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Why This Matters Right Now
Indian unicorn IPOs have moved from speculation to scheduled reality. 2025 saw a strong comeback of tech startup IPOs, with 18 IPOs from this segment collectively raising about ₹41,248 crore. Companies like Groww, Lenskart, PhysicsWallah, Meesho, and Pine Labs — all considered “future IPO candidates” just two years ago — have already listed. What investors should now focus on is the next wave: the unicorns still private, actively filing, and preparing for debuts between 2026 and 2028.
Sectors with the strongest pipeline are fintech, quick-commerce, digital infrastructure, and consumer internet. The key signals to watch are DRHP filings (confidential or public), domicile shifts to India, appointment of investment bankers, and improving profitability metrics.
Quick IPO Readiness Snapshot
| Company | Sector | Valuation | IPO Status | Probability (Next 24 Months) |
| Reliance Jio | Telecom/Digital | ~$170B | Active preparation | Very High |
| PhonePe | Fintech | ~$12B | SEBI approved | Very High |
| Zepto | Quick-Commerce | ~$5–7B | Shareholder approval done | Very High |
| OYO | Hospitality Tech | ~$2.4B | Confidential DRHP filed | High |
| boAt | Consumer Electronics | ~$1.6B | DRHP filed with SEBI | High |
| NSE | Capital Markets | ~$20B+ | Bankers appointed, DRHP imminent | High |
| Flipkart | E-commerce | ~$35B | Domicile shifted to India | Moderate–High |
| Razorpay | Fintech | ~$7.5B | Confidential filing route | Moderate |
| CRED | Fintech | ~$6.4B | No filing yet | Low–Moderate |
| Meesho | Social Commerce | Already listed in 2025 | — | Listed |
What Is a Unicorn? And Why Do They Eventually Go Public?
A unicorn is a privately held startup valued at $1 billion or more. The term was coined to reflect how rare such companies once were. In India, as of 2026, there are around 129 unicorn startups, placing India among the top 3 startup ecosystems in the world after the United States and China.
Unicorns go public for several interconnected reasons:
Investor exits. Venture capital and private equity funds have defined lifespans — typically 7–10 years. After a decade of patient capital, fund managers need to return money to their LPs (limited partners). An IPO is the cleanest, most scalable exit mechanism.
Employee liquidity. Thousands of employees at unicorns hold vested ESOPs worth crores on paper. An IPO converts that paper wealth into real, tradeable stock.
Capital for growth. A listing raises fresh primary capital at scale — often ₹2,000 to ₹15,000 crore — to fund expansion, acquisitions, or debt reduction.
Brand credibility. A listed company carries a different weight with enterprise customers, government contracts, and global partners. Being on NSE or BSE signals institutional maturity.
Regulatory signal. As SEBI tightens governance requirements for private companies above certain sizes, listing becomes both a compliance milestone and a reputational marker.
The 2025 IPO Wave: What Already Happened
Before tracking what’s coming, it’s important to understand what already arrived. Companies like Meesho, Lenskart, Groww, PhysicsWallah, Ather Energy, and Urban Company successfully raised funds and listed on the bourses in 2025. This is highly significant context — it means the institutional pipeline has been validated. Retail investors who tracked these companies in the pre-IPO phase and participated in their IPOs had early mover advantage.
The lesson: the investors who will benefit from the 2026–2028 wave are those who start researching today, not after the DRHP becomes front-page news.
Company-by-Company Analysis: Who’s Next
1. Reliance Jio Platforms
What it is: The digital and telecom arm of Reliance Industries. Jio serves over 450 million subscribers and has transformed India’s internet economy through affordable data, JioFiber, and a growing digital services ecosystem.
IPO Readiness Signals: Reliance Industries is working on the preliminary papers for its telecom subsidiary. The company is waiting for government notifications on new SEBI recommendations for large-cap IPOs before filing the DRHP. Under the new SEBI framework, very large companies need to float only 2.5–2.75% of equity instead of 5% — a regulation specifically enabling mega-IPOs like Jio.
Why it matters: A Jio listing would give retail and institutional investors direct access to one of India’s most profitable and strategically significant businesses, and would instantly rank among the largest public offerings globally.
Risks: Regulatory timeline uncertainty, valuation expectations ($100–170B range), and complexity of separating Jio from Reliance’s broader conglomerate structure.
IPO Probability (24 months): Very High
2. PhonePe
What it is: India’s dominant digital payments platform, commanding over 40% of all UPI transactions. Beyond payments, PhonePe has expanded aggressively into insurance, mutual fund distribution, and lending.
IPO Readiness Signals: PhonePe has confidentially filed its DRHP with SEBI and received approval to raise funds via IPO. The proposed IPO is likely to be entirely an Offer for Sale (OFS) by existing shareholders. The company is expected to file an updated DRHP soon.
Business strength: PhonePe’s competitive moat — network effects from 500M+ registered users, deep merchant integrations, and first-mover advantage in UPI infrastructure — makes it one of the most defensible business models in Indian fintech.
