India's fintech IPO wave: five startups prep for 2026-27 listings

Key Takeaways

• Five fintechs (Fibe, Moneyview, Navi, KreditBee, PhonePe) are at various IPO stages for 2026-27
• Zepto may delay its IPO as investors push valuation from $7B to $2.5-3B
• Profitability has replaced GMV growth as the baseline investor metric

Five years after Paytm and PB Fintech listed on Indian bourses, a new batch of fintech startups is moving toward public markets. Fibe has filed draft papers. Moneyview has SEBI approval. Navi is targeting 2027. KreditBee is laying groundwork. PhonePe waits for better conditions. The 2021 playbook is gone. What investors want now is profit, not GMV.

What changed since 2021?

The 2021 IPO cohort ran on "growth-at-all-costs." Revenue and GMV multiples drove valuations. That framework collapsed when public market investors started asking harder questions: What's your loan book quality? What are your collection rates? How efficient is capital allocation?

The current batch arrives with different fundamentals. Most have expanded beyond their original product into lending, insurance, and wealth management. Multiple revenue streams. Better operating leverage. Years of RBI oversight have filtered out the fragile models.

Valuation metrics have shifted too. Earnings quality, balance sheet strength, and sustainable return metrics matter more than topline multiples. Businesses with recurring fee income and high customer engagement will command premiums over single-product plays.

The five fintechs preparing to list

Fibe sits furthest along, having already filed its draft red herring prospectus. Moneyview holds SEBI's nod and can proceed when timing suits. Navi has publicly stated it's targeting a 2027 listing. KreditBee is building the foundation. PhonePe, the biggest name, could revive its plans once public market sentiment improves.

A PhonePe listing would set a benchmark for the entire sector. The company's scale, brand recognition, and UPI dominance make it the obvious bellwether. But it's also why PhonePe can afford to wait. Smaller players don't have that luxury.

Zepto's valuation problem

Quick commerce leader Zepto is considering delaying its public listing. The reason: institutional investors are offering $2.5B to $3B, a steep discount from the $7B valuation it achieved in private rounds in 2025.

Zepto has received formal price indications from large institutional investors and is negotiating before deciding whether to proceed. Its current draft prospectus remains valid until August 21, 2026. The clock is ticking.

Investors remain wary of Zepto's cash burn and path to profitability. The quick commerce segment remains fiercely competitive, and Zepto's losses grew even as revenue doubled year-on-year. That's the core tension: impressive topline growth paired with widening losses.

Kissht posts strong Q1, validates the new playbook

Kissht, which listed in May 2026 after an ₹850 Cr IPO, just demonstrated what the new fintech playbook looks like in practice. The NBFC's Q1 FY27 net profit jumped 59% YoY to ₹95.1 Cr. Operating revenue rose 45% to ₹669.5 Cr.

The numbers aren't perfect. Expenses also surged 42% to ₹548.9 Cr. But the balance sheet tells a healthier story: AUM of ₹8,001 Cr (up 61% YoY), gross NPA at 2.25%, and 12.25 million customers served to date. Founded in 2015, Kissht offers personal loans up to ₹5 Lakh, business loans, insurance products, and secured loans against property.

Kissht's early post-IPO performance matters because it signals what public markets will reward. Diversified products. Controlled asset quality. Profit growth outpacing expense growth.

BharatGen's sovereign AI bet

The non-profit consortium BharatGen has emerged as one of India's most ambitious foundation model efforts. Over the next 18 months, BharatGen plans to scale four multimodal model families, pursue inference optimization, and build a large-scale data repository.

CEO Rishi Bal admits the biggest challenge has been hiring, training, and retaining AI talent. He also cited a systemic problem: impatience and constant comparison with Chinese models. The non-profit structure is intentional, Bal says, allowing BharatGen to avoid chasing LP returns. The consortium aims to reach commercial scale in five years by offering custom models and paid tools to banks and governments.

Freehand raises $75M for supply chain AI

Emerging from stealth, Freehand has raised ₹718 Cr ($75M) in a round co-led by Battery Ventures and NewRoad Capital Partners. The supply chain AI startup, founded in 2024, develops AI agents that handle procurement, supplier management, invoice processing, payments, and contract compliance.

Freehand's client list includes Meta, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, and Pfizer. The funding comes as enterprise AI startups see healthy adoption. Companies are moving beyond AI assistants to software that automates entire workflows. The Indian enterprise AI market is projected to grow substantially as this shift accelerates.

What this signals for fintech investors

The fintech IPO wave of 2026-27 will test whether the sector has genuinely matured or simply learned to dress better for investors. The early signals are mixed. Kissht's Q1 suggests the disciplined approach works. Zepto's valuation gap shows public markets won't rubber-stamp private market prices.

For Fintech & Finance Teams evaluating these companies as partners, vendors, or investments, the criteria have clarified. Look for diversified revenue, controlled NPAs, and a credible path to profitability. GMV growth without margin improvement is a warning sign, not a selling point.

PhonePe's eventual listing will set the tone for the entire sector. Until then, smaller fintechs are running their own experiments. Some will work. Some won't. The market will be selective.

Source: Inc42 Media / Team Inc42