Will the vibrant capital market bring the next Nvidia from India?

As US startups stay private longer, India's open, vibrant capital markets are letting younger companies list sooner - and inviting retail investors to join the compounding early

In 1980, Apple went public at a $1.8 billion market cap, just five years after its founding. Microsoft followed in 1986 at $800 million, 11 years after founding, and Nvidia in 1999 at $600 million, six years after founding. Today, these companies are the world’s most valuable, each worth close to $4 trillion. Their compounding is a reminder of the extraordinary wealth-creation opportunity that public markets can unlock  —not only for founders and institutions, but also for everyday retail investors who invested early and remained invested. 

Over the years, this dynamic has shifted. In the US today, iconic startups like SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic, Databricks, and Stripe — each valued at more than $100 billion — continue to remain private. With an average age of 13, they are still growing rapidly, but retail investors are shut out of the wealth creation that earlier generations enjoyed with Apple, Microsoft, or Nvidia. The broader picture is similar: There are over 800 unicorns in the US with an average age of 10+ years, most of which will likely remain private for many more years. High compliance costs, limited analyst coverage, and sparse liquidity make it difficult for companies valued even at $1 billion to list, raising the effective bar for entry into US public markets. 

India tells a different story. Here, we are fortunate to have vibrant and inclusive capital markets. A $10 billion company can go public, but so can one valued at $500 million or $1 billion. This depth offers investors the chance to participate earlier in a company’s journey, compounding alongside them as they grow. What makes this even more exciting is how quickly companies in India are scaling. With rising consumer and enterprise spending, near-universal smartphone penetration, frictionless payments and logistics, and stronger management capabilities, companies now reach $100 million in revenues in 5-6 years — something that used to take a decade or longer. This allows younger, faster-growing businesses to enter the public markets, and makes them accessible to everyday investors much sooner. 

I have always believed that the natural destiny of most ambitious startups is to become publicly traded companies. However, the listing is not the end of the journey, but a milestone — an opportunity to celebrate progress while recommitting to customers, employees, and new shareholders. I was fortunate to personally witness the Zomato journey and public listing.  The company went public in 2021, 13 years after founding, getting valued at more than $10 billion as it listed. Since the IPO, the company has continued to compound on its existing businesses, like food delivery, but also expanded into new ones, like quick commerce and experiences. In the process, it has also generated incredible shareholder wealth with share price increasingfrom ₹76 per share at IPO to ₹340 per share now. 

I hope for many more to follow Zomato, now Eternal’s, path. The IPO is not an exit event, and as the dust from it settles, the real work begins again: Building enduring companies that scale the commanding heights of the economy. Some of them may end up becoming the next Nvidia, Microsoft, or Apple, this time from India. 

The writer is a Managing Director at Peak XV, formerly Sequoia Capital, and leads investments in fintech, software and consumer-internet companies