Risks: High dependence on UPI (a zero-MDR infrastructure), competition from Google Pay and Paytm, and valuation expectations that need to align with listed fintech peers.
IPO Probability (24 months): Very High
3. Zepto
What it is: India’s fastest-growing quick-commerce platform, delivering groceries and daily essentials in under 10 minutes through a dark store network across major cities.
IPO Readiness Signals: Zepto secured shareholder approval on 26 December 2025 to raise up to ₹11,000 crore through its IPO, targeting a listing window between July and September 2026. The company commands a 23–27% share of India’s quick-commerce market, and FY2025 revenue reportedly topped ₹11,000 crore.
Growth story: Quick-commerce is one of India’s fastest-growing consumer categories. Zepto’s ability to expand from 6 cities to 30+ while improving unit economics has been noted by institutional investors.
Risks: Profitability timeline — the model is capital-intensive. Competition from Blinkit (Zomato), Swiggy Instamart, and now Amazon Fresh keeps margin pressure high. Any IPO window delay past September 2026 could face market condition risks.
IPO Probability (24 months): Very High
4. NSE (National Stock Exchange)
What it is: India’s largest stock exchange by volume, processing the majority of equity and derivatives trades in the country. An NSE listing would be the most symbolically significant IPO in Indian capital market history.
IPO Readiness Signals: NSE formally appointed its registrar (MUFG Intime India) and a large consortium of 20 Book Running Lead Managers in March 2026, including Kotak Mahindra Capital, JM Financial, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, and Citigroup. DRHP filing is expected by June–July 2026.
Why it’s unique: NSE is not a startup. It is a profitable, cash-generating infrastructure business. Its IPO is about liquidity for existing institutional shareholders and public market access — not growth capital. The business model is essentially a regulated monopoly on transaction volumes.
Risks: The co-location regulatory saga required a ₹1,387 crore SEBI settlement before the IPO path cleared. Any new regulatory complications could delay the timeline further.
IPO Probability (24 months): High
5. OYO (Oravel Stays / Prism Hotels)
What it is: A hospitality technology platform aggregating budget hotels, homestays, and vacation rentals across India and internationally.
IPO Readiness Signals: OYO has confidentially filed DRHP with SEBI, seeking shareholder approval for a ₹6,650 crore IPO.
The complication: OYO has attempted an IPO multiple times — it first filed a DRHP in 2021, withdrew, refiled in 2023, and withdrew again. Each withdrawal reflected valuation disagreements or market conditions. The current attempt is the company’s most serious yet, backed by improved financials and a narrower loss trajectory.
Risks: History of IPO withdrawals is a credibility concern. Execution risk in hospitality is high. Valuation has been marked down significantly from its peak $10B to approximately $2.4B today.
IPO Probability (24 months): Moderate–High — filing signals intent, but OYO’s IPO record warrants cautious optimism.
6. boAt
What it is: India’s leading consumer audio and wearables brand, dominating the ₹1,000–₹5,000 price segment across earbuds, headphones, smartwatches, and speakers.
IPO Readiness Signals: Imagine Marketing (boAt’s parent) has filed an updated DRHP with SEBI for a ₹1,500 crore IPO including fresh shares and an offer for sale. boAt posted fivefold revenue growth to ₹3,100 crore and returned to profitability in FY25.
What makes it compelling: boAt is a genuine D2C brand success story — profitable, growing, and with a clear consumer identity. Its IPO is among the most straightforward narratives in the current pipeline: profitable consumer brand at a reasonable scale.
Risks: Premium competition from Sony, JBL, and Samsung; heavy dependence on Flipkart/Amazon for distribution; and thin hardware margins if raw material costs rise.
IPO Probability (24 months): High
7. Razorpay
What it is: India’s leading payment gateway and full-stack financial services platform for businesses. Razorpay processes payments for over 10 million businesses, from SMEs to large enterprises.
IPO Readiness Signals: Razorpay has reportedly opted for the confidential DRHP filing route with SEBI — the same path used by Groww, Meesho, and Zepto before their successful listings. The confidential route is a precursor to public filing.
Business strength: Razorpay is the infrastructure layer of India’s digital payment economy. Its product suite — payment gateway, payroll (RazorpayX), lending, and POS — creates deep enterprise stickiness.
Risks: The RBI regulatory environment for payment aggregators is evolving. Valuation reset — Razorpay’s last round valued it at $7.5B, which may face scrutiny in a more profit-focused public market.
IPO Probability (24 months): Moderate — filing signals intent, but timeline depends on profitability progress and regulatory clarity.
8. Flipkart
What it is: India’s largest e-commerce platform by GMV (alongside Amazon India), owned by Walmart. Brands under its umbrella include Myntra, Flipkart Minutes (quick-commerce), and Shopsy.
IPO Readiness Signals: Flipkart has received NCLT nod to shift its domicile from Singapore to India — a key structural prerequisite for an Indian listing. The company is preparing to launch a public offer in 2026, and recently appointed senior executives to enhance governance.
