Upcoming IPOs to Watch in 2026

India's primary markets have had a busy few years. The 2026 IPO pipeline is a mixed bag; some genuinely good businesses finally ready to go public, and some familiar names that investors have been waiting on for years.

The Ones to Watch

1.  ESDS Software Solution

If you have not heard of ESDS, that is partly the point. This is exactly the kind of business that flies under the radar until it is too late to get in at a reasonable price.

ESDS is a Nashik-based company that has been building cloud infrastructure and data centre solutions since 2005 well before cloud computing became a mainstream conversation in India. It launched its first data centre in 2010 and introduced its patented eNlight Cloud platform in 2011, which features vertical auto-scaling, a capability that lets computing resources adjust dynamically based on actual usage. That kind of technology was ahead of its time in the Indian context.

Today, ESDS serves over 100 banks and large institutions including L&T and STPI. Its client base spans BFSI, government, healthcare, manufacturing, and telecom and importantly, it has been deepening those relationships over time. The share of long-term customers has grown significantly over time, which tells you something important people who try ESDS tend to stay. That is not common in cloud services.

The financials tell a clean story. Revenue grew from ₹212 crore in FY23 to ₹292 crore in FY24 and more importantly, the company finally started making money. After years of reinvesting everything back into building the platform, it posted a PAT of ₹15.84 crore in FY24. For a company that spent years deliberately running thin to build scale, that is a real turning point. The proposed IPO is a ₹600 crore fresh issue, which will fund data centre equipment and cloud infrastructure expansion, with no offer for sale component. That means the promoters are not excited about what they are building.

ESDS is also empanelled by MeitY STQC as an authorised cloud provider for government and public sector entities, which gives it a defensible position in an increasingly regulated digital infrastructure space.

The DRHP was filed with SEBI in April 2025. The IPO date is still to be announced, but the regulatory process is well underway. For investors interested in India's data centre and cloud infrastructure buildout, a theme that is only getting stronger with AI adoption and digital government initiatives ESDS is a company worth tracking closely.

2.  Madhur Iron & Steel 

​Madhur Iron & Steel being based in Bhilai is no accident. Sitting near one of India's largest steel plants means cheaper, more reliable raw material access that is a genuine operational advantage, not a marketing point.

Founded in 2012, Madhur started as a trading company and pivoted into manufacturing in 2018. By 2019, it had set up its own rolling mill. From FY23 to FY25, the company took its revenue from ₹192 crore to ₹339 crore. That is 76% growth in two years, and what makes it more interesting is that profitability improved alongside it, not a case of buying growth at the cost of margins. Every number is moving in the right direction.

The company's client list includes PowerGrid and Indian Railways institutional, order-driven customers that provide revenue visibility rather than lumpy one-off sales. It operates in a B2B, order-based model, which means it is not chasing retail customers or dealing with marketing costs. It sells to people who need what it makes.

The IPO was a fresh issue of 1 crore equity shares, filed with SEBI in January 2026. The proceeds were earmarked for debt repayment, setting up a new manufacturing unit (Unit II) with 1,20,000 MT capacity, and a captive 3 MWp solar plant to reduce energy costs.

Here is the important caveat: Madhur Iron & Steel withdrew its IPO offer documents from SEBI on March 9, 2026 less than two months after filing. No official reason was given, which is the norm for such withdrawals. The most likely explanations are market conditions, pricing disagreements with bankers, or the need to update financials.

This is not necessarily a red flag. Many companies withdraw and refile with stronger numbers. Given the structural demand tailwinds in steel India's production is expected to grow from 147 MT in FY25 to 230 MT by FY31 and Madhur's clean growth track record, this is a company to watch when it returns. The withdrawal just means investors who were tracking it in the unlisted market may get more time at pre-IPO prices.

3.  Maverick Simulation Solutions

This one is genuinely different from anything else in the current IPO pipeline.

Maverick Simulation Solutions, founded in 2006 by Anuj Chahal and Kanika Chahal, makes medical simulators the equipment that allows doctors, nurses, and paramedics to practise high-stakes procedures in a safe, controlled environment before touching a real patient. If you have ever wondered how surgeons learn to perform complex operations before they are ready for the operating theatre, simulation is a big part of the answer.

The company supplies simulators to over 100 medical institutions across India. Its product range covers 40+ simulators across different fidelity levels, incorporating AI, augmented reality, and virtual reality. February 2026 saw Maverick roll out SIDDH, a full-body adult patient simulator that replicates real clinical scenarios using AI-powered ultrasound and it was made entirely in India.

That last part matters more than it sounds. For decades, any hospital or medical college in India that wanted high-end simulation equipment had to import it. SIDDH changes that equation. Maverick is positioning itself as a manufacturer and exporter, not just a reseller.

The financials are impressive for a company of its size. In FY24, it generated revenue of ₹70.7 crore with a PAT of ₹19.94 crore with a net profit margin of over 28%. Its operating margin stands at 37.91% and return on equity at 44.75%. These are not typical numbers for a hardware company. They reflect a business where proprietary technology and institutional relationships create real pricing power.

In 2025, Maverick put ₹50 crore into R&D. That is a significant bet for a company this size, and it suggests the founders are building something long-term rather than just getting to a listing.

