Groww files for IPO; FirstCry, Nazara, Awfis report Q4 earnings

Wealthtech platform Groww is heading for the public markets after confidentially filing its draft IPO papers. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.

Also in the letter:
■ Zepto CEO shrugs smears
■ India’s eyes in the skies
■ OpenAI’s new Asian outpost

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(L-R) Harsh Jain, Neeraj Singh, Lalit Keshre and Ishan Bansal, founders, Groww

Online investment platform Groww has moved a step closer to its Dalal Street debut by confidentially filing its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the market regulator, as per a public notice on March 26.

The details: Groww’s IPO is expected to be among the largest by size for a new-age startup, joining the ranks of Swiggy, Zomato and Paytm.

• IPO size estimated between $700 million and $1 billion.
• Groww would be the first fintech to go public after redomiciling to India.
• An increasing number of tech firms are opting for confidential filings to seek regulatory feedback.

Pre-IPO dough:

• On March 26, ET reported that Groww was in talks to raise $250-300 million from Singapore's sovereign fund GIC, potentially at a valuation of $6.5 billion.
• On May 16, GIC formally approached India's competition watchdog for approval to invest $150 million in exchange for a 2.14% stake.
• If approved, the deal could double Groww’s $3 billion post-money valuation from 2021.

Financials:

• FY24 operating revenue stood at Rs 3,145 crore.
• Net loss was Rs 805 crore, primarily due to a one-time tax expense related to its shift back to India.
• Operating profit came in at Rs 535 crore.

Also Read: Groww to acquire Fisdom in a $150 million all-cash deal

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Supam Maheshwari, CEO, FirstCry

Brainbees Solutions, which operates omni-channel baby products retailer FirstCry, reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 111 crore in Q4 FY25 — widening from Rs 43 crore in the year-ago period and Rs 15 crore in the previous quarter. Operating revenue stood at Rs 1,930 crore, up 16% year-on-year but down 11% sequentially.

By the numbers:

• Full-year FY25 loss: Rs 265 crore vs Rs 322 crore in FY24.
• FY25 revenue: Rs 7,660 crore, up 18% YoY.
• Adjusted Ebdita: Rs 100 crore in Q4, up from Rs 84 crore in Q4FY24.
• Gross profit: Rs 1,206 crore in Q4, margin at 37.5%.

Segment revenue (Q4FY25):

• India multi-channel: Rs 1,337 crore.
• GlobalBees: Rs 398 crore.
• International: Rs 205 crore.
• Others: Rs 11 crore.

The company said 38% of GMV from its top 20 cities came from cross-channel users transacting both online and offline.


Nitish Mittersain, CEO, Nazara Technologies

Online gaming firm Nazara Technologies posted a strong growth in operating revenue and net profit for the fourth quarter of FY25.

Financials:

• Operating revenue: Rs 520.2 crore, up 95% year-on-year (YoY).
• Net profit: Rs 4 crore, up from Rs 0.18 crore a year ago.
• Esports revenue: up 47% YoY; Gaming division revenue: up 72% YoY.
• Total expenses: Rs 527.7 crore, up 85% YoY.
• Advertising and promotional spend: Rs 151.03 crore.

Sumit Lakhani, CEO, Awfis

Office space solutions provider Awfis recorded a 46% rise in operating revenue for the March quarter, driven by greater contributions from enterprise clients, allied services and improved operating efficiencies.

Financials:

• Operating revenue: Rs 339 crore Q4.
• Net profit: Rs 11.3 crore, up from Rs 1.2 crore a year ago.
• Total expenses: Rs 347 crore, up from 239 crore YoY.
• FY25 revenue: Rs 1,207 crore, up 42% from Rs 849 crore in FY24.
• FY25 net profit: Rs 68 crore, compared to a Rs 17 crore loss in FY24.

Also Read: Awfis elevates deputy CEO Sumit Lakhani to chief executive officer

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Aadit Palicha, CEO, Zepto

Zepto founder and CEO Aadit Palicha has accused a senior executive at a rival quick commerce firm of orchestrating a smear campaign, claiming the executive circulated false information to investors and media.

What’s the news: In a LinkedIn post, Palicha said a competitor’s CFO made “wild allegations” without empirical evidence, sharing “false numbers and Excel sheets” with journalists via proxy sources. He also alleged that bots were unleashed to tarnish Zepto’s online reputation.

Palicha suggested the smear effort signals growing anxiety among rivals about “how fast Zepto’s Ebitda is improving” despite the competitor hailing from a “high-quality company.”

Financials: To back his claims, Palicha outlined Zepto’s performance:

• Monthly gross order value rose from Rs 750 crore in May 2024 to Rs 2,400 crore in May 2025.
• Ebitda improved by 2,000 basis points between January and May 2025.
• GOV grew 20% in the same period.
• Cash runway stands at Rs 7,445 crore.

Also Read: Zepto founders tap Edelweiss, others for Rs 1,500 crore structured debt to boost Indian ownership

Cut-throat space: Zepto remains a standalone player in a sector dominated by big-backed rivals.

• Eternal-owned Blinkit led the March quarter with Rs 9,421 crore in GOV. Swiggy’s Instamart followed with Rs 4,670 crore, twice its figure from a year ago.
• Blinkit also leads in dark stores, operating 1,300+ and targeting 2,000 by the end of 2026. Zepto and Instamart crossed 1,000 this year.

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India is ramping up its satellite-based Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities in the wake of Operation Sindoor, Lt Gen AK Bhatt (Retd), director general of the Indian Space Association (IspA), told us.

Current state:

• India currently operates about 10–11 defence satellites, mainly from the Cartosat and RISAT series.
• While effective, Bhatt noted that their long revisit times limit continuous surveillance.

Quote, unquote: “The Space Based Surveillance (SBS-III) programme is critical, but with a 4-5 year timeline, there’s pressure to fast-track it and reduce dependence on foreign or commercial satellite data after the escalations between the two countries,” said Bhatt, a former DGMO who handled the Doklam crisis.

The SBS-III programme will deploy 52 Indian-owned and operated satellites, offering real-time imagery from low Earth and geostationary orbits.

Tell me more:

• Private players will build 31 satellites, with ISRO handling 21.
• Startups and geographic information system (GIS) firms are stepping in with new satellites, better analytics tools, and upgraded ground stations to meet this rising demand.

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OpenAI will open its first office in Seoul and has registered a local entity in South Korea, citing growing demand for ChatGPT in the country, the company announced on Monday.

Driving the news:

• South Korea has the highest number of paying ChatGPT users after the United States, OpenAI said.
• The company has begun hiring locally to support partnerships in the region and plans to share further details in the coming months.
• OpenAI previously partnered with chat app operator Kakao to develop AI products tailored for the South Korean market.

Official statement: "Korea's full-stack AI ecosystem makes it one of the most promising markets in the world for meaningful AI impact, from silicon to software, and students to seniors," chief strategy officer Jason Kwon said in a statement.