Groww, India’s biggest trading app, seeks $7B value in IPO

Groww, India’s largest retail stockbroker, is preparing to file for an IPO in 10 to 12 months, seeking a valuation between $6 billion and $8 billion, sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch.

The Bengaluru-headquartered’s listing would be the first IPO by a digital trading platform in India. The targeted valuation is more than double the $3 billion it was last valued at its funding round in October 2021.

Groww, which counts Peak XV, Tiger Global and Alkeon among its backers, has begun talks with investment banks and will soon choose advisors for the IPO, the sources said. The startup, which also enables customers to invest in mutual funds and make UPI transactions, shifted its domicile to India from the U.S. last year as part of IPO preparations.

Groww declined to comment.

The trading app has pulled ahead of competitors in India’s crowded retail investing market. It had 13.2 million active users in December, compared with closest rival Zerodha’s 8.1 million users, according to National Stock Exchange data. Groww is adding between 325,000 to 550,000 new users every month — more than twice the rate of its competitors, per the exchange.

India has emerged as a bright spot for tech listings globally, with seven technology startups going public in 2024. Food delivery platform Swiggy’s $1.35 billion IPO was the largest tech listing in the world last year.

More than 20 Indian startups are planning IPOs in 2025, including business-to-business marketplace Zetwerk, managed workspace provider Table Space, Prosus-owned PayU, and pharmaceutical platform PharmEasy.

Abhinav Bharti, JPMorgan’s head of equity capital markets for India, told TechCrunch in a recent interview that India’s growing domestic capital and policy continuity were among the factors for the IPO surge in the country.

The collective market capitalization of companies listed in India doubled to $5.3 trillion in 2014 compared to 2019, while daily trading volume tripled to $15 billion.

“No other country globally provides you with this much political certainty and continuity of policy,” Bharti told TechCrunch. “You can argue against a policy decision, but you cannot argue against the fact that they have been consistent.”