The number 75 is smaller than the 324 it compares against — 75 IPOs in India in H1 2026 versus 324 in all of 2025. But India's public markets in 2026 are getting more selective, not less vital. The companies making it to IPO in this environment are doing so with genuine revenue, defensible business models, and investor bases that have survived multiple due diligence cycles. The two IPO stories generating the most excitement — Zepto and Kuku — would command serious attention on any public market in the world.
Zepto's updated DRHP, filed on June 9, 2026, disclosed a Rs 8,010 crore fresh issue and FY26 revenue that doubled to Rs 22,623 crore — approximately $2.7 billion. Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, who dropped out of Stanford to build Zepto in a Mumbai apartment during the pandemic, have created a company that generates $2.7 billion in annual revenue before reaching seven years of age. The IPO proceeds will fund continued geographic expansion, technology infrastructure, and the dark-store network that is the physical backbone of the 10-minute delivery model. Zepto's valuation at IPO will set reference points for the cohort of consumer internet companies planning to follow.
Kuku's confidential DRHP filing — targeting Rs 2,500–3,500 crore at a valuation of up to Rs 15,000 crore — tells a different story about where India's consumer digital economy is heading. While video streaming battles for the Indian consumer's attention on living room screens, Kuku has quietly built one of India's most significant audio content platforms: serialised fiction, audio dramas, spiritual content, motivational programming, and language learning. IPO proceeds will fund AI infrastructure for personalisation, content creation at scale, and adaptive streaming technology for India's diverse network conditions.
