Groww’s Next Act: What Comes After The Blockbuster IPO?

An INR 6,632 Cr issue, oversubscribed 17.6 times at close, a huge premium on listing day and a valuation of over INR 90,000 Cr ($10 Bn) – everything is coming up trumps for Groww. 

In just under three days, the stock has climbed 28% after listing at a 14% premium. An intra-day pop of 34% was a standout moment for Groww on its debut and a testament to the brand and public market’s faith in the investment tech and wealthtech opportunity.

Groww listed on the bourses at a P/E multiple of 33-34x – at a little premium over its listed peer like Angel One that’s trading at 19-22x P/E multiple. So naturally there were plenty of questions about this valuation before the debut. 

But for the leadership, the IPO was simply a pitstop; the real challenge starts now, says Harsh Jain, cofounder and chief operating officer. “We have a long journey ahead, and the IPO has energised our team and, at the same time, made us all anxious,” Jain told Inc42 before the listing of the wealthtech firm.

In many ways, the Groww IPO was more than a mere market event. It is a reflection of the appetite for investments in equities and mutual funds among Indians. 

From a startup that began its journey in 2016 as a millennial-friendly app to simplify mutual fund investing, it added a discount brokerage business to ramp it up to the next level. Then came the asset management business and other verticals. Today, Groww has matured into a diversified multi-sided platform, catering to everyone from HNIs to new investors. 

Indeed, its listing comes amid pressures on discount brokerages due to changing regulations. How prepared is Groww to deal with these challenges? 

After hitting profits in FY25, Groww recorded a 12% on-year increase in its bottom line for Q1 FY26 to INR 378.4 Cr from INR 338 Cr. The next phase will be built on new products and offerings that take Groww beyond its strongholds. 

“Mutual funds were our entry point. Once a user trusts you with one financial product, it becomes easier to help them explore others,” Jain said, hinting at the rationale behind Groww’s entry into new verticals and products. 

Jain says the expansion into stocks, derivatives, and ETFs stems from the user journey and the evolution of a typical investor. Groww insists the new launches are demand-led.

“We don’t launch a product just because competitors have it,” Jain said. “Every product we build starts from customer needs and our platform’s readiness.”

The approach has led to steady growth in margin trading facility (MTF) to INR 1,000 Cr in a market with a reportedly INR 1 Lakh Cr opportunity. “We’re taking a long-term view,” Jain said. “We’d rather grow steadily with the right risk controls than chase volume.”

Focus Shifts For Groww

As Groww looks beyond the bourses, it plans to step up focus on retaining affluent users seeking professional-grade investment tools in portfolio management services (PMS), alternative investment funds (AIFs), REITs, and advisory services. 

Jain believes the Indian capital market story is still in the making.

“If you look at the percentage of Indians investing directly in equities or mutual funds, we’re still scratching the surface. The next 20 years are going to see exponential growth in participation. That’s what investors are betting on.”

Groww commands a lead over the peer stock broking platforms in terms of monthly active users (MAU).

“I believe when the numbers were out there on the NSE and BSE in terms of who is commanding the lion’s share in active user base, our presence beyond mutual funds into stock broking and other wealthtech verticals was validated, which is why, 80% of our user acquisition right now is organic,” Jain said.

This is a significant metric for Groww which is known to spend heavily on marketing and promotion. Jain reiterated that marketing will continue to remain an important part of the business strategy.

An analysis of Groww’s expenses from FY23 to FY25 shows that while the promotional expenses have grown year on year, the company spent just 12% of its total income on marketing in FY25, as opposed to 21.3% in FY23. 

As of Q1, FY26, Groww reported 18.07 Mn transacting users during the period. According to NSE data, Groww had 11.9 Mn active users in September 2025 holding 26.28% market share.

New customers, who make up 45% in the online investing category, are largely organically sourced. Only 15–20% of new users come through paid channels, while the rest through referrals and word-of-mouth.

The Infra Behind Groww 

What keeps the numbers growing in favour of Groww? Its product and engineering teams, mostly based in Bengaluru, call it “lesser but better”. It is the tech philosophy that prizes simplicity. “We’d rather perfect one feature than launch five half-baked ones,” Jain said. “It’s slower initially, but it compounds.” 

Jain said focus will be stepped up on infrastructure – scaling cloud capacity, improving transaction throughput, and ensuring system reliability at times of market volatility. “We don’t hire new tech teams for every product,” he said. “We reallocate existing teams as priorities evolve. It keeps us lean.” 

Incremental spending, he added, is more about scaling infrastructure than increasing headcount.

This modular, in-house approach helps Groww maintain control and security, which are crucial in a heavily regulated domain. “When you build everything yourself, you understand every line of code. That’s why we can move quickly when markets or rules change and bring new products.”

Groww COO clarifies that as millions of users open the app every month, it becomes imperative to scale the infrastructure on a parallel level which will require capital infusion.

Regulatory Headwinds 

Regulation has often been the stress test for India’s fintechs. The Groww COO clarified that while the recent guidelines by SEBI around F&O trading might have caught the limelight, the reality is that there have been consistent regulations around wealthtech  for the past few years now. 

“We are an active player in the space and I must tell you that be it around mutual funds, equity trading- regulations have been a part of the industry. This has helped us to innovate, build new products ensuring compliance. For instance, when F&O guidelines came, we were already less impacted than others because we had launched several products before these guidelines were implemented which helps in derisking the business,” he added.

Scaling the Core Before New Bets

A major theme in Groww’s next chapter is prioritisation. Jain insists the company isn’t chasing every new trend or segment. 

The next 12–18 months, therefore, are about consolidating gains in MTF, commodities, and wealth products. US stock market investing — something that several peers have rushed towards — is on the roadmap, but not imminent. 

Groww also clarified that unlike many fintech companies which are aggressively pursuing lending business due to its high margin leverage, it will not focus or allocate major funding into lending business. 

“Margin trading facility as a product has a very big market in the US. In India, this is a SEBI-regulated space and still underpenetrated. We see plenty of opportunity here for the more mature investors,” he added.

Post the listing, Groww is moving towards a holistic wealthtech business-catering to users across income and sophistication levels — from a 25-year-old SIP starter to a 45-year-old HNI looking for managed portfolios.

“India’s wealth landscape is evolving,” Jain explains. “People are earning more, investing earlier, and seeking professional guidance. We want Groww to be their long-term partner.”

To that end, Groww is doubling down on advisory and managed products. The PMS, AIFs, REITs, and advisory services pipeline will help increase wallet share and reduce dependency on volatile trading revenues.

“Broking will be core, but other wealthtech products and diversification gives us stability and longer revenue cycles,” he adds.

Groww’s IPO is a signal that Indian fintech is coming of age, but it also shows that investment tech itself has a lot of nuance that is yet to be unpacked. For years, critics questioned whether India could produce listed fintech companies that bridge profitability with growth and purpose. 

The market debut challenges that scepticism. Groww’s bet is that the next 100 million investors will prefer a platform that speaks their language — literally and financially.