Athira Sethu
Kochi, 16 December 2024
The year 2024 has been quite exceptional for Indian startups. Many of them made their debut on the stock market this year. It was not easy with the economy slowing down, tensions at the global level, and a tough funding environment, but the Indian IPO market has shown significant growth. So far, this year, 12 startups have come public, which is a record so far.
This is a sharp change from 2023 where only 5 startups went out on the stock exchanges. A few of the top names, such as Swiggy, Ola Electric, FirstCry, and Go Digit General Insurance, have managed to succeed with their IPOs in the year 2024. These companies are a new wave of “new-age tech” startups that primarily operate in the digital landscape.
The Indian stock market for startups is witnessing steady growth because of steady economic growth, a growing interest from investors, and better market conditions. This has led to good performances from the companies that listed in 2024. Most of these companies have started their public journey at prices higher than their initial offering, showing investor confidence.
A company like MobiKwik, which plans to list in December 2024, will be the 13th startup in this record year. The total amount raised by these 12 startups through their IPOs is over Rs 29,000 crore, which shows the strength of the market.
In reality, one of the principal reasons for their success was that Indian investors had reached an advanced stage in maturity and therefore knew the potential of value generated by tech startups in their long-term sustainability, be it even loss-making in some instances or scaling up cost-hungry in some early stages of development.
In fact, many of the companies that went public this year are either already profitable or have clear plans to become profitable soon. This trend is encouraging more startups to consider going public. According to data, about 34 more companies are in the process of preparing their IPOs.
Here are some highlights of the startups that went public in 2024:
- Awfis: This provider of coworking space space has raised ₹598.9 crore and went on the bourses at 12.8 per cent premium over its issue price.
- BlackBuck: Logistics company BlackBuck has raised ₹1,114 crore and gone public with a modest listing premium of 2.2%.
- FirstCry: An online marketplace for kids’ products, FirstCry has raised ₹4,194 crore and entered at a 34.4% premium.
- Go Digit General Insurance: An insurtech company Go Digit General Insurance has raised ₹2,614 crore and listed at 5.1% premium.
- ixigo: This travel app, ixigo raised ₹740 crore and listed with a 48.5% premium.
- Ola Electric: Famous for its electric vehicles, Ola Electric raised ₹6,145 crore and made its debut with a stable listing price.
- Swiggy: The well-known food delivery company, Swiggy, raised ₹11,324 crore and had a strong debut, listing at a 5.6% premium.
The IPOs of many other startups, including Unicommerce, TBO Tek, and Trust Fintech, were positive in the eyes of the investors.
As 2024 comes to a close, it can be seen that the Indian startup ecosystem is maturing, and the success of IPOs this year points to brighter days ahead for tech-driven businesses in the country. The confidence among investors and the market performances of these startups have set the tone for positive future IPOs in India.
