Ecommerce giant Flipkart is exploring raising a pre-IPO round of $2 Bn to $2.5 Bn from Indian and foreign investors.
The company has held meetings with multiple investment bankers in recent months, Moneycontrol reported, citing sources. However, the final call on the potential mega round will be taken by Walmart, which owns 80% of Flipkart and might not want to dilute its stake prior to a much-anticipated IPO.
Flipkart didn’t respond to Inc42’s queries on the development till the time of publishing this story. It, however, told Moneycontrol that it doesn’t comment on market speculation and remains focused on “strengthening its business and long-term growth”.
The report added that Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy held meetings with bankers across the US, Singapore and London to discuss the potential fundraise and investor appetite for it. Flipkart’s leadership spoke to bankers like Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Bank of America (BofA), Citigroup, among others, in the US to discuss both the private market raise and its upcoming IPO.
In India, the company has been in talks with heads of banks including Axis Bank, JM Financial and Kotak Mahindra Bank to understand investor appetite, the report said.
Krishnamurthy also met US-based investment management firm Capital Group to discuss the raise. Other institutional investors have also expressed interest in participating in the round, the report added.
While a valuation for the round hasn’t been decided yet, a pre-IPO round could provide an offramp for existing investors prior to the IPO, increase paper returns for Walmart, and also provide a good idea for investor interest in the public listing, which is expected to happen in the next 12-18 months.
Notably, Walmart invested $16 Bn to acquire Flipkart in 2018. The ecommerce giant was last valued at $36 Bn when it raised a private round worth $350 Mn from Google in 2024, making it one of the highest valued startups in India.
Last month, Flipkart completed its reverse flip to India from Singapore as it prepares for the IPO. Its CFO Sriram Venkaraman also stepped down from his post last month after a 15-year stint with the ecommerce giant.
Over the past year, Flipkart has been investing in its quick commerce offering, Flipkart Minutes, amid the explosive growth in the segment. In the first quarter of 2026, Flipkart Minutes scaled to 800 dark stores and is on track to touch 1,200 in the near term.
On the financial front, Flipkart Internet, the company’s marketplace arm, reported a 14% uptick in its FY25 operating revenue to ₹20,493 Cr from ₹17,907 Cr in FY24. During the same period, its net loss declined 37% to ₹1,494 Cr from ₹2,359 Cr in the previous year.
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