In a move that signals the growing attractiveness of the Indian market, popular stock trading app Groww has made the decision to relocate its headquarters back to India from the US. Along with the shift in domicile comes a sizable tax payment of $159.4 million, as the company announced this week.
Groww is one of nearly a dozen Indian startups that have recently opted to move back to their home country from the US or Singapore. For fast-growing founders and investors, India offers a much more active environment for initial public offerings compared to other global markets at the moment. In just the first three quarters of 2024, close to 70 companies have already gone public on Indian stock exchanges.
One of the main motivations for returning is the ability to gain crucial analyst coverage locally. While Indian tech “unicorns” establishing themselves abroad was a common strategy in the past decade, being domiciled within the country provides better access to institutional investors that follow businesses valued under $2 billion more closely.
After over a decade of expansion internationally, India’s booming tech sector is coming back in a big way. As regulatory frameworks mature and the IPO environment thrives, more founders will surely find the advantages of operating within the thriving Indian startup ecosystem outweigh maintaining foreign headquarters. Groww’s sizable tax payment displays the financial commitment of companies making this strategic move home.
