Fractal Analytics’ muted IPO points to ongoing AI concerns in India

As India’s first artificial intelligence company to go public, Fractal Analytics did not perform stellar on its first day in the public markets, as enthusiasm for the technology clashed with jittery investors recovering from a sell-off in Indian software stocks.

The fractal was listed at INR 876 per share on Monday, below its issue price of INR 900, and then fell further in afternoon trade. The stock closed at INR 873.70, down 7% from its issue price, lending the company a market value of about INR 148.1 billion (about $1.6 billion).

This price represents a step down from the recent private market highs achieved by Fractal. In July 2025, the company raised about $170 million in a $2.4 billion secondary sale. It first crossed the $1 billion mark in January 2022 after raising $360 million from TPG, becoming India’s first AI unicorn.

Fractal’s IPO comes as India seeks to position itself as a major market and development hub for artificial intelligence in a bid to attract investment amid growing interest from some of the world’s most prominent AI companies. Companies like OpenAI and Anthropic are engaging more with government, enterprise, and the country’s developer ecosystem as they seek to tap into the country’s scale, talent base, and growing appetite for AI tools and technologies.

These efforts came to light this week in New Delhi, where India is hosting the AI ​​Impact Summit, bringing together global technology leaders, policymakers and executives.

Fractal’s weak debut came on the heels of a sharp recalibration of its IPO. In early February, the company decided to price the offering conservatively after being advised to do so by bankers, reducing the size of the IPO by more than 40% to INR 28.34 billion (about US$312.5 million), from the original amount of INR 49 billion (US$540.3 million).

Founded in 2000, Fractal sells AI and data analytics software to large enterprises across financial services, retail and healthcare, and generates the bulk of its revenue from overseas markets, including the US. The company turned towards artificial intelligence in 2022 after operating as a traditional data analytics company for more than 20 years.

Fractal touted steady business growth in its IPO, with revenue from operations rising 26% to ₹27.65 billion (about $304.8 million) in the year ended March 2025 compared to the previous year. It also swung to a net profit of ₹2.21 billion ($24.3 million) from a loss of ₹547 million ($6 million) in the previous year.

The company plans to use the proceeds from the IPO to repay loans at its US subsidiary, invest in R&D, sales and marketing under its Fractal Alpha unit, expand office infrastructure in India, and pursue potential acquisitions.