India's Startup IPO Spring, Startup Funding Revives & More

India’s Startup IPO Spring

Untethered by the lacklustre listing of Ather and ArisInfra so far in 2025, homegrown new-age tech ventures continue nonchalantly. Last week, industry titans Wakefit and Pine Labs filed their respective DRHPs to list on the exchanges.

While Wakefit filed its draft papers for at least INR 468 Cr listing (with an additional offer for sale of up to 5.8 Cr shares), Pine Labs touted IPO plans for fresh issue of shares worth up to INR 2,600 Cr and an OFS of up to 14.78 Cr shares.

Wakefit’s Cushy Listing Dreams? What may work for the D2C mattress and furniture brand’s IPO is its hefty market share in the online furnishing market, healthy revenues (INR 971 Cr in 9M FY25), its stride towards profitability (INR 8.8 Cr in 9M FY25), focus on omnichannel expansion and the operational leverage on the back of its five manufacturing units.

Pine Labs Swipes Again: Not its first stab at a public listing, the fintech unicorn is pinning its successful IPO on its dominance in the point-of-sale segment, partnerships with financial institutions across Asia, and its robust tech stack.

Giving wings to its IPO ambitions is also the fact that Pine Labs turned profitable and churned a profit of INR 26.1 Cr in 9M FY25 against an operating revenue of INR 1,208.2 Cr, up 23% YoY.

Headwinds Ahead: While rising competition, heavy reliance on mattresses, high cash burn from offline stores, and market volatility could weigh on Wakefit, an INR 300 Cr tax liability and auditor concerns over financial controls and delayed payments may spook Pine Labs’ investors.

Meanwhile, Dutch investor Prosus expects five of its portfolio Indian startups, namely BlueStone, Urban Company, Meesho, Captain Fresh and PayU India, to list on the bourses in FY26. While the jury is still out on how many of these will pan out, here’s how India’s startup IPO spring is blooming so far this year.

From The Editor’s Desk

Startup Funding Revives: Indian startups cumulatively raised $278.3 Mn across 22 deals last week, nearly 3X of the $91.5 Mn raised by 10 startups in the preceding week. Raphe mPhibr and GIVA led the charts with $100 Mn and $62 Mn, respectively.

New-Age Tech Stocks Last Week: Twenty of the 33 new-age tech stocks under Inc42’s purview ended last week in the green, rising in a range of 0.21% to slightly over 15% this week. While FirstCry emerged as the biggest gainer, DroneAcharya was the biggest loser.

BSE Fines DroneAcharya: The drone maker has been slapped with a fine of INR 1.3 Lakh for delay in the submission of its financial results for H2 FY25. The company plans to file an appeal for a waiver. Last week, DroneAcharya attributed the hold-up to “delays in the audit process”.

Meesho Gears Up For IPO: The ecommerce giant’s board has approved raising up to INR 4,250 Cr via fresh issue during its upcoming IPO. Meesho, which reverse flipped back to India earlier this month, plans to soon file its DRHP with SEBI via the confidential route.

Eggoz Eyes INR 125 Cr: The egg-focused consumer brand is set to raise the capital in a round led by Gaja Capital, with participation from existing backers IvyCap Ventures and Rebright Partners. Eggoz sells eggs via both online marketplaces and offline stores.

Kaynes Aims For The Skies: The electronics manufacturer has incorporated a wholly-owned subsidiary to design, develop and manufacture satellites. The subsidiary, which will undertake operations primarily in India, has received an investment of INR 10 Lakh from the parent entity.

Amazon Vs Future Group: The Singapore International Arbitration Centre has awarded INR 23.7 Cr in damages to the ecommerce major in the protracted legal saga. The tribunal ruled that the retailer breached contractual obligations with Amazon when it entered into an agreement with Reliance.

The Zero Commission U-Turn: Under pressure from driver protests and rising competition from Rapido, Namma Yatri, and the upcoming Sahkar Taxi, Ola and Uber are now embracing subscription models. Can this model prove to be sustainable for the duopoly?

Inc42 Startup Spotlight Can Be. Stand Out In A Sea Of 400+ Nutraceutical Brands?

While there is no dearth of nutraceutical brands in India, consumers face several issues such as misleading claims, lack of transparency and potential safety concerns. Realising this huge gap in the market, Atul Rajani, Deeksha Rajani and Angela Toppo founded Be Life, or Be., earlier this year.

Science-Backed Formulations: The founders are positioning Be. as a science-backed nutraceutical brand that offers clean, high-quality supplements designed for the modern-day lifestyle. The startup claims that its products are formulated by pharmacists and health experts, and targets specific aspects like sleep, energy, beauty, and vitality.

Building A Healthy Pipeline: With six SKUs, the bootstrapped startup boasts a returning customer rate of approximately 28%. It claims a month-on-month growth rate exceeding 25%.

What’s On The Horizon? Be. claims to have sold over 3,000 products through its website in the last six months and is now aiming at a revenue of INR 5–6 Cr in FY26 and INR 25 Cr by the end of the next fiscal. It also plans to launch 15 products by next year to make deeper inroads into the premium price market.

But, with more and more players making similar claims of science-backed, clean-label, or performance-driven credentials, can Be Life carve out a meaningful presence in the cluttered and booming Indian nutraceuticals market?

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