In 2025, 18 startups went public, giving prominent investors like Peak XV Partners, Accel, Tiger Global, among others, exit opportunities
With the exception of Invesco’s stake sale in Pine Labs, 31 institutional investors realised hefty returns across the 18 startup IPOs this year
This momentum is likely to last, as investors are poised to cash in on further near-term returns, with companies like Shadowfax, Shiprocket, Curefoods, AceVector, Fractal, and Amagi having secured the SEBI approval to go public
It won’t be unfair to say that 2025 was a year of IPOs for India’s startup ecosystem with late-stage giants like Groww, Urban Company, PhysicsWallah and Lenskart making their debuts in the market, and delivering major returns to their early backers and VCs.
Some 18 startups went public in 2025, raising close to INR 33,000 Cr from the market, and a few more could yet follow this parade in the last few days of the year. Most of the successful IPO stories ended with unprecedented returns and liquidity delivered to their early institutional backers who chose to exit.
The public floats opened the door to VCs that had nurtured these companies for years to execute partial or complete stake sales. As was the case in 2024, some of the most prominent investors in startups that listed this year were Peak XV Partners, Accel, Tiger Global, SoftBank, Elevation Capital, Prosus, and Alpha Wave.
IPOs provide investors the liquidity that the VCs return to their limited partners (LPs) which, in turn, plough back the money into the ecosystem. The ‘Top Startup Investor Ranking Survey Q3’ by Inc42 states that institutional investors keep IPOs as the centrepiece of their startup exit strategy.
With the exception of Invesco’s stake sale in Pine Labs, 31 institutional investors realised hefty returns across the 18 startup IPOs this year.
This momentum is likely to last, as investors are poised to cash in on further near-term returns, with companies like Shadowfax, Shiprocket, Curefoods, AceVector, Fractal, and Amagi having secured the SEBI approval to go public.
As part of Inc42’s flagship ‘Year In Review’ series, let’s take a look at the top five investors who secured the greatest returns from partial exits from startup IPOs this year.
Peak XV Partners Gains From 4 IPOs
Peak XV Partners had the largest liquidity haul of more than INR 2,480 Cr in 2025 from the public issues of Groww, Pine Labs, Wakefit, and Urban Company.
Its biggest payout came from Growwwhere Peak XV sold shares of INR 1,582.8 Cr against an investment of INR 30.23 Cr, generating a phenomenal 52.36 times return. In Pine Labs, the firm offloaded shares amounting to INR 508.35 Cr on an investment of INR 12.88 Cr, clocking a 39.47-fold gain.
Peak XV also participated in Wakefit’s OFS, selling shares of INR 397.31 Cr on a cost base of INR 41.81 Cr for 9.5 times return.
It also secured a smaller but meaningful liquidity event through the Urban Company IPO (though not the largest shareholder), continuing its long-running exposure to consumer services.
Across these four listings, Peak XV showed the strongest liquidity for any Indian or overseas investor operating in India.
With large stakes still left in Groww, Pine Labs, Urban Company, and Wakefit — and more IPOs in queue from Curefoods and Infra.Market— the firm’s public-market flywheel looks unstoppable, for now.
Y Combinator Clocks Record Profit
Y Combinator (YC) converted its ultra-early bets on Groww and Meesho into one of the most profitable IPO years ever for an accelerator, realising a massive INR 1,134.69 Cr in cash proceeds.
In Groww, YC sold shares of INR 1,054.82 Cr against an investment of INR 36.39 Cr, minting 28.99 times return. The Meesho IPO added to the tallywith YC offloading shares valued at INR 79.87 Cr at a whopping 109.41-fold multiple — the highest return multiple achieved in any 2025 startup listing.
These were partial exits, with YC retaining significant equity in both the companies.
The remaining Groww and Meesho stakes now sit on multi-hundred-crore valuations, giving YC one of the strongest marked-to-market positions for any global accelerator in India.
With Razorpay and Zepto IPOs lined up, YC’s India roll is expected to continue over the next year.
Accel Makes Dual Exits With INR 525 Cr
Accel secured a powerful dual-IPO cash outcome this year, realising INR 524.62 Cr across Urban Company and BlueStone, two of its longest-held consumer-internet bets.
Its biggest payout came from Urban Companywhere Accel offloaded shares of INR 390 Cr against an INR 14.28 Cr investment, generating 27 times return. The firm also realised INR 134.62 Cr in BlueStone from a funding of INR 16.58 Cr, driving home 8.12 times gain.
Both the exits were partial, with Accel maintaining sizable stakes in each company. The firm’s early, conviction-driven consumer thesis continues to pay off as more of its decade-old portfolio matures.
With IPO-ready companies like Zetwerk, Moglix and Cult.fit in the pipeline, Accel is primed for another strong liquidity phase.
Tiger Global Gains Big From 3 IPOs
Tiger Global recorded three liquidity events in 2025, realising INR 834.27 Cr across Groww, Urban Company and Ather.
Its largest exit came from Groww, where Tiger sold INR 518.43 Cr shares against an investment of INR 113.9 Cr, driving home 4.55 times gain. In Urban Company, Tiger Global realised INR 303 Cr from INR 216.42 Cr cost base, yielding a modest 1.4-fold return.
The Ather exit, though smaller in absolute terms, delivered its highest multiple of 8.34 at INR 12.84 Cr on INR 1.54 Cr invested.
These exits reinforced Tiger’s broad-based exposure to India’s fintech, EV and consumer-services sectors. With stakes in Razorpay, Spinny and more, the VC remains positioned for future public-market monetisation.
Elevation Capital Nets INR 617 Cr
Elevation Capital secured one of the strongest liquidity years among early stage India funds, realising a combined INR 617.34 Cr across two major IPO exits — Meesho and Urban Company.
Its biggest exit came from Urban Company, where Elevation sold shares of INR 346 Cr against an investment of INR 18.11 Cr, generating a stellar 19 times return.
The firm also booked INR 271.34 Cr from Meesho’s IPO on an investment of INR 7.43 Cr, delivering a standout 36.52 times gain, which was one of the highest multiples of the year.
Both the exits were partial, with Elevation retaining significant stakes in each company that continue to appreciate in the public markets. The dual liquidity events underline Elevation’s decade-long consumer-internet thesis and its strategy of backing founders through multiple pivots and cycles.
(Edited by: Kumar Chatterjee)
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