The IPO class of 2025; Automating finance functions for MSMEs

Hello,

How to break a food delivery duopoly? Partner with someone who can help you! 

That’s exactly what Rapido and magicpin have done. The partnership will give Rapido, which launched Ownly in August, access to magicpin’s extensive base of more than 80,000 restaurants across India, helping the platform scale beyond Bengaluru. In turn, magicpin will tap into Rapido’s delivery fleet in select locations.

Meanwhile, the biggest AI company just told everyone to chill out. Nvidia, following its incredibly strong earnings this past week, is trying to put ‘AI bubble’ fears to bed. 

“There’s been a lot of talk about an AI bubble,” Huang said on a call with analysts. “From our vantage point, we see something very different.” 

Some Wall Street analysts agree. But the wider market is not yet convinced.

Stock market investors are preparing for a turbulent year-end, sparked by uncertainty over near-term Federal Reserve interest rate cuts and mounting worries that AI companies, which have propelled the market to new records this year, are overvalued.

In other news, a gold pocket watch belonging to Isidor Straus, who died on board the Titanic when it sank, went for £1.78 million at auction. 

The highest amount ever paid for Titanic memorabilia! 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• The IPO class of 2025
• Automating finance functions for MSMEs

Here’s your trivia for today: What literary work inspired Led Zeppelin's ‘The Battle of Evermore’ song?

In-depth

The IPO class of 2025

If 2021 is remembered as the year India’s startup IPO engine truly switched on, 2025 will be remembered for something bigger—as the year startup investors finally saw multi-bagger returns. 

Despite valuation worries and sector setbacks, 2025’s startup IPOs delivered decisive wins—multi-bagger VC returns, founder-billionaires, strong subscriptions, and renewed public-market faith—even as India still waits for a homegrown startup capable of compounding towards $100 billion.

Market-ready:

• Groww had last been valued at $3 billion in 2021, but its valuation crossed $7 billion in a pre-IPO round. The listing price came in above that level, and Groww closed its first day at a market capitalisation of $8.6 billion—up 24% from its IPO price.
• In the case of Lenskart, the company was suddenly at the centre of a valuation debate after analysts pointed out that, even with its strong financials, Lenskart’s price-to-earnings ratio remained among the highest for a consumer retail brand—implying a very premium valuation.
• When the stock was listed last week, it opened at a 33% premium and closed the day up 43%, giving PhysicsWallah a peak market capitalisation of $5 billion. Its cap table remains unusually lean, with only four venture investors on board.

MSME

Automating finance functions for MSMEs

Artificial intelligence-led transformation across the MSME ecosystem could unlock more than $490 billion in economic value. But despite the potential, adoption remains low. 

Cheruku Srikanth, Founder and CEO at Digital CFO, shares how MSMEs can structurally automate their finance functions. “MSMEs are impacted by fundamental structural issues which become impediments for AI adoption,” says Srikanth.

Tricks of the trade:

• A responsible approach, Srikanth says, must include foundational bookkeeping automation; rule-based AI, not black-box models; human-in-loop approvals; auditability through trace logs; and gradual automation starting with low-risk tasks.
• Among the workflows most ready for AI-led automation are ledger posting, GST determination and compliance filing, AR follow-ups, invoice processing, three-way matching, cash-flow prediction, expense claims, inventory valuation, and internal financial controls.
• Srikanth believes India needs an integrated financial data stack for MSMEs, “similar to UPI”. 

News & updates

• Mental health: Meta shut down internal research into the mental health effects of Facebook and Instagram after finding causal evidence that its products harmed users’ mental health, US court filings alleged. To the company’s disappointment, “people who stopped using Facebook for a week reported lower feelings of depression, anxiety, loneliness and social comparison,” internal documents said.
• New shop: Walmart opened its first store in South Africa, marking the US retail giant’s debut on the African continent as it seeks a stake in a competitive market. The retailer will also be offering a 60-minute online delivery service.
• Health: A multi-institution study detected uranium (U238) in breastmilk samples from lactating mothers in six districts of Bihar, raising questions about infant exposure to heavy metals through breastfeeding. The researchers quantified U238 levels in the range of 0 to 5.25 micrograms per litre (µg/L), with the highest individual concentration recorded in Katihar district at 5.25 µg/L.

What you should watch out for

• The National Statistics Office will release the official GDP growth data for the second quarter (July–September) of FY25–26 on November 28.
• Following a record-setting Rs 31,000 crore in fundraising during the first three weeks of November, the upcoming week is expected to be significantly quieter, with only a few SME IPOs in the pipeline.

What literary work inspired Led Zeppelin's ‘‘The Battle of Evermore’ song?

Answer: J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

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