Top Anchor Investors Powering Indian New-Age Tech IPOs

Startup IPOs, which were once a rather uncommon phenomenon, have been driving the narrative in the world’s third largest startup ecosystem over the past few years. Amid growing business maturity and high market liquidity, 55 new-age tech companies have gone public in recent years.

About 18 new-age tech companies have launched IPOs since the start of 2025, amid strong investor appetite for higher-risk, high-growth bets. A critical factor underpinning a company’s public market debut is the participation of large investors in its anchor round. 

Anchor investors are institutional backers in an IPO whose participation boosts credibility, demand, and investor confidence. Before an IPO opens for public subscription, a portion of the issue is allotted to large institutional investors such as mutual funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, and foreign institutional investors – typically at the upper end of the IPO price band. 

They effectively serve as an early validation of the company’s valuation and signal institutional confidence in the offering. Beyond price discovery, anchor bidding also helps build momentum for the issue. Since anchor allocations can be up to 60% of the Qualified Institutional Buyer (QIB) portion, a sizable chunk of the institutional book is already committed before the IPO opens to the public. 

This improves subscription optics and reassures retail and high-net-worth investors about demand for the offering. Additionally, anchor investors are subject to a lock-in period, which helps stabilise shareholding and limits immediate sell-offs in the early days after listing.

“There is still huge liquidity with institutional investors which needs to be deployed. Anchor book ensures bulk allotment based on the relationship and ‘other’ parameters. Generally, some anchor investors are known to sell immediately on expiry of the lock-in period. So, it’s a win-win for everybody concerned,” independent market analyst Ambareesh Baliga told Inc42.

Anchor investors have been actively participating in IPOs of new-age tech companies, lending credibility to public offerings from the Indian startup ecosystem.

Explaining the rationale behind the participation of anchor investors in startup IPOs, Baliga said, “The new-age tech players are the future and will command a premium unless some of them fail miserably. These are high-growth businesses and there is a long runway ahead before they are classified as matured.” 

New-age tech IPOs have been largely anchored by domestic mutual funds like SBI Mutual Fund, ICICI Prudential MF, Axis Mutual Fund, among others. Among foreign investors, Government of Singapore, Societe Generale, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are the most regular participants in anchor rounds of new-age tech IPOs.

With the pipeline of new-age tech companies planning IPOs only getting stronger, we at Inc42 have compiled a list of the most active anchor investors that have infused capital into such offerings between January 2025 and March 2026.

Editor’s Note: The following list has been arranged in descending order in terms of investment of anchor investment in startup IPOs. The sheet will be updated periodically.

Top 10 Anchor Investors In New-Age Tech IPOs

SBI Mutual Fund

Out of all the anchor investor infused capital since 2025, SBI Mutual Fund turned out to be the most active backer with ₹1,739.62 Cr worth of capital infusion. The fund participated in anchor rounds initiated by companies including Ather Energy, Urban Company, Pine Labs, Lenksart, Meesho,Groww, Capillary, Aequs, Fractal, and SEDMAC. 

The group entity deployed capital via multiple vehicles including SBI Innovative, SBI Consumption Opportunity Fund, SBI balanced Advantage Fund, SBI Focused Fund, SBI Resurgent India Opportunities Scheme, and SBI Long Term Advantage Fund-Series VI. 

Earlier this month, the fund acquired additional 4% equity stake in Urban Company through a series of block and bulk deals worth around ₹632 Cr. Post this deal, the shares of the company surged as much as 15.88% during the intraday trading session the next day.

Swiggy’s $1.2 Bn QIP was one of the biggest bets for SBI Mutual Fund last year.

Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund

With a total investment of ₹893.25 Cr in new age tech IPOs since January 2025, Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund has infused capital in hot IPOs including Groww, Lenskart, PhysicsWallah, Capillary Technologies among others. 

It made its last bet on Ather Energy, investing ₹166 Cr in the company’s anchor round via its holding entity Aditya Birla Sun Life Flexi Cap Fund. 

It doubled down on Ather recently, buying stake worth ₹520.7 Cr via open market transactions from selling investor National Investment and Infrastructure Fund. 

Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund operates multiple alternate strategies including portfolio management services, real estate investments and alternative investment funds.

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has deployed ₹854.54 Cr across anchor rounds, participating in companies such as Ather Energy, Urban Company, PhysicsWallah, WeWork India, Lenskart, Capillary, Shadowfax, Aequs, Fractal, and SEDEMAC.

Its investment strategy reflects a diversified approach spanning mobility, logistics, edtech, and enterprise AI, aligning with its broader public market growth thesis.

