Indian Start-Up IPO Market Surges with Lenskart Listing, Groww on Deck
India’s initial public offering (IPO) market is experiencing a boom as eyewear company Lenskart sold out its $821 million share offering in hours, signaling a renewed investor appetite for tech start-ups.
The successful listing of Lenskart, founded by a prominent “Shark Tank India” judge, follows a period of increased activity, with several Indian unicorns seeking public funding. Retail brokerage Groww is slated to debut on Wednesday, having garnered 17 times more demand than shares available, and fintech firm Pine Labs will follow later this week. This surge in IPOs provides a crucial exit strategy for early investors after a challenging funding period.
Experts attribute the robust demand to improved market regulation and broader participation from retail investors, mutual funds, and insurers. “Historically there was no appetite for these high growth companies. This has now changed,” said Shailendra Singh, managing director of PeakXV Partners, a venture capital firm backing Groww and Pine Labs. The trend represents a maturing of India’s start-up ecosystem, with 43 start-up IPOs occurring through early November 2025 – five times the number in 2020 and double the amount from 2023, according to Tracxn data.
While concerns remain about valuations, particularly for companies that are not yet profitable, there’s a growing emphasis on sustainability and profitability among Indian start-ups. The number of start-up closures has declined significantly, falling 81% to 724 in 2025 compared to over 3,900 in 2024, indicating a shift towards more disciplined capital use. This positive trend is reflected in the broader Indian economy, as detailed by the World Bank. Anil Joshi, an angel investor, noted, “Exiting our investments was one of the prominent concerns when we were raising our fund in 2015-16, so these are really encouraging times for us.”
Officials anticipate continued market volatility, but believe the current momentum demonstrates increased investor confidence in India’s tech sector.
