Top Foreign Investors Backing India’s New-Age Tech IPOs

Foreign investors have re-emerged as major backers of India’s new-age tech initial public offerings, providing roughly 40% of the capital raised by 18 startup IPOs since the start of 2025, according to industry estimates. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) pumped ₹26,508 crore into IPO anchor books in 2025—a rise of more than 40% year-on-year—and participation is increasingly concentrated among sovereign funds and global asset managers such as Goldman Sachs, Franklin Templeton, GIC, Government Pension Fund Global and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).

“Despite being large net sellers in Indian cash equities in recent times, FPIs participated with an average share of over 55% in primary market IPO anchor tranches in 2025 alone. This bifurcation — selling secondary, buying primary — signals that global investors are using IPO anchor rounds as a cleaner, valuation-disciplined entry point,” said Pratik Loonker, MD and head of equity capital markets at Axis Capital.

Why foreign investors are focusing on anchor rounds

Bankers and asset managers point to three structural drivers behind the trend: demonstrable profitability among listed new-age companies, India’s rising share of global IPO fundraising, and a deep domestic liquidity base that supports valuation stability. “Together, these factors create a risk-return profile that now competes credibly with US and Southeast Asian tech listings,” Loonker added.

Gaja Alternative Asset Management MD and CEO Gopal Jain noted that the shift reflects selective conviction rather than a broad-based India trade. SEBI reforms around disclosure, anchor allocations and lock-ins, plus India’s fiscal and monetary stability and an S&P credit upgrade, have reduced perceived country risk and expanded exit pathways for long-term global limited partners.

Who’s writing the biggest cheques

• Franklin Templeton: ₹662.81 crore deployed across new-age tech anchor rounds, with investments in Ather Energy, PhysicsWallah, Pine Labs, Meesho, Groww and Lenskart. The firm also raised over ₹205 crore in the first close of an India-focused credit AIF in April 2025 and manages $1.68 trillion globally (data to March 2026).
• Goldman Sachs: ₹632.19 crore across nine anchor rounds covering fintech, edtech, D2C, SaaS, analytics and coworking—backing firms including BlueStone, Fractal, Groww, Lenskart, Meesho, PhysicsWallah, SEDEMAC, Urban Company and WeWork India. Goldman has reportedly deployed more than $8.5 billion in India across private equity, infrastructure and credit strategies and exited its stake in Eternal via block deals netting over ₹900 crore in 2025.
• Other active global names: Amundi, Fidelity Investments, BlackRock, Nomura and Amansa Capital.
• Sovereign-backed participants named in industry reporting: GIC, Government Pension Fund Global and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).

The IPO pipeline remains robust into 2026: five startups—Aye Finance, Fractal Analytics, Amagi, Shadowfax and SEDEMAC—listed in the first quarter of 2026, and unicorns such as Zepto and PhonePe are at various stages of the process. Market observers say foreign interest is likely to remain strong so long as listed new-age companies continue to show profitability or clear paths to profitability and domestic liquidity supports sustainable price discovery.