Scale of opportunity: A Flipkart IPO would give Indian retail investors direct access to the country’s dominant e-commerce ecosystem — something currently unavailable on any Indian exchange.
Risks: Amazon competition is intense. Walmart may prefer a US listing or dual listing. Profitability at the group level needs to be clearly demonstrated before public market investors will accept a premium valuation.
IPO Probability (24 months): Moderate–High — structural groundwork is complete; timing depends on Walmart’s strategic decision.
Sectors Driving the Next IPO Wave
Fintech remains the most active sector. Fintech and financial services dominate India’s unicorn landscape with more than a dozen unicorns together valued above $40 billion, spanning payments (Razorpay, Pine Labs), credit (CRED, Slice), investment platforms (Groww, Upstox), and insurance. With Groww and Pine Labs already listed, the remaining fintech IPO candidates carry a proven public market template.
Quick-Commerce is the newest hot sector. Zepto’s IPO will be the defining data point — if it lists at a strong premium, it will accelerate interest in the sector’s entire ecosystem.
Consumer Tech (boAt, CRED) benefits from India’s premiumization story — urban consumers spending more on branded, digital-first products and lifestyle services.
Capital Market Infrastructure (NSE, SBI Mutual Fund) represents a unique category — profitable, regulated, and relatively low-risk compared to consumer internet. These IPOs attract conservative institutional and HNI capital.
Lessons From the 2025 Unicorn IPO Wave
The 2025 listings taught investors several important lessons:
Profitability matters more than narrative. Groww listed at a strong premium because it had tripled profits in FY25. Groww received SEBI approval for its $1 billion IPO at a $7–8 billion valuation after profit tripled in FY25. Companies that showed up to their IPO with clear earnings improvement stories were rewarded.
Confidential filing is not evasion — it’s strategy. According to market analysts, confidential filing suggests companies are demanding more control over timing, disclosures, and valuation discovery before going public. Investors should not penalize a company for taking this route — it actually signals preparation, not weakness.
Lenskart’s transparency stood out. While peers like Groww, Meesho, and PhysicsWallah chose the confidential route, Lenskart opted for full public DRHP disclosure — targeting a $1 billion IPO at a $10 billion valuation. This transparency was read positively by institutional investors.
Muted openings can recover. PhysicsWallah’s IPO saw a muted opening amid cautious investor sentiment, but interest picked up sharply on the final day, with QIBs driving it to full subscription. First-day reactions are not always indicative of long-term value.
Due Diligence Framework Before Investing in Any Unicorn IPO
Use this checklist before allocating capital to any upcoming unicorn IPO:
Financial Health
- Revenue growing 25%+ year-on-year?
- Losses narrowing or profitability achieved?
- Cash burn under control with 18+ months runway?
Business Quality
- Market leadership in core segment?
- Genuine moat (network effects, brand, regulatory license)?
- Customer retention and repeat purchase metrics positive?
IPO Structure
- Fresh issue (capital going to company) vs OFS (money going to existing investors)?
- Lock-in details for promoters and pre-IPO investors?
- Lead manager quality (top-tier banks indicate institutional confidence)?
Valuation
- P/E or P/S multiple vs listed peers reasonable?
- Private market valuation history — has the company been marked down?
- Grey market premium realistic or speculative?
Governance
- Independent board directors?
- Auditor with credible track record?
- No pending regulatory investigations?
The Bigger Picture: India’s IPO Pipeline Is Structural, Not Cyclical
Bengaluru led startup funding in 2025, attracting over $4.5 billion in capital, and 8 out of 10 startups that joined the unicorn club in 2024 and 2025 are headquartered there. India’s startup ecosystem is no longer dependent on global risk appetite cycles — domestic capital, domestic consumption, and domestic digital infrastructure are now the primary growth engines.
As unicorns prepare for IPOs, retail investors benefit from clearer disclosures, improved governance, and better market sophistication — creating a virtuous cycle where public market success attracts the next generation of startup founders and investors.
The 2026–2028 window will likely produce 3–5 landmark listings — at least one from each of the mega, mid, and consumer categories. Investors who approach these opportunities with a framework rather than hype, verify financials rather than trust headlines, and size positions appropriately for liquidity risk will be best positioned to benefit from India’s most consequential IPO decade.
Investor Checklist: Before You Act on Any Unicorn IPO
Before applying for any upcoming unicorn IPO, run through these questions:
- Has the company demonstrated improving unit economics over the last 2 years?
- Is the IPO primarily a fresh issue (good) or a large OFS (early investors exiting)?
- What is the post-IPO lock-in for promoters? Are they staying invested?
- How does the IPO valuation compare to the last private funding round?
- What is the 6-month post-listing performance of comparable sector peers?
- Does the company have a clear, credible path to profitability if not yet profitable?
- Are the lead bankers top-tier, signaling institutional confidence?
The Indian unicorn IPO wave is real, it is large, and it is accelerating. The investors who will look back at 2026–2028 with satisfaction are those who did the homework today.
This article is for educational and research purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. IPO timelines and company details are subject to change. Consult a SEBI-registered financial advisor before making investment decisions.