Mumbai: India’s largest retail brokerage, Groww, isn’t just filing for an IPO. It’s rewriting the startup playbook, with a $9 billion valuation and Satya Nadella in its corner.
From Delaware to Delhi: The U-Turn That Paid Off
Groww’s IPO is more than a money grab. It’s a statement. Just over a year after yanking its corporate base from Delaware back to India, the Bengaluru firm is ready to go public on home turf. That makes it the first Indian startup to list after reversing a U.S. domicile move.
This wasn’t cheap. Groww shelled out nearly $159 million in taxes to bring the HQ back. But that price tag looks like a rounding error now. The startup is lining up what could be one of India’s largest tech listings this decade.
Nadella, Tiger, Y Combinator: Everyone Gets Paid
Groww’s backers read like Silicon Valley’s who’s who: Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Peak XV Partners, Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global, and Y Combinator. Their exit plan is clear. Collectively, these funds are dumping around 394 million shares, 9.4% of Groww’s equity base. That’s roughly 69% of all shares on offer. Translation: VCs are cashing out.
The founders? Not so much. Lalit Keshre, Harsh Jain, Neeraj Singh, and Ishan Bansal are selling a symbolic 0.7% of shares. That’s not just skin in the game. That’s “we’re not going anywhere” energy.
Raising Cash, Raising Eyebrows
Groww is eyeing ₹10.6 billion ($121 million) in fresh capital through the IPO, plus a secondary sale of 574 million shares valued between ₹5,000–6,000 crore ($568–682 million). Combined, the float pegs Groww’s valuation at $9 billion. That’s up from $7 billion earlier this year, when Singapore’s GIC and Lone Capital bought in.
Not bad for a firm founded in 2016 by four ex-Flipkart executives.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
- FY25 revenue: ₹3,904 crore ($462 million), up 30% YoY
- FY25 PAT: ₹1,824 crore ($208 million), a sharp swing from the previous year’s ₹805 crore loss (thanks to that U.S. tax bill)
- Q1 FY26 PAT: ₹378 crore ($45.5 million), margin ~40%
- Cash reserves: ₹4,027 crore ($482 million) as of June 2025
Groww isn’t just surviving. It’s thriving, even in a market where rivals like Angel One are bleeding.
Beating the SEBI Blues
The broking industry is navigating a minefield. SEBI’s October 2024 fee cap forced platforms to cut charges. Meanwhile, derivative trading volumes have nosedived 38.7% since June 2024. Most brokers saw active derivative users vanish.
Groww? It took a 28% user drop, but still grew F&O market share from 9.7% to 14.4%. Revenue from derivatives dipped only 17.5%. That’s called punching above your weight.
Diversifying Beyond Broking
Groww is no longer just a discount broker.
- Broking as % of revenue: down from 90% (FY23) to 79% (Q1 FY26)
- Margin Trading Funding: up from 0.1% to 3.1% of revenue
- Commodities trading: now live
- Mutual funds: 9 million unique investors
- SIPs: 17 million active, a first in India
And here’s the kicker: affluent users, folks with ₹25 lakh+ in assets, now contribute 14% of total customer assets. This segment is growing at a 150% CAGR. Translation: Groww is finally cracking the premium investor base.
Scale That Sticks
- Demat accounts: 37.4 million (19% of market)
- NSE active clients: 12.6 million (26% share)
- 100M+ app downloads (the only Indian investment app to cross that line)
- ARPU in Q1 FY26: ₹1,132, up 13% YoY
- Retention rate: 64.2%
While others chase downloads, Groww is monetising. The higher daily active-to-monthly active ratio (DAU/MAU) than peers proves one thing: users aren’t just signing up, they’re sticking around.
India’s IPO Moment
The Groww IPO isn’t happening in isolation. PhonePe, Flipkart, Pine Labs, Meesho, and Zepto are all moving their HQs back to India. Why? Because the country’s public markets are deep, liquid, and hungry. Retail investors are pouring in like never before.
Groww has front-row seats to that shift. And unlike its VC investors, it’s not looking for the door.
The Banker Bench
The IPO is backed by a serious lineup: Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities, Kotak Mahindra Capital, and Jefferies India. Legal muscle comes from Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. When this many Wall Street and Dalal Street heavyweights show up, you know the stakes are high.
