Indian online brokerage platform Groww launched its initial public offering (IPO) on Wednesday with a bang, becoming the largest listing by an Indian fintech company this year. The company raised ₹66.3 billion ($748 million), closing 29% higher than its issue price, signaling strong investor confidence in India’s booming retail investing market.
Groww’s shares opened at ₹112—already 12% above their initial listing price of ₹100—and closed at ₹128.85, giving it a market capitalization of ₹795 billion ($9 billion). This successful debut comes amidst a broader surge in Indian startup IPOs. Lenskart, an eyewear retailer, made its stock market debut earlier this week, and payments platform Pine Labs is scheduled to follow suit on Friday. Several other venture-backed firms like PhysicsWallah and Capillary Technologies are poised to go public in the coming days.
Founded in 2016 by former Flipkart employees, Groww has tapped into India’s rapidly expanding retail investor base. The platform boasts over 14 million active users as of June and more than 12.6 million clients actively trading on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). Its app is designed to attract first-time investors, placing it in direct competition with established players like Zerodha and Angel One. While stockbroking remains its core business, Groww has diversified into lending by launching a separate app dedicated to this service last year. The company also offers payments services, asset management, and insurance brokerage, though these areas remain relatively smaller compared to its substantial brokerage revenue stream.
In the fiscal year ending March 2025, Groww reported impressive figures: ₹39 billion ($440 million) in revenue and a net profit of ₹18 billion ($206 million). Investors like Peak XV Partners, Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global, and Sequoia Capital participated in the IPO by selling portions of their stakes. The strong demand from institutional investors led to the IPO being subscribed nearly 18 times, with the company raising about ₹30 billion from anchor investors through a pre-IPO placement last week.
Groww’s success underscores several key trends: India’s burgeoning retail investing market, the increasing momentum of Indian startup IPOs, and the growing confidence global venture capital firms have in the Indian tech ecosystem. Groww’s debut is also significant because it marks the first Indian company backed by the renowned accelerator Y Combinator to go public.
Looking ahead, Groww plans to utilize the fresh capital strategically: strengthening its cloud and technology infrastructure, amplifying marketing efforts, and making substantial investments in lending and margin trading businesses. The company has also signaled its intention to explore potential acquisitions.
