January 16th is observed as National Startup Day in India every year. The day was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi under ‘Startup India’, a flagship project of the government of India. The day is aimed at encouraging the spirit of entrepreneurship to boost economic growth, innovation and job creation.
India’s startup ecosystem has expanded rapidly over the last decade. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has recognised more than 1.59 lakh startups as of January 15, 2025. With this, India has established itself as the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world.
The year 2024 was one of the beneficial years for the startup ecosystem in the country. Not only was startup funding on rise in the last year, several startups were also able to successfully go public by launch their IPOs.
In 2024, 13 Indian startups including eight tech companies, went public. These companies raised billions of dollars, solidifying India’s global presence.
Startup IPOs in 2024
Awfis
Awfis was founded in 2015 by Amit Ramani. The company has evolved from just being a coworking network to a tech-enabled workspace solutions platform, catering to freelancers, startups, SMEs, large corporates, and MNCs.
The coworking space provider filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in December last year. The market regulator greenlit the company’s public issue in April 2024
The startup made its debut in May 2024. It listed on the BSE at Rs. 432.25 per share, a premium of 12.8% to its issue price and on the NSE at Rs. 435 per share, a premium of 13.5 % to the issue price.
Awfis reported a profit of Rs. 2.7 Cr. in Q1 FY25 against a net loss of Rs. 8.3 Cr. in the year-ago period.
BlackBuck
Rajesh Yabaji, Chanakya Hridaya and Rama Subramaniam founded BlackBuck in 2015. BlackBuck operates an online marketplace for inter-city full truck load (FTL) transportation. It claims to be the largest online trucking platform in India, and connects with suppliers with truckers.
The Flipkart-backed logistics unicorn filed its IPO papers with SEBI in July 2024. Ahead of the IPO, the company raised Rs. 501 Cr. from anchor investors at Rs. 273 per share. The company had set an IPO valuation of Rs. 4,800 Cr. a steep 32% discount over its peak valuation of Rs. 7,100 Cr. in 2021.
The BlackBuck shares listed at Rs. 279.05 on the BSE, with a premium of 2.2% against the IPO issue price of Rs. 273. BlackBuck posted a net profit of Rs. 28.67 Cr. in Q1 FY25 as against a net loss of Rs. 35.93 Cr. in the corresponding quarter last year.
FirstCry
Founded in 2010, FirstCry is an omnichannel mother and kids-focused marketplace. It sells diapers, toys, apparel and cribs, as well as provides daycare facilities and runs a chain of play schools and preschools in India.
The company made a strong debut on the bourses and with shares opening at Rs. 651 on the NSE, a premium of 40% over its issue price of Rs. 549. On the BSE, the shares listed at Rs. 625, translating into a 34.4% premium.
GoDigit Insurance
Go Digit offers insurance policies across verticals like health, motor vehicle, travel, property, and more. The Bengaluru-based company, founded in 2016, listed at 5.15% less to its issue price.
The Virat Kohli backed startup listed at Rs. 286 apiece on the NSE and Rs. 272 on the BSE.
ixigo
Founded in 2006, ixigo started as a travel search website to help users compare flight deals. In FY20, it rebranded as an online travel aggregator to offer services such as flights, trains, bus tickets, hotel bookings and holiday packages.
Le Travenues Technology Ltd, the parent company of ixigo, got SEBI’s approval to launch the public issue in May 2024.
The startup made a stellar debut on the bourses in June 2024. The stock opened at Rs. 138.10 per share on the NSE, a premium of 48.5% from the issue price of Rs. 93, and at a premium of 45.16% on the BSE.
Menhood
Founded in 2019 by Dushyant Gandotra, Divya Gandotra and Shivam Bhateja, Menhood is a D2C men’s grooming brand that sells products such as trimmers, intimate perfumes, intimate wash and moisturiser, among others.
The startup’s parent entity Macobs Technologies Limited filed its DRHP in January 2024 for an IPO that comprised a fresh issue of 25.95 Lakh shares.
The Jaipur-based brand eventually listed on NSE Emerge on July 24 at Rs. 96 per share, a 28% premium to its issue price of Rs. 75.
MobiKwik
Founded in 2009, MobiKwik started operations as a digital wallet. Since then, it has diversified its business to offer consumer payments, buy now pay later (BNPL), and payment gateway services.
The Delhi NCR-based company has also introduced a Soundbox-like device, called Vibe, to take on Paytm and PhonePe.
In the run up to the listing, the fintech company raised Rs. 257.40 Cr. from 21 anchor investors, including Morgan Stanley, SBI, Whiteoak, HDFC Mutual Fund, Axis Mutual Fund, among others.
