Jul 4, 2025

Apax Funds and TPG may be eyeing partial exits. Srikanth Velamakanni, co-founder, group chief executive, and executive vice chairman of Fractal. (File Photo: Mint) Mumbai: Fractal Analytics is preparing to file draft papers for a $500 million public listing over the next five to six weeks at a valuation exceeding $3 billion, two people familiar with the matter told Mint. “A bulk of the issue will have an offer-for-sale component under which existing investor Apax Funds will look to part sell its six-year-old stake in the company,” one of the people said. The person added that TPG may also consider a small stake sale on its three-year-old bet in the company. The second person said that the draft papers will be filed by the second week of August, with the listing expected by the end of this financial year. Fractal did not immediately respond to Mint’s requests for comment. TPG and Apax Funds declined to comment. The company has hired Morgan Stanley, Kotak Mahindra Capital, and Axis Capital to manage the issue, according to a report by The Economic Times. The Mumbai-based analytics firm had first planned to go public in 2021 but deferred its plans amid weak market conditions. Over the past year, several other companies have also delayed initial public offerings (IPOs), recalibrated their valuations, and downsized issue sizes in response to changing market sentiment. For instance, Ather Energy trimmed its IPO size to just over ₹2,600 crore at the time of listing, down from an initial target of ₹3,100 crore. Its valuation also fell to $1.4 billion from a previous target of $2 billion. If it goes ahead as planned, Fractal will join a growing list of startups including Meesho, Wakefit, Shadowfax, Curefoods, PhysicsWallah, Shiprocket, Urban Company, Boat, Groww, Pinelabs, and Capillary Tech that have filed draft papers in recent weeks. Others such as Inframarket, Ofbusiness, Moneyview, Kissht, and Turtlemint are also expected to follow soon. The spurt in activity signals a rebound in India’s IPO market, as easing global uncertainty revives investor appetite and boosts confidence among issuers. In FY24, Fractal reported consolidated revenue of ₹2,196 crore, a 10.6% increase from ₹1,985 crore the previous year. However, it posted a net loss of ₹54.7 crore, compared to a net profit of ₹194 crore in FY23, as per its annual report. Founded in 2000 by Srikanth Velamakanni, Pranay Agrawal, Nirmal Palaparthi, Pradeep Suryanarayan, and Ramkrishna Reddy, Fractal provides AI-driven data solutions to clients across consumer goods, retail, financial services, and insurance. Its customer base includes around 150 Fortune 500 companies such as Google and Wells Fargo. Its target group includes companies with either $20 billion in market capitalization or $10 billion in revenues, or those with at least 30 million customers. The company says it allocates about 10–12% of revenues toward research and development. Over the past few years, Fractal has raised over $600 million from investors including TA Associates, TPG, and Malaysia’s Khazanah Nasional Berhad through primary and secondary transactions, according to data from Tracxn. In 2016, Khazanah invested $100 million at a $300 million valuation. Fractal entered the unicorn club six years later after a $360 million investment from TPG. The company also incubates and spins off ventures. One such business is healthcare startup Qure.ai, which raised funds from Sequoia Capital (now Peak XV Partners) in 2020. Fractal exited its 36.2% stake in Qure.ai at a value of ₹541 crore in FY23, boosting its bottom line that year.