, and Germany. Last year, the company launched a vendor-agnostic 5G IoT aggregator solution in partnership with Amantya Technologies, which they claimed to be the ‘world’s first’.

In 2024, IT giant Accenture acquired Cientra to expand its silicon design and engineering capabilities.

FermionIC Design

Founded in 2020, Bengaluru-based FermionIC Design is a fabless semiconductor startup developing ICs for high-speed wireline and RF communication market. Its current product portfolio includes a highly integrated beamformer core chip in the silicon-germanium (SiGe) process that enables the X-band millimetre-wave communications for active electronically scanned array (AESA), sat-comm applications, and others. 

The startup’s mixed signal product family includes ultra-low-noise low dropout (LDO)-ICs, low-phase noise crystal oscillators and Serialiser/Deserialiser (SerDes) products. 

Founded by Gautam Kumar Singh, Prasun Bhattacharyya, Abhra Bagchi, and Shabaaz Syed,  FermionIC Design has remained bootstrapped so far. It claims to have multiple global and Indian OEM customers who are building their SoCs and systems using FermionIC products. 

In 2023, the Minister of State for Electronics & IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar announced FermionIC Design as one of the first set of startups selected under the government’s Semicon India Future Design DLI scheme. 

FermionIC last raised $6 Mn in a funding round led by Lucky Investment Managers’ Ashish Kacholia and his associates in September 2024. 

Incore Semiconductors

Founded in 2018, InCore Semiconductor is building 5th generation RISC/RISC-V processor cores in India. RISC or reduced instruction set computer is a microprocessor architecture that utilises a reduced number of computer instruction types, hence enabling systems to operate at higher speeds. 

InCore, founded by Arjun Menon, Gautam Doshi, GS Madhusudan, and Neel Gala, is headquartered at the IIT Madras Research Park. The startup last raised $3 Mn from Peak XV Partners in May 2023. 

The startup aims to make India a powerhouse in the RISC-V solution space. Its processor cores power high-performance application-class processors, area/power-optimised embedded processors, and more.

The startup claims to bring a high degree of automation to the processor and SoC design process.

InCore counts the likes of ARM, Andes Technology, and SiFive among its competitors. 

Mindgrove Technologies

Mindgrove Technologies is a Chennai-based semiconductor startup founded in 2021. It works in the space of design and production of SoCs. 

Incubated at IIT Madras, Mindgrove uses the indigenous RISC-V Shakti cores to power its chips. 

The startup is currently working on its inaugural chip, Secure IoT, which is designed for a range of consumer electronics devices, including TVs, washing machines, air conditioners, and refrigerators. Its multi-processor chip comes with security accelerators, a true random number generator, and one-time programmable memory.

Founded by Shashwath T R and Sharan Srinivas J, the startup secured $2.32 Mn in seed funding in 2023 led by Peak XV Partners. Its other investors include names like Speciale Invest and Whiteboard Capital. 

Mindgrove Technologies last raised $8 Mn (INR 68.04 Cr) in its Series A funding round co-led by Rocketship.vc and Speciale Invest in December 2024. 

Morphing Machines

Morphing Machines is a fabless semiconductor startup building IP products and solutions. Its patented product ‘REDEFINE’ is a many-core SoC platform, in which domain-specific architectures (DSAs) for mixed critical application tasks are instantiated on demand of any event. DSAs are specialised and optimised hardware designs tailored to specific application domains or industries. 

Its technology serves various industries, including avionics, automobile, and telecom. Besides, ‘REDEFINE’ helps accelerate a host of applications for Big Data Analytics, Genome Analytics, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, Large Scale Scientific Simulations, and immersive gaming and visualisations.

Morphing Machines has also received projects under the DLI and Chips2Startup (C2S) schemes from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

Launched through the Technology Entrepreneurship initiative of the Indian Institute of Science at Bengaluru in 2005, Morphing Machines is a bootstrapped startup. Its founders are Dr S.K. Nandy, Dr Ranjani Narayan, and Deepak Shapeti. Morphing Machines last secured $2.76 Mn in a seed funding round led by Speciale Invest in June 2024. 

Morphing Machine counts Intel, NVIDIA and AMD as its competitors. 

Netrasemi

Founded in 2020, Netrasemi is a Kerala-based Edge AI semiconductor technology company building SOCs to enable the new-age need for optimal computing for smart IoT products. Netrasemi has a power-efficient deep-neural AI acceleration core (NPU) and a rich portfolio of silicon IPs to enable this. 

Its key target segments are surveillance, smart sensors, smart infrastructure, machine vision and industry 4.0, robotics, drones, and autonomous vehicles, among others.