Bengaluru-based fintech platform Groww‘s upcoming Rs 7,000-crore IPO is set deliver bumper returns to its investors, as the company prepares to become the first major Indian startup to list domestically after relocating from the US.
The startup paid around $159 million in taxes to US authorities as part of the move. Despite the hefty fee, the upcoming listing represents a massive exit for a handful of foreign firms that backed the company.
Global investors eye multi-bagger exits
Of the total 574.19 million shares available in the offer for sale (OFS), a bloc of US-based venture capitalists, including Y Combinator (YC), and Ribbit Capital, along with Tiger Global, are selling up to 235.95 million shares, accounting for 41% of the OFS.
Separately, Peak XV Partners, now an India and Southeast Asia-focused fund formerly part of Sequoia, stands as another significant seller, offloading up to 158.28 million shares, or 27.5% of the OFS.
For YC, Groww set to be its first Indian investment to go public out of the 200-odd it has backed. Even at Groww’s last private valuation of $7 billion, YC’s 13% stake will be worth over $1 billion, translating to about 28 times returns. It is selling 105.4 million shares, worth around $120 million.
Silicon Valley-based fintech-focused investor, Ribbit Capital, which lead Groww’s Series B round in 2019, is set to be another major winner. With over 14% stake worth close to $1.3 billion, the firm sits on returns of over 42 times. The firm is selling around 117 million shares, worth about $130 million.
Meanwhile, New York-based hedge fund Tiger Global, which holds about 6%, will also benefit, with its stake valued at more than $500 million. Tiger is sitting on 4.5 times returns and plans to sell more than 65 million shares worth $75-80 million.
For Peak XV, which holds nearly 20% of Groww, a stake that would be worth $1.8 billion at the proposed valuation, the IPO could mark its biggest win in more than two decades of operating in the country. The firm which led Groww’s Series A round in 2019 is selling about 158 million shares in the IPO, cashing out roughly $200 million. Even at Groww’s last private valuation, Peak XV is sitting on returns of more than 50 times.
Founders retain majority stakes amid growth surge
Meanwhile, Groww’s four co-founders — Lalit Keshre (9.1%), Harsh Jain (6.7%), Neeraj Singh (6.3%) and Ishan Bansal (4.5%) — together own about 28% of the company, a stake valued at more than $2 billion at the pre-IPO valuation. Each is selling only 1 million shares in the OFS, raising roughly $1.2 million apiece — a token dilution compared with their holdings.
However, the filings show the founders have already realised sizeable gains ahead of the listing. In FY25, they received a one-time incentive of about $74 million, which had been accrued in the previous fiscal under a long-term incentive plan. On July 23, they also monetised 10.8 million shares through a secondary sale to ISP VII-B Blocker GW, an affiliate of ICONIQ Capital, at `96.56 per share, netting around $12.5 million.
On the business front, Groww posted a 50% year-on-year jump in revenue to Rs 3,902 crore in FY25 from Rs 2,609 crore in FY24. The company also turned back to profitability, reporting Rs 1,824 crore profits versus a loss of Rs 805 crore in FY24. In Q1 FY26, Groww clocked Rs 904 crore in revenue with a profit of Rs 378 crore. The platform reported 18.07 million transacting users, including 14.38 million active clients, during the quarter.