VCs pocket almost $2 billion from 2025 IPO exits as large startup listings drive returns: Bain-IVCA report

Venture capital (VC) and growth investors clocked almost $2 billion in initial public offering (IPO) exits in 2025, as public markets re-emerged as a key liquidity avenue in an otherwise constrained funding environment.

Investors such as Peak XV Partners, Tiger Global, Temasek, Accel and Elevation Capital booked strong returns from as many as eight startup IPOs, according to the India Venture Capital Report 2026 by Bain & Company and the Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA).

These included listings such as Groww, Lenskart, Urban Company and Pine Labs, among others.

The surge in IPO-led exits comes as private funding has slowed. Moneycontrol had earlier reported that startup funding fell more than 10 percent year-on-year in FY26, driven largely by a slowdown in late-stage rounds.

At the same time, startup listings picked up pace, collectively unlocking over Rs 40,000 crore in liquidity, as companies turned to public markets for both capital and investor exits.

IPO boom, but exits concentrated

Even within this increase in listings, the Bain-IVCA data shows a sharp concentration in exit outcomes. IPOs above $100 million contributed nearly 90 percent of total VC exit value in 2025, up from about 70 percent in the previous year.

In comparison, smaller exits below $100 million accounted for around 10 percent, indicating limited access to public markets for mid-sized startups.

Overall, VC-backed public market exits stood at about $7 billion, largely unchanged year-on-year, which means a handful of large listings drove most of the value.

Marquee deals, repeat investors

Among the biggest contributors to investor liquidity were Groww, which delivered around $670 million in exits, followed by Lenskart at about $475 million, Dr Agarwal’s Healthcare at roughly $255 million, Urban Company at nearly $170 million and Pine Labs at close to $165 million.

Moneycontrol had earlier reported that venture investors including Peak XV Partners, Accel and Elevation Capital alone cashed in around $1.5 billion through secondary share sales across multiple IPOs last year.

These investors, along with others such as Tiger Global, Temasek, TPG Growth and Invesco, also featured across multiple IPO exits in 2025, indicating that returns remained concentrated among a small set of funds backing late-stage, category-leading companies.

IPOs gain share in exit mix

IPOs also accounted for a larger share of overall venture exits during the year. The share of VC-backed exits via public markets rose to 28 percent in 2025 from 22 percent in 2024, even as the number of meaningful IPO-driven exits remained limited.

This suggests that while IPOs are becoming a more important route for liquidity, the market remains selective and tilted towards companies with scale, market leadership and clearer profitability trajectories.

The broader takeaway from the report is that while IPOs are back as a viable exit route, the window remains narrow.

Liquidity is being driven by a small set of large, mature companies, and venture returns are increasingly dependent on a few high-value outcomes rather than broad-based exits across portfolios.