From Zepto to OYO: 2026 Could Be the Biggest IPO Gold Rush in India’s Startup History

After years of waiting, recalibrating, and rebuilding, India’s startup ecosystem is finally staring at its long-awaited moment of liquidity. If 2025 cautiously reopened the IPO window, 2026 could blow it wide open.

Over the next 18 months, more than 48 Indian startups are lining up to hit Dalal Street — cutting across fintech, ecommerce, consumer internet, enterprise tech, logistics, foodtech, deeptech, and even advanced hardware. From household unicorns to lesser-known but fast-scaling challengers, the pipeline signals one thing loud and clear: India is entering its biggest startup IPO cycle yet.

A Long Reset, Finally Paying Off

The scars of the 2021 IPO frenzy are still fresh. After a funding peak, valuation excesses, and a sharp correction, startups spent nearly two years tightening costs, fixing unit economics, and chasing profitability instead of growth-at-all-costs.

That reset now appears to be bearing fruit.

With domestic capital deepening and investor expectations maturing, markets are once again opening up — but this time, with sharper filters and fewer freebies.

Unicorns Lead the Charge

The 2026 IPO pipeline isn’t just large — it’s stacked.

Some of India’s most recognisable startup brands are preparing for public markets, including Zepto, PhonePe, OYO, InMobi, Zetwerk, Infra.Market, and potentially even Razorpay.

Collectively, just a handful of these names — including Flipkart and Fractal — could raise over ₹50,000 crore, making 2026 one of the largest startup IPO years India has ever seen.

Beyond these headline-grabbers, more than 190 companies already have SEBI approvals or draft red herring prospectuses under review, targeting a combined fundraising of ₹2.5–2.65 lakh crore. IPOs worth roughly ₹1.25 lakh crore have already received regulatory clearance, waiting only for the right market timing.

What’s Different This Time?

According to Sayan Ghosh, founder and managing partner of Ortella Global Capital, a key shift is the rising dominance of domestic institutional and retail capital.

This has reduced India’s reliance on global risk sentiment and brought deeper, steadier liquidity to the markets. The window is open — but valuations are no longer unchecked.

Brokerage Motilal Oswal also expects 2026 to mark a year of recovery and steady growth, driven by stronger corporate earnings, supportive domestic policies, and a revival in private sector investment.

Not everyone, however, is fully convinced.

Prashasta Seth, founder of Prudent Investment Managers, points to a growing disconnect between IPO pricing and listed-market valuations. Several recent IPOs have debuted at premiums to comparable listed peers, yet still seen heavy oversubscription — often driven by secondary sales rather than fresh capital raising.

This, he argues, has encouraged promoters and early investors to push listings, even as public-market investors grow more cautious.

Profitability Is the New Pitch

Perhaps the biggest shift heading into 2026 is what investors actually want.

Survey data shows that 48% of investors now prioritise profitability, stronger fundamentals, and lower cash burn when backing tech IPOs. Retail participation, once fuelled by hype, is becoming more selective, while domestic institutional investors are emerging as long-term anchors.

This marks a sharp break from the pre-2022 era, when growth narratives alone could carry IPOs. Today, public markets want proof — not promises.

As a result, startups approaching IPOs in 2026 look very different from their earlier versions: leaner, more disciplined, and far more careful with expansion and discounting.

Cooling Hype, Clearer Signals

Even as fundraising numbers remain high, cracks from the last cycle are visible. Nearly half of the IPOs listed in 2025 are now trading below issue price, despite strong subscription figures at launch.

A major reason: offer-for-sale (OFS)-heavy structures. About 63% of the ₹1.54 lakh crore raised via IPOs last year came from OFS, turning many listings into liquidity events rather than growth-funding exercises.

Retail behaviour is also evolving. Average retail applications and subscription multiples dipped in 2025, suggesting investors are no longer chasing every new listing blindly.

Foreign institutional investors, too, pulled back sharply, while domestic mutual funds stepped in as stabilising forces — now accounting for over half of anchor allocations.

So, What Should Founders and Investors Do?

For founders with operationally ready businesses, many investors believe this could be a golden — but time-bound — opportunity to list while conditions remain supportive.

For public-market investors, caution remains the watchword. As Seth notes, a cooling of retail exuberance could ultimately create a healthier IPO market — one where strong companies raise capital at sensible valuations, not stretched ones.

2026 is shaping up to be India’s most defining year for startup IPOs — not because of blind exuberance, but because of a hard-earned maturity.

If companies like Zepto, PhonePe, OYO, Razorpay, and Flipkart do make their public-market debut over the next 12–18 months, it won’t just unlock liquidity. It could redraw the relationship between Indian startups, investors, and public markets for the decade ahead.

For India’s startup ecosystem, the long wait may finally be over — but this time, the spotlight comes with scrutiny.