Yesterday, we talked about SEBI’s plan to build a formal pre-IPO portal a regulated marketplace where investors can buy into companies before they hit the main exchange.
Today, the natural question is: which companies would actually show up on it?
The answer is more exciting than you might think. Because 2026 isn’t just another IPO year. It may be the most consequential IPO year in India’s history. And the companies waiting in the wings? You use them. Every single day.
Let me walk you through the ones worth watching and more importantly, how to think about each of them.
The Crown Jewel: NSE
Let’s start with the most surreal one.
The National Stock Exchange the exchange you use to buy stocks is itself preparing to become a stock you can buy.
NSE is India’s most valuable unlisted entity, commanding a near-monopoly in the equity derivatives segment. It consistently delivers robust profit margins and exceptional return ratios. In FY25, it reported revenues of ₹19,177 crore with a net income of ₹12,188 crore and a return on equity of 45%. IPO Central
After settling legacy co-location cases with SEBI for ₹1,388 crore, the exchange is now in the advanced stages of receiving a No Objection Certificate. People familiar with the matter say NSE is planning to file its DRHP by March 2026. Stockify
In the grey market, NSE’s unlisted shares are already trading at around ₹1,950 each, signalling strong investor demand well before any official listing. IPO Ji
Think about that. A company that has essentially never had real competition, processes billions of transactions a day, and prints money and it’s been sitting in the shadows for over a decade because of regulatory tussles. That story is almost over.
The risk? Regulatory overhang and a potential valuation debate. At implied market prices, NSE is valued north of ₹5 lakh crore. That’s not cheap.
The Fintech Trio: PhonePe, Razorpay & Zepto
If NSE is the old guard finally arriving, these three are the new India.
PhonePe - the app that quietly became the spine of India’s digital economy has already formally entered the IPO pipeline, filing draft papers for a ₹12,000 crore public issue through SEBI’s confidential pre-filing route in September 2025. YourStory In FY25, PhonePe reported a 40% jump in operating revenue to ₹7,115 crore, alongside a more than fivefold increase in adjusted profit. YourStory Majority owner Walmart has been keen to push this listing for a while. It’s happening.
Razorpay processes the payment every time you buy something online from an Indian startup. It completed its reverse flip to India in 2025 and is now soliciting bids from bankers like Kotak Mahindra and Axis Capital for an IPO comprising a fresh issue of ₹4,500 crore, targeted for late 2026. Inc42 Media The company had a messy FY25 on paper due to one-time ESOP and tax costs from the flip but the underlying business surged 65% in operating revenue.
Zepto is the youngest of the three. The quick-commerce platform converted to a public entity in November 2025 and is gearing up for a roughly $500 million IPO, with a DRHP filing expected around late 2025/early 2026. IPO Ji It’s one of India’s top three quick-commerce players the kind of company that either becomes a generational wealth creator or gets squeezed out by Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart. High risk, high conviction play.
The Elephant in the Room: Flipkart
Founded nearly two decades ago and acquired by Walmart in 2018, Flipkart is widely expected to make its domestic public market debut in 2026. Last month, the company completed its long-planned reverse flip, merging Singapore and US entities into a single Indian company a critical step signalling serious preparation for listing. YourStory
Flipkart is preparing for a domestic IPO potentially valuing the company between $60–70 billion. Ritscapital That would make it India’s largest-ever startup IPO bigger than anything we’ve seen.
The story here is simple: India’s largest e-commerce player, finally available on the Indian exchanges, for Indian investors. If you believe in the Indian consumption story over the next 20 years, Flipkart is the most direct bet on it.
The Dark Horse: Reliance Jio
Reliance Jio’s listing is anticipated in 2026, potentially making it India’s largest IPO ever, with a valuation estimated at ₹11–12 lakh crore. Ritscapital
That number is so large it barely feels real. For context, TCS India’s most valuable listed company is valued at around ₹14 lakh crore. Jio at listing would sit right next to it. It has 500 million subscribers, owns the broadband pipes, the 5G network, and increasingly the media and entertainment ecosystem. If this lists, it changes the composition of every Indian index overnight.
Timeline remains fluid. But watch this one closely.
How to Actually Think About These
Here’s the thing nobody tells you: not all pre-IPO opportunities are the same. There are really two categories.
The first is what I’d call Profitable Monopolies - NSE falls firmly here. Strong cash flows, dominant market position, and a fairly predictable business. Buying these pre-IPO is essentially betting on a valuation discount before the formal listing.
The second is High-Growth Burn Machines - Zepto, Razorpay (on some metrics), early-stage cloud kitchens. These are companies still spending aggressively to win market share. The potential upside is larger, but so is the risk of an IPO delay, a cancelled fundraise, or a sector that doesn’t pan out.
On SEBI’s proposed portal, the DRHP filter helps. It removes companies that are still 5 years away from going public. But it doesn’t tell you which of the filed companies will pop and which will disappoint.
The three questions worth asking about any pre-IPO company:
One: Is it already making money, or is profitability still “3 years away”? Jio is profitable. Zepto is not yet.
Two: Who are the existing investors, and do they need to exit? VC funds have lifespans. If a fund is in year 9 of a 10-year fund, they are selling at IPO no matter what the price is. That’s pressure on the stock.
Three: Is the valuation on the portal already baked in? Once IPO news becomes public, demand for unlisted shares surges sharply. In many cases, the price of unlisted shares can even exceed the eventual IPO issue price by the time the listing is announced. Unlisted Zone Meaning: if everyone already knows NSE is listing, the “early investor advantage” may already be priced in.
The Honest Truth
The pre-IPO portal SEBI is building is genuinely exciting. But the most important thing to remember is this: it doesn’t turn risky bets into safe ones. It just makes them more transparent and more accessible.
The companies above NSE, PhonePe, Flipkart, Jio, Zepto are not guaranteed winners. They are interesting. Some of them will be multi-decade compounders. Some will disappoint. The portal just means you’ll get to make that call earlier, with more information, and with proper legal protection.
That’s progress. Real progress. But it’s not a free lunch.
