India's logistics & mobility startups warm up to IPOs as investor interest gathers pace

India's logistics & mobility startups warm up to IPOs as investor interest gathers pace

Mumbai, Sept. 28 -- India's logistics and urban mobility sector is seeing a fresh wave of investor interest, with Porter, Mahindra Last Mile and Rapido exploring plans to go public even as startups continue to raise private capital, according to atleast four people familiar with the matter.

While Mahindra Last Mile Mobility Ltd (MLMML) is meeting with bankers to explore a $200 million listing in FY28, Porter is also targeting a similar timeline and has initiated preparations for a $300-500 million offering, the people said. Both companies have not made any final call or appointed bankers.

Rapido is also among the companies that will begin listing procedures over the next year, likely offering an exit opportunity to existing investors. Mint reported on Zypp Electric appointing bankers for its $200 million IPO in June. While Rapido declined to comment, MLMML and Porter did not respond to Mint's requests for comment by the time of publishing.

These companies will join the growing list of others such as Ather Energy, Shadowfax Technologies, Shiprocket, Ola Electric and Delhivery that have gone public in recent years. Some of these companies have also raised capital post-listing through qualified institutional placements over the last few months.

India's logistics and urban mobility sectors are gaining from rising consumption, online channels, manufacturing and urbanization, driving demand for faster delivery and last-mile transport.

The segment is expected to play an increasingly important role in India's push towards net-zero emissions by 2070. Government support for EVs has helped drive private investment and consumer adoption, while the focus is now expanding to electric buses, LNG trucks and greener warehousing and logistics, EY said in a report.

"The IPO pipeline is likely to broaden as the sector matures. The listing of Ather and continued institutional participation in the sector indicate that investors are willing to back credible businesses," Prakash Bulusu, joint CEO of IIFL Capital, told Mint.

"We could see more companies evaluating public markets, particularly those with scale, differentiated offerings, improving economics and clear capital requirements for the next phase of growth," he said. Bulusu added that the EV segment has particularly reached a meaningful scale, with rising adoption, improving supply chains and greater consumer acceptance.

Other ancillary segments have also benefited from this wave, as several auto component makers such as Dhoot Transmission, Tenneco Clean Air India and Hero Motors went public in recent months, while RSB Transmissions and Highway Roop have listing processes in place.

Over the last year, the segment has seen several large private fundraises conclude. Last week, Ultraviolette Automotive raised $85 million in a funding round led by deep-tech funds Yali Capital and TDK Ventures. Yulu raised $93 million in a mix of equity and debt led by GEF Capital Partners, while River Mobility secured $120 million led by Elev8 Venture Partners and Claypond Capital in August.

In July, MLMML raised about Rs.322 crore led by Lightrock alongside existing investors International Finance Corporation (IFC) and India-Japan Fund (IJF), a fund managed by National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Ltd (NIIF). The round valued the company at about Rs.10,822 crore. Similarly, Zypp is also in the process of raising a pre-IPO round.

In May, Rapido raised $240 million in a funding round led by Prosus, alongside participation from WestBridge Capital, Accel and other investors. This was part of a $730 million primary and secondary financing, marking the largest-ever round in the segment. KPIT Technologies acquired a 100% stake in Cymotive Technologies for $120 million.

Other smaller rounds include Exponent Energy's $21 million round, Simple Energy's $13 million fundraise and Astranova Mobility's $6 million capital raise, according to Grant Thornton's automotive dealtracker report. Mint also reported on Magenta Mobility's plans to raise $50 million in November.

"These transactions reflect investor preference for scaled businesses, category leaders and specialized technology assets," said Saket Mehra, partner and auto & EV industry leader at Grant Thornton Bharat. He added that capital will continue to "flow towards mobility platforms, automotive technology and electric vehicle ecosystem businesses, indicating more focused and disciplined capital allocation," even as overall activity has moderated and transaction volumes declined materially.

Mehra explained that the IPO pipeline will remain active but selective for established businesses with operating maturity. "IPOs are unlikely to become the dominant funding route across the sector. Public markets should complement private equity and strategic investment, with companies selecting funding routes according to their maturity, capital requirements, governance readiness and shareholder objectives," he said.

In 2025, data indicates that 101 companies raised $3.13 billion compared to $2.05 billion across 99 companies in the previous year, according to Venture Intelligence. In 2026, 68 private equity and venture-backed companies raised about $2.15 billion so far.

Industry experts also pointed to greater consolidation, particularly where transactions provide access to specialized technology, intellectual property, engineering talent, manufacturing capabilities or new mobility segments.

"Automotive software, cybersecurity, battery technologies, charging infrastructure, fleet electrification and mobility platforms should remain important areas for acquisitions, investments and strategic partnerships," Mehra said. Capital, therefore, is likely to remain concentrated among businesses combining operating scale, technology differentiation and disciplined execution, he concluded.Disclaimer Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from MINT. For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at contentservices@htdigital.in