Indian e-commerce platform Meesho is poised to make history as the country's first multi-category online retailer to go public, targeting a valuation of $5.8 billion in its upcoming initial public offering. The company's decade-long journey from a WhatsApp-based reseller platform to an IPO-bound giant highlights the massive growth potential beyond India's metropolitan cities.
From Humble Beginnings to Public Markets
Founded ten years ago by Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal, Meesho has transformed from a simple reseller platform into a full-fledged e-commerce marketplace. The company has demonstrated remarkable resilience in a sector known for frequent disruptions, largely attributed to its continuous investment in technology and strategic business pivots.
Meesho announced its price band at ₹105-111 per share, valuing the company at $5.8 billion at the upper end. This represents a 15% premium to its peak valuation of $5 billion achieved in 2021. The company plans to raise ₹4,250 crore through fresh share sales, while existing shareholders will offer 10.55 crore equity shares.
Technology as Competitive Advantage
According to CEO Vidit Aatrey, technology remains the cornerstone of Meesho's strategy to future-proof the business against market disruptions. "Technology continues to evolve. And we are a technology company, so we have always stayed ahead of most people in terms of investing very, very aggressively behind technology," Aatrey emphasized in an interview.
The company has developed its proprietary logistics platform, Valmo, which enables various logistics companies to serve merchants directly through the platform. This innovation has significantly reduced Meesho's dependence on third-party logistics providers. Unlike some competitors who externalize their logistics arms, Aatrey confirmed that Valmo will remain a captive platform within Meesho's ecosystem.
Meesho's technological investments extend beyond logistics. The company has launched a content commerce platform that allows influencers to monetize their audience, generating over ₹1,200 crore in net order value from influencers in the past twelve months. Currently, more than 50,000 creators are earning income through the platform.
Navigating Competitive Waters
Meesho faces intensifying competition from multiple fronts. Amazon launched its Bazaar vertical in April last year, specifically targeting Meesho's core value proposition with non-branded apparel and products priced below ₹600. This month, Amazon spun Bazaar into a separate app across several developing markets.
The rapid growth of quick commerce in non-grocery items presents another challenge. Companies in this space are expanding into smaller cities where Meesho has traditionally thrived. According to Bernstein research, quick commerce is estimated to become a $350 billion market by FY30, growing at an annualized rate of approximately 18%.
Despite these challenges, analysts remain optimistic about Meesho's prospects. Bernstein analysts noted that value retailers like Meesho will continue succeeding by focusing on high volumes and low prices, catering to the 420 million customers of "Emerging India" who constitute 30% of India's consumer base and account for 41% of total household spending.
Financial Performance and IPO Strategy
Meesho has shown impressive financial improvement, reducing its losses to ₹700.7 crore for the six months ended September 2025 from ₹2,512.9 crore a year earlier. Revenue grew 29.40% to ₹5,577.5 crore during the same period. For the financial year ended March, operating revenue increased 23% year-on-year to ₹9,389.9 crore.
Dhiresh Bansal, Meesho's Chief Financial Officer, explained the company's conservative IPO pricing strategy: "The objective function for us as part of the IPO was to get the base of long-term aligned shareholders… to have the highest quality investors, which we believe we will be able to attract with this issue."
The company scaled down the size of the share sale by existing investors in the offer-for-sale component by almost 50%. Bansal clarified that most large stakeholders wanted to sell only the minimum required to meet the regulatory threshold of 10%.
Addressing Big Tech Threats
Meesho's advertising services face potential disruption from Big Tech companies integrating shopping features into their platforms. OpenAI's ChatGPT recently introduced a 'Shopping Research' feature, while Google launched AI tools for conversational shopping through its search business.
Sanjeev Barnwal, Meesho's co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, revealed that the company is already investing in AI to counter these threats. "LLMs and with generative AI, there is a way to reimagine that shopping experience," Barnwal stated. "A large part of our chats and a decent part of our voice calls are already automated by AI."
Barnwal noted that shopping searches from AI platforms currently account for only a fraction of total online shopping traffic in India. He emphasized that Meesho's core customers prefer simple, intuitive apps like WhatsApp, which are universal to the Indian smartphone experience.
The company plans to allocate a significant portion of the fresh capital from the IPO toward hiring, strengthening the technology stack, and pursuing inorganic growth opportunities. As Meesho prepares for its public market debut, its focus remains on maintaining technological leadership while expanding its reach among India's value-conscious consumers.
