Amid recovery what drove value for India's listed startups

After a muted 1-year amid market correction, TRMG RGI has bounced back sharply - posting +23% in 6 months and consistently beating Indian indices and closely tracking the NASDAQ since inception (Jan-23).

After emerging from a year of recovery and rationalisation, the markets stayed selectively optimistic for India’s listed startups. The equation was clear proof before the reward and re-rating. Companies that showed evidence of progress - whether through profitability, soaring adoption metrics, synergies playing out, or strengthening category leadership- were rewarded. Those still in transition were met with patience, not premium.

Proof in action was seen in various forms in this quarter:

Proof of profitability:

• Blackbuck & Ixigo now trade at 2-3x their issue prices – proof of consistent post-listing performance + operating leverage
• Road to recovery post turnarounds is long - Paytm’s re-rating was after 4+ quarters of sustained profitability improvement
• CarTrade crossed its listing price after 3+ years, Delhivery remains below its listing price since Oct-22 – proof that aggressively priced IPOs with overhangs and muted growth struggled until profit improved with growth in scale

• Timely acquisitions have the potential to significantly drive market value - Zomato up 5.8x since Blinkit consolidation; CarTrade up 3.5x since OLX
• Acquisitions unlocking market and wallet share - Dot & Key now contributes 10%+ of Nykaa’s beauty GMV; Delhivery’s Ecom Express acquisition is estimated to expand market share by ~25%.

• In sectors where it matters when the numbers show in adoption metrics, markets pay up – Ather up ~50% since listing, market share expanded by 7% YoY

The TRMG RainGauge Index is a proprietary, rules-based benchmark designed by TRMG to track India’s leading listed startups and tech-enabled companies. It is an equal weighted index of top 20 companies by Market Cap from the VC-backed listed startup universe and reflects the evolution of the ecosystem in public markets with a dynamic, transparent, and objective construction logic.

The complete report can be downloaded from: RainGauge — The Rainmaker Group

Tithi Jain contributed to this report.