Eventually, MobiKwik made a stellar listing on the bourses on December 18. The stock opened at Rs. 442.25 on the BSE, a 58.5% premium to the IPO issue price of Rs. 279. On the NSE, shares of the fintech company listed at Rs. 440 apiece, a 57.7% premium.
MobiKwik posted a net loss of Rs. 6.6 Cr. in Q1 of FY25 as against a profit of Rs. 3 Cr. in the year-ago period.
Ola Electric
Founded in 2017, Ola Electric is an electric two-wheeler maker that currently retails a portfolio of five scooter models. The Bhavish Aggarwal-led startup is also planning to launch an electric autorickshaw in the coming days.
The Bengaluru-based startup had set a price band of Rs. 72-76 per equity share for its public issue. The EV maker’s public issue opened on August 2 and was subscribed 4.27X at the end of the last day of the bidding on August 6.
The company had a muted market debut as the stock opened at a flat Rs. 75.99 apiece on the BSE as against its IPO issue price of Rs. 76. On the NSE, the shares opened flat at Rs. 76 apiece.
Swiggy
Swiggy commenced operations as an online food delivery platform in 2014. In 2020, it also entered the grocery delivery business with Swiggy Instamart.
Currently, the Bengaluru-based startup has begun diversifying beyond the quick commerce grocery business. Swiggy Instamart now also offers high-value products, allowing shoppers to order fitness and electronics devices.
In the run up to the Rs. 11,324 Cr. IPO, Swiggy bagged Rs. 5,085 Cr. from 75 anchor investors, including Fidelity, HSBC India, Invesco India, Whiteoak Capital, among others, at Rs. 390 per share.
The public issue received bids for 57.53 Cr. shares as against 16.01 Cr. shares on offer. Eventually, the stock made its debut on the NSE at Rs. 420, a premium of nearly 8% from its IPO issue price of Rs. 390 per share. On the BSE, Swiggy shares listed at Rs. 412, a premium of almost 6% to its IPO issue price.
In Q1 FY25, Swiggy’s consolidated net loss rose over 8% YoY to Rs. 611 Cr. while revenue from operations zoomed 35% YoY to Rs. 3,222.2 Cr. during the quarter under review.
TAC Infosec
Founded in 2016, TAC Infosec (also known as TAC Security) is a SaaS-based cybersecurity startup. It offers risk-based vulnerability management and assessment solutions, cybersecurity quantification, and penetration testing to enterprises.
The Vijay Kedia-backed startup listed on NSE Emerge in April at Rs. 290, a whopping 173.6% premium over the issue price of Rs. 106.
The startup posted a net profit of Rs. 6.33 Cr. in FY24, a 23% jump from Rs. 5.12 Cr. in FY23.
TBO Tek
Travel Boutique Online (TBO) is a B2B travel portal, founded in 2006. It provides solutions to travel agents and tour operators. It offers white-label solutions, hotel and flight booking APIs and dynamic packages, among others.
The Delhi NCR-based company listed on the NSE in May at a premium of 55% to the issue price. The stock made its debut at Rs. 1,426 against the issue price of Rs. 920. On the BSE, the stock listed at Rs. 1,380, a 50% premium to the issue price.
TBO Tek booked a 29% jump in PAT to Rs. 60.91 Cr. in Q1 FY25 from Rs. 47.3 Cr. in the year-ago quarter.
Trust Fintech
Founded in 1998 by Hemant Chafale, Heramb Ramkrishna, and Mandar Kishor Deo, Trust Fintech is an enterprisetech company that offers SaaS products and fintech solutions for ERP implementation, and offshore IT services for the BFSI sector.
The fintech SaaS company listed at a premium of 42% at Rs. 143.25 apiece as against its issue price of Rs. 101 per share.
Trust Fintech saw its net profit jump 210% to Rs. 12.5 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from Rs. 4 Cr. in FY23.
Unicommerce
Unicommerce is an ecommerce SaaS startup that enables sellers to manage their inventory across all online marketplaces. The company, founded in 2012 and acquired by Snapdeal in 2015, offers integrations with all major ecommerce platforms active in India.
Shares of the enterprise tech startup listed at Rs. 235 per share on the NSE, a premium of 117.59% over its issue price of Rs. 108. It also debuted at Rs. 230 on the BSE, a premium of 112.96%.
Unicommerce’s net profit stood at Rs. 4.47 Cr. in Q1 FY25 as against Rs. 3.69 Cr. in the previous fiscal year.
