Athira Sethu
Kochi, 23 Dec 2025
India’s startup ecosystem is preparing for an even busier 2026 as more than 20 startups have lined up Initial Public Offerings (IPOs). Many of these startups are some of the leading brands in fintech, e-commerce, logistics, and consumer brands. These upcoming IPOs also show that public markets have now become an essential source of growth for startups in India. This is an indication of the structural shift in the life cycle of Indian startups.
- Companies Going Public: Startups such as PhonePe, Flipkart, Zepto, boAt, Shiprocket, Infra.Market, OfBusiness, and Shadowfax are all planning to enter the public markets. The variety of companies entering the public market shows that the IPO mania is not confined to any particular industry.
- Deceleration in Late-Stage Investments: The investments at the late stage decreased by almost 8% during 2025, and the total investments stood at $7.39 billion. This deceleration in investments forced the startups to consider IPOs to raise funds and learn their valuations.
- Public Market Success: In 2025, 15 new-age companies raised around Rs 40,000 crore from IPOs, up 35% from Rs 29,000 crore raised in 2024. The capital raised was almost equally split between fresh issues and OFS. Companies utilised this opportunity to fund their expansion while giving early investors an avenue for liquidity.
- Key Sectors Dominating IPO Pipeline: The major chunk of the 2026 pipeline is dominated by fintech, e-commerce, logistics, and B2B platforms. The big ones expected at the front are PhonePe, Shiprocket, and Zepto, while B2B tech companies such as Infra.Market and OfBusiness follow suit.
- Strategic move: founders and investors increasingly see an IPO as one of the leading strategic options when needing to raise large-scale capital and fuel growth. Public markets become a primary tool for scaling companies and resetting valuations.
- Public Markets as a Growth Platform: The growing pipeline of IPOs planned for 2026 underlines the fact that public markets can no longer be a makeshift solution to raise money. They are now an integral part of India’s startup system for scaling, liquidity, and valuations.
