The latest milestone in startup funding in India comes from the fitness world: Cult.fit has received SEBI's observations for its proposed initial public offering, clearing the Bengaluru fitness and wellness platform to launch its IPO roughly three months after filing its draft papers in July.

Startup funding India IPO: what's on the table

The issue is structured as a fresh issue of shares worth up to ₹950 crore alongside an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 17.86 crore equity shares by existing investors. Earlier estimates had pegged the overall issue size at ₹3,500–4,000 crore, with the final size to be set once the price band is fixed.

The selling shareholders read like a who's who of Indian venture capital: Chiratae plans to sell up to 28.1 million shares through two funds, Temasek (through MacRitchie Investments) will offload up to 24.7 million, alongside Fitness First Luxembourg, Tata Digital, Accel, Kalaari, IDG Ventures India Fund and Schroders Capital. Cofounder Mukesh Bansal and actor Hrithik Roshan will also sell part of their stakes.

Where the ₹950 crore goes

The fresh-issue proceeds are earmarked for repaying borrowings, setting up new Cult Elite and Cult Neo fitness centres, expanding Cultsport's exclusive brand outlets, lease and rental costs, and brand marketing. The company's consolidated borrowings stood at ₹219.8 crore in April 2026. The book-running lead managers are Axis Capital, