Meesho, an Indian e-commerce marketplace, enjoyed a strong first day as a public company. Its shares surged as much as 46% from the issue price as investors sought a stake in the company, which is built around small merchants and value-conscious consumers. The stock opened at ₹162.50, up from the issue price of ₹111, and reached a high of ₹171.84. This performance gave Meesho a market capitalization of ₹780 billion, or approximately $8.69 billion. The company raised $606 million in its initial public offering.
The ten-year-old Meesho was last privately valued at about $5 billion following a funding round in 2021. Early shareholders such as Elevation Capital, Peak XV Partners, and Y Combinator sold their stakes in the IPO. Investors including SoftBank, Prosus, and Fidelity have not sold any shares yet.
Founded in 2015, Meesho began as a WhatsApp-based social-commerce platform for first-time online shoppers. It has successfully competed with incumbents like Flipkart and Amazon by focusing on a low-cost marketplace model. This model connects small merchants with price-sensitive consumers across smaller towns in India. In the past twelve months, the company reported 234.2 million transacting users, 706,471 annual sellers, and over 50,000 active content creators.
During the public listing ceremony, Meesho co-founder and CEO Vidit Aatrey remarked that ringing the bell typically signifies the start of trading. He added that for everyone at Meesho, this ringing meant their mission was now a shared mission with all.
Financially, Meesho generated revenue of ₹55.78 billion, or about $620.3 million, in the six months ended September 30. This was an increase from ₹43.11 billion, approximately $479.6 million, a year earlier. Net merchandise value rose 44% to ₹191.94 billion, around $2.14 billion, in the same period. However, the company’s losses widened to ₹4.33 billion, roughly $48.2 million, compared to ₹0.24 billion, about $2.7 million, a year earlier.
The Bengaluru-based company compares itself to other value-driven marketplaces like Pinduoduo in China, Shopee in Southeast Asia, and Mercado Libre in Latin America. Its commission-light model has increased competitive pressure on Indian rivals Amazon and Flipkart.
Meesho’s listing is part of a wave of startup IPOs in India. In recent months, companies including Pine Labs, Groww, Lenskart, Physics Wallah, and Capillary Technologies have gone public. This momentum is expected to continue next year, with Flipkart, Oyo, and PhonePe preparing for their own listings.