Fintech IPO Wave, Zepto May Defer Listing & More

The Next Big Fintech IPO Rush

Nearly five years after Paytm and PB Fintech paved the way for fintech listings, a new wave of startups is preparing to list on the bourses. But unlike 2021’s GMV-driven debuts, the latest cohort faces an evolved investor landscape. Can these mature platforms ace the IPO test?

New IPO Wave: As of now, five fintech startups are in various stages of finalising their IPO plans. While Fibe has already filed its draft papers, Moneyview has received SEBI’s nod to float its issue and Navi is eyeing a 2027 listing. KreditBee is also laying the groundwork for a listing, while PhonePe could revive its IPO plans once market conditions improve.

A Disciplined Batch: Unlike the “growth-at-all-costs” mindset of 2021, the current fintech IPO cohort is approaching markets with stronger balance sheets and diversified product lines. Most of these firms have expanded into lending, insurance and management wealth to create multiple revenue pools and better operating leverage.

The New Fintech Playbook: The biggest difference from the 2021 cycle is what counts as success. Growth is still important, but profitability is now the baseline. Investors are asking tough questions about lending quality and collections, return ratios, capital allocation and cross-sell potential. Years of RBI oversight has also weeded out fragile operational models, leaving a cleaner, more resilient batch of candidates.

The Valuation Question: The valuation framework has changed too. Revenue and GMV multiples are giving way to earnings quality, balance sheet strength and sustainable return metrics. Businesses with recurring fee income, high customer engagement and multiple monetisation streams are likely to command better valuations than those dependent on a single product.

All said and done, high-profile listings like PhonePe could set a new benchmark for the sector, while the broader IPO market will likely remain highly selective. So, can this mature generation of fintechs win over a cautious public market? Let’s find out…

From The Editor’s Desk

Zepto May Defer IPO Again

• The quick commerce major is considering delaying its public listing as investors are seeking a much lower valuation than its expectations. While the startup was last pegged at $7 Bn in 2025, the valuation under discussion is about $2.5 Bn-$3 Bn. 
• Zepto has received formal price indications from large institutional investors and is negotiating before deciding whether to proceed with the IPO. Its current draft prospectus remains valid until August 21.
• The development comes as investors remain wary of Zepto’s cash burn and path to profitability amid high competition in the quick commerce segment. The startup’s loss widened 8.5% YoY to ₹5,095 Cr in FY26, while the top line doubled YoY to ₹22,624 Cr.

BharatGen’s Sovereign Ambitions

• The non-profit consortium has emerged as one of India’s most ambitious foundation model efforts. Over the next 18 months, it plans to scale four multimodal model families, pursue inference optimisation and build a large-scale data repository.
• However, for BharatGen CEO Rishi Bal, the biggest challenge for the non-profit has been hiring, training and retaining AI talent. He also rued the lack of patience and comparison with Chinese models as a bigger systemic challenge. 
• BharatGen also claims that its non‑profit structure is intentional as it allows the consortium to not chase LP returns. However, it aims to reach commercial scale in five years by offering custom models and paid tools to banks and governments.

Kissht’s Q1 Profit Zooms

• The recently listed NBFC’s consolidated net profit soared 59% YoY to ₹95.1 Cr in Q1 FY27 on the back of operating revenue rising 45% YoY to ₹669.5 Cr during the fiscal. But what hit the bottom line was expenses also zooming 42% YoY to ₹548.9 Cr. 
• On the operational front, Kissht reported an AUM of ₹8,001 Cr, up 13% 61% YoY, while gross NPA stood at 2.25% at the end of June 2026. It claims to have served 12.25 Mn customers to date and had 3.49 Mn active customers under its belt in Q1.
• Founded in 2015, Kissht offers personal and business loans of up to ₹5 Lakh, insurance products and secured loans against property. It listed on the bourses in May after a ₹850 Cr IPO.

Freehand Bags $75 Mn

• Emerging out of stealth mode, the supply chain-focused AI startup has raised ₹718 Cr in a round co-led by Battery Ventures and NewRoad Capital Partners to bolster its tech stack and expand its platform.
• Founded in 2024, Freehand develops AI agents that handle procurement, supplier management, invoice processing, payments and contract compliance. It counts the likes of Meta, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer as clients.
• The funding comes as enterprise AI startups are seeing healthy adoption as companies move beyond AI assistants to software that can automate entire workflows. As a result, the Indian enterprise AI market is projected to become a $71 Bn opportunity by 2030.

BlackBuck’s Q1 Snapshot

• The listed logistics startup reported a 25% YoY jump in its net profit to ₹42.2 Cr in Q1 FY27, while operating zoomed 42% YoY to ₹204.2 Cr during the quarter under review. In line with this, expenses also surged 57% YoY to ₹178.4 Cr. 
• The healthy jump in profit came on the back of rising top line, improving EBITDA and steady user traction across its platform and services. 
• On the operational front, BlackBuck served 8.83 Lakh customers during the quarter, while monthly transacting customers, using two or more services, rose 20% YoY to 4.6 Lakh. Separately, its NBFC arm’s net worth exceeded 10% of the group’s net worth. 

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Inc42 Startup Spotlight

Inside Rovia’s Cross-Border Wealth Tech Platform

Tech employees today are increasingly earning in stocks, not just salary. But when these stock options sit across borders, users run into FX friction, complex taxes and limited global investing access. Rovia is solving this by helping professionals diversify and grow their stock wealth.

Monetising ESOPs: Founded in 2025, Rovia is building a wealth management platform for employees, whose compensation is heavily tied to ESOPs at US-listed tech companies. It lets users transfer, track, monetise and reinvest their equity compensation through a single interface, instead of juggling multiple brokers, tax tools and banking channels.

Rovia’s Wealth Tech Stack: Positioning itself as a wealth management platform, Rovvia aggregates equity positions, tracks vesting schedules and current values, and then plugs into investment and advisory workflows. By focusing only on cross-border stock compensation, it aims to handle settlements, FX conversions and compliance flows that domestic platforms are not built for.

A Regulated Advisor: Rovia claims to be an SEC-registered investment adviser in the US, allowing it to offer regulated advisory services to users with exposure to American markets and products. It currently claims to track more than $60 Mn in equity compensation assets for employees at over 300 companies, with AUM growing 100% month-on-month.

With the Indian wealth tech landscape projected to cross hundreds of billions of dollars over the next decade, can Rovia help NRIs turn stocks into border-less wealth?

Infographic Of The Day

Zerodha isn’t just India’s largest stock broker. It has also built an ₹8,847 Cr business around brokerage, wealth advisory, asset management and margin trading. Here is how new bets are expanding Zerodha’s empire….

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