TECH, SET, GO!

With up to 30 tech start-ups looking to go public, the year promises to be a turning point for India's thriving start-up ecosystem

- PALAK AGARWAL

A HUM OF optimism is audible in India's financial corridors. As the country edges closer to the $4-trillion GDP mark, the revival of the Indian story is marked by investor confidence. In the past few years, India's capital markets have been charting an exceptional course.

But the star of the show has been the Indian start-up ecosystem, which has outpaced heavyweights like China and Germany in terms of funding. In 2024 alone, the tech start-up ecosystem birthed six new Unicorns, saw 13 initial public offerings (IPOs), and celebrated 113 acquisitions with $11.3 billion raised, which was a 6% increase from 2023. And the momentum doesn't appear to be slowing down.

Industry insiders are predicting that there could be up to 30 more tech start-up IPOs in 2025.

"The public markets are performing exceptionally well," Pranav Pai, Founding Partner and Chief Investment Officer at 3One4 Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm based in Bengaluru, tells Business Today. "Over this period, we've seen 34 VC-backed companies go public. These companies have generally been well-received, provided they are fundamentally strong and sensibly valued."