Apart from the recent IPOs, the fund also participated in Swiggy’s QIP last year. In also increased its stake in Rategain to 5% in 2025.

The AMC is a joint venture between ICICI Bank and Prudential Plc, a pan-Asia & Africa focused group providing health, protection and savings solutions. As of December 2025, the fund’s quarterly average AUM crossed ₹11.5 Lakh Cr benchmark.

Amundi

The global asset manager has been steadily increasing exposure to India’s new-age tech companies, particularly in consumer brands and digital infrastructure

Amundi invested ₹582.74 Cr across multiple anchor rounds, backing startups including Ather Energy, Urban Company, WeWork India, Pine Labs, Lenskart, Meesho, Groww, Capillary, Wakefit, and Fractal.

Notably, Amundi operates across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the US. 

Franklin Templeton

Franklin Templeton, via multiple vehicles, infused ₹662.81 Cr into anchor rounds, with investments in Ather Energy, PhysicsWallah, Pine Labs and Meesho.

Not just the public market, but Franklin Templeton has also been active in India’s private market investments. 

Last year, it infused debt capital in companies including digital lending platform Fibe and edtech-focused NBFC Varthana. 

The fund reported AUM of $1.68 Tn as of December 31, 2025, up from $1.67 Tn at the end of November 2025 – on the back of long-term net inflows of $27 Bn, inclusive of reinvested distributions of $29 Bn, and  the impact of net market

It claims to have clients across 150 countries. 

Nippon India Mutual Fund 

Japan-based Nippon Life Insurance Company(NLI) is the sponsor and controlling entity for Nippon India Mutual Fund (NIMF). Notably, NIMF was earlier known as Reliance​​​ Mutual Fund till 2019. Afterwards, NLI acquired a majority stake in the fund and rebranded it to NIMF. 

The fund infused a total of ₹679.8 Cr in a couple of new-age tech brands including Aequs, BlueStone, Groww, PhysicsWallah, SEDEMAC, Shadowfax, Urban Company, and Wakefit. 

As of late 2025, the AUM for Nippon’s India arm approximately stood at ₹7.1 to ₹7.4 Lakh Cr, including a strong presence in 271 locations across India. The fund is also active in debt financing when it comes to new-age tech investments. 

Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs has deployed a total of ₹632.19 Cr in anchor rounds of nine new-age tech companies. It lapped up stake in companies like BlueStone, Fractal, Groww, Lenskart, Meesho, PhysicsWallah, in their IPOs.

In the capital markets, Goldman Sachs offloaded its stake in new-age tech company Eternal last year across multiple tranches. It diluted its stake worth ₹900 Cr in Eternal last year. 

Apart from IPO bets, Goldman Sachs also co-led customer engagement platform MoEngage’s $100 Mn funding round in November 2025. 

HDFC Mutual Fund

Saving its space in the top ten anchor investor list, HDFC Mutual Fund infused a total of ₹583.77 Cr across seven new-age tech IPO deals including Aequs, Groww, Lenskart, SEDEMAC, Urban Company, Wakefit, WeWork India. 

HDFC Mutual Fund is primarily owned by HDFC Bank Limited, which holds a 52.4% stake as the promoter shareholder. It claims to have AUM of ₹9.2 Tn as of December 2025. 

By the end of March, the fund purchased 30 Lakh shares in Wakefit via open market transactions. It increased its shareholding from 4.52% to 5.43% post the acquisition in the D2C mattress brand.

Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund

Established in 2008, the Mumbai-headquartered asset management company claims to be managing assets worth ₹1.4 Lakh Cr by the end of 2025. This momentum was pushed by a strong presence in PMS, AIFs, and Index funds. 

Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund infused capital worth ₹570.75 Cr in the pre-IPO rounds of new age tech companies including Aequs, BlueStone, Fractal, Groww, IndiQube, Lenskart, Meesho, PhysicsWallah, Pine Labs, Shadowfax, and WeWork India. 

The fund is owned by Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited (MOFSL). While this fund does not limit its investments to specific sectors, its portfolio comprises companies from segments including fintech, consumer services, healthcare, auto, among others. 

Mirae Asset Mutual Fund

Mirae Asset Mutual Fund infused a total of ₹494.67 Cr in new-age tech companies including BlueStone, Capillary, Groww, Lenskart, Meesho, Pine Labs, Wakefit, WeWork India. 

The mutual fund is the Indian arm of South Korean global financial giant Mirae Asset Financial Group. 

As of December 31, 2025, Mirae Asset Mutual Fund India boasted a total net AUM of ₹2.33 Lakh Cr. The company claims to have achieved 30% CAGR over the past five years, with its portfolio mix heavily focused on equity.

Edited by Akshit Pushkarna

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