India’s Listed Startups Raise Over $5B from Public Markets in FY25

Mumbai: Venture-backed Indian startups raised over ₹44,000 crore (USD 5.3 billion) in FY25 from public markets via IPOs, FPOs, and QIPs, marking a structural shift in startup fundraising lifecyle in India. The Rainmaker Group’s RainGauge Index FY25 Annual Update reveals that public markets outpaced private capital for late-stage fundraising, solidifying their role as the dominant source of growth capital.

FY25 also marked the first full market cycle for India’s startup listings: from euphoric IPOs in 2021–22, sharp corrections in 2023, and rationalization in 2024, to a new phase of resilience and re-rating. All of this unfolded with a backdrop of a cyclical economic slowdown in India in FY25 causing a lot of consumer-facing companies to battle margin compression and weak topline momentum.

The year also saw a record ₹20,000+ Cr in secondary exits as PE/VC firms like Peak XV and TPG harvested early bets through block trades. Meanwhile, mutual fund participation surged, with average holdings in RainGauge Index companies rising from 10% in Mar ’24 to 14% in Mar ’25, a sign of growing institutional belief in innovation-led equities.

FY25: The Public Markets Era for Indian Startups

• ₹44,000+ Cr raised from public markets via IPOs, FPOs, and QIPs, more than 2x private late-stage capital.
• ₹20,000+ Cr in secondary exits for PE/VCs through block and bulk deals, proving the public market’s liquidity depth.
• RainGauge Index rose 6% YoY, beating NIFTY and MidCap indices and tracking closely with NASDAQ despite GDP slowdown and FII outflows.
• Over a dozen DRHPs filed by startups including Meesho, Groww, Urban Company, Wakefit, and Pine Labs.

“FY25 didn’t just test India’s startup listings, it matured them,” said Kashyap Chanchani, Managing Partner, The Rainmaker Group. “The public market has become the preferred playground for India’s breakout companies. We’ve now seen the full arc – the IPO frenzy, the valuation winter, and now a clear re-rating driven by fundamentals. This is the age of seasoning. The market is no longer listening to stories, it’s pricing in substance. India’s innovation economy has hit a new gear, one where companies with predictable earnings, durable moats, and institutional-grade governance will dominate.”

FY25 also delivered symbolic structural wins:

• Zomato joined the NIFTY50 and SENSEX, while Swiggy entered the NIFTY Next 50
• Nykaa, PB Fintech, Ola Electric, and others were inducted into the NIFTY MidCap150
• Despite the early-year correction and record FII outflows (~₹78K Cr in Q1), foreign investors returned strongly by Q4, driven by rate-cut expectations and India’s steady macro indicators

Startups can now be segmented into four clear performance archetypes: those achieving scale with profitability, growing at the cost of margins, optimizing for profit over growth, and those under pressure on both. These archetypes are no longer theoretical, they are shaping investor sentiment, index inclusion, and public market outcomes. FY25 made this segmentation stark, while companies like Policybazaar and CarTrade delivered profitable growth and strong re-ratings, others like Zomato and Delhivery balanced scale with selective margin recovery. In contrast, segments like quick commerce and EVs remained in high-burn territory, drawing sharper scrutiny.

What This Means for India’s Venture Ecosystem

FY25 marks a pivotal moment where the Indian startup ecosystem has entered a new phase of maturity. India’s public markets are no longer just a destination, they are now a discipline. With IPOs no longer delivering inflated valuations or easy exits, startups will have to align with public market expectations much earlier in their lifecycle. Sector-specific valuation guardrails are firmly in place with two-year forward EV/EBITDA multiples now providing structured lenses across internet, SaaS, BFSI, and consumer brands. Analyst-grade metrics, unit economics, transparency, and sustainable growth stories will need to be baked in from day one. Startups must now build with capital efficiency, narrative credibility, and governance readiness and not just valuation hype.