India’s startup ecosystem is entering a defining phase in 2025 as initial public offerings, Artificial Intelligence breakthroughs, and consumer innovation converge. Urban Company’s 2025 IPO continued to draw strong demand on day two of a ₹1,900 crore offering, with marquee anchor investors including Goldman Sachs, GIC, Dragoneer, and Norges Bank subscribing. Domestic mutual funds such as SBI, HDFC, and ICICI Prudential also participated. Urban Company reported its first full-year profitability with a net profit of ₹135 crore on revenues of ₹1,373.5 crore. The company said IPO proceeds will fund technology upgrades, marketing, and working capital expansion.
On the corporate governance front, Ola Electric responded to inventory discrepancies flagged by auditor BSR & Co., calling the issue an isolated case tied to Q4 FY25 restructuring and operational transitions rather than systemic lapses. The company said it remains focused on expanding manufacturing and retail as it prepares for an anticipated IPO later in the fiscal year. In consumer startups, skincare brand Asaya raised ₹28 crore in a pre-Series A round to scale its hyperpigmentation portfolio. Asaya plans to grow its direct-to-consumer platform and enter offline retail chains in Tier 1 cities, targeting urban millennials and Gen Z.
Global technology developments highlighted the expanding role of Artificial Intelligence, mobility, cloud and space. Oracle shares surged 35.95 percent after announcing multi-billion-dollar Artificial Intelligence cloud contracts, including a reported ? billion deal with OpenAI, and its role in SoftBank and OpenAI’s Stargate project. Amazon launched fully driverless robotaxi rides in Las Vegas as a public pilot and signaled plans to release consumer augmented reality glasses in 2026/27. Y Combinator-backed Space DOTS raised ?.5 million to build orbital monitoring and threat intelligence tools as low-Earth orbit becomes more congested. In cybersecurity, Netskope filed for an IPO and joins Rubrik among security companies preparing to list in 2025; both companies are backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners, underlining investor interest in enterprise security amid Artificial Intelligence-driven threats. TICE notes these developments point to a maturing ecosystem where profitability, precision, and innovation are driving momentum at home and abroad.
