FROM VALUATIONS TO VALUE INDIA'S STRATEGIC EXIT REVOLUTION

India's startup ecosystem, long defined by soaring funding rounds and headline valuations, is now entering a more mature phase, where liquidity and profitable exits are increasingly replacing speculative growth as markers of success

- BY PRINCE KARIAPPA

In 2024, India's PE-VC ecosystem witnessed exit activity of approximately USD 6.8 billion, with public market exits commanding 76 percent of that total, up sharply from around 55 per cent in 2023, according to data from Bain. This inaugural public-market wave was fuelled by blockbuster IPOs from companies such as Swiggy, Ola Electric, and ixigo, collectively raising INR 29,000 crore (USD 3.4 billion) across 13 IPOs. Yet, beneath the IPO headlines, alternative exit routes, such as secondary sales and strategic M&A, are emerging as vital sources of liquidity. Secondary transactions alone accounted for over USD 5 billion in 2024, up from USD 700 million in 2023, a clear sign of investor demand for early liquidity even before companies list. The pivot toward strategic exits is even more pronounced among larger institutional private equity investors. In 2024, strategic sales reached USD 4.08 billion, including one of the year's most prominent deals: Advent International's USD 1.63 billion exit from Bharat Serums & Vaccines via a sale to Mankind Pharma, and another major sale of Capital Foods to Tata Consumer.

Navigating Liquidity in a Tough Market

Across 2025, investor sentiment is shaped by a dramatic cooling in both fundraising and public markets. Overall PE-VC investment activity in May 2025 fell by nearly 60 per cent year-on-year, with total PE-VC investment at USD 2.4 billion, marking the lowest monthly investment level in years, according to EY. Concurrently, exit volumes dropped to USD 1 billion across only 18 exits, though open market exits still made up 77 per cent of that value.