Indian startups had had a difficult couple of years after the pandemic, but those that survived the funding winter are now heading straight to Dalal Street.
Gym chain Cult.fit is preparing for an IPO, CNBC reports. The company has picked Axis Capital, Jefferies, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JM Financial have been picked as the book-running lead managers for the issue. Cult.fit plans to raise up to ₹2,500 crore through the IPO, valuing the company at nearly $2 billion.
Curefit had been founded by Flipkart executives Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori in 2016, after the duo had together quit Flipkart to start their own venture. Curefit runs a chain of fitness centers in major Indian cities, where it conducts classes on yoga, dance fitness, strength training, high-intensity training, Crossfit, and even a workout designed in collaboration with Hrithik Roshan named HRX. Curefit had expanded into other wellness initiatives, including food delivery with Eat.fit, health checkups, and online fitness classes.
In 2020, Curefit had hived off Eat.fit as a separate entity, and it is now being overseen by Ankit Nagori. Curefit had continued to be helmed by Mukesh Bansal, until the company had raised funding from the Tata Group. Following the funding, Mukesh Bansal had been tasked with heading the Tata group’s digital initiatives. In November 2021, Zomato had invested $100 million into the company, and it had turned a unicorn. Naresh Krishnaswam is the current CEO of the company, and Mukesh Bansal is the executive Chairman.
The company now runs 580 fitness centers across more than 50 Indian cities, having acquired Gold’s gym in 2022. Cult It had reported revenue of Rs. 927 crore in FY24 with losses of Rs. 535 crore.
The last few quarters have seen several Indian startups go public, with varying levels of success. In the recent past, Swiggy, Ola Electric, FirstCry and Digit Insurance have come out with their IPOs and listed on the stock markets. Cult.fit had joined the list of companies waiting in the wings to go public, including Ather, Physicswallah and BoAt. And with the number of startups looking to go public only increasing, it appears that the Indian startup ecosystem is well and truly coming of age.