Maverick's unlisted shares are currently changing hands at around ₹1,990–₹2,050 in the grey market, which shows real investor interest even before a DRHP is filed. The company converted to a public limited structure in September 2023 usually the first visible sign that a listing is being planned.

India trains an enormous number of healthcare professionals every year, but the infrastructure for simulation-based training has not kept up. Maverick is working right at that gap, across healthcare, technology, and defence which is a rare combination for a company of this size.

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The Ones That Keep Getting Delayed

1.  boAt

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India's most recognisable audio and wearables brand has been preparing for an IPO since 2022. Four years on, it still has not happened.

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The story of the boAt delay is actually more interesting than the IPO itself. The company boAt got SEBI approval in October 2025 for a ₹1,500 crore IPO out of this ₹500 crore fresh issue, ₹1,000 crore OFS from existing investors looking for exits.

The OFS component is large, which means existing investors like South Lake Investment, Fireside Ventures, and Warburg Pincus are looking for exits alongside the founders Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta. Despite regulatory approval, the company deferred the offering once again before even announcing a price band.

The reasons are not hard to find. The profitability story has been inconsistent. boAt reported a net profit of ₹61 crore in FY25 on revenue of ₹3,089 crore, a net margin of under 2%. The company had losses in FY24 and earlier years. For a brand with this level of consumer recognition and revenue scale, the margin profile is thin. The heavy OFS component also signals that the IPO is as much about investor exits as it is about business growth which sophisticated investors have noticed.

There are also governance questions. Auditors flagged financial irregularities and record-keeping issues in certain years, and the company faces ₹240.84 crore in contingent liabilities related to indirect tax matters.

boAt is a good business in a genuinely growing market India's wearables sector has grown at 24% CAGR. But a good brand is not the same as good investment. Until the margin story improves and the governance questions are fully resolved, the IPO overhang will persist. It will likely happen in 2026, but investors should go in with their eyes open.

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2.  Hero FinCorp

Hero FinCorp is the financial services arm of the Hero Group, and on paper it should have been one of the easier IPOs to execute. The Hero brand is trusted, the NBFC business is diversified two-wheeler loans, personal loans, MSME financing, mortgage loans and the AUM stood at ₹51,821 crore as of March 2024.

Hero FinCorp received SEBI approval in May 2025 for a ₹3,668 crore IPO and out of this ₹2,100 crore fresh issue and ₹1,568 crore from existing shareholders. The approval window is 12 months, so the timeline is tightening.

​The delay is largely market-related. NBFC stocks have had a complicated 18 months, with rising credit costs, asset quality concerns in the unsecured segment, and regulatory scrutiny of certain lending practices. Hero FinCorp's provision coverage ratio of 55.42% as of September 2025 is healthy, but the market environment has not been ideal for an NBFC IPO at scale.

The company filed an updated appendix to its DRHP in November 2025 to keep the regulatory process alive. A launch sometime in Q2 or Q3 of FY27 seems the most realistic outcome at this point. For long-term investors, Hero FinCorp is a fundamentally solid business; it just needs the right market window.

3.  Garuda Aerospace

Garuda Aerospace is the most interesting of the three delayed names, and also the most misunderstood.

The Chennai-based drone company backed by MS Dhoni among others has not actually been delaying out of weakness. In April 2026, Garuda filed IPO papers with SEBI through the confidential route targeting ₹1,000 crore, split between ₹750 crore fresh issue and ₹250 crore OFS, with a late-2026 listing goal and a valuation target of ₹4,000–5,000 crore.

The confidential route was a deliberate decision, not a workaround. It allows a company to engage with SEBI, update its financials, and calibrate timing without triggering speculative pressure in the unlisted market. For a company targeting a meaningful re-rating at listing, this is sensible.

The business fundamentals are genuinely impressive for a company of this scale. Garuda commands 55% market share in precision agri-tech drones, manufactures 25% of all drones operating in India, operates 400+ drones with 500 trained pilots across 84 cities, and has profitable operations ₹125 crore revenue and ₹20 crore profit in FY25, four consecutive years of profitability.

The valuation question is the real one. ₹4,000–5,000 crore on ₹125 crore revenue is a big ask. The company will need to show strong FY26 and FY27 growth to justify that number and management has said they expect 2–3x revenue growth. If that happens, the story holds. If it does not, the listing will face pushback.

For investors tracking this in the unlisted market, the confidential filing is a signal that the process is now formally underway. Late 2026 listing appears realistic.

Conclusion

India's IPO market in 2026 is operating in a more discerning environment than 2021–22. Investors are asking harder questions about profitability, governance, and promoter intent. The era of listing purely on narrative is largely over.

What this means in practice is that companies with genuine earnings, defensible business models, and a clear reason for being public will do well. Companies listing primarily to give investors an exit, or without a clear growth use of proceeds, will face more scrutiny.

ESDS and Maverick represent the kind of early-stage, high-quality story that is harder to access once they are widely tracked on the main exchanges. Garuda, if it can demonstrate revenue growth into its valuation, could be one of the more interesting listings of the year.

The patience required for boAt and Hero FinCorp is a reminder that SEBI approval is not the same as a listing date. Markets wait for no one, and companies that hesitate too long risk losing the window they were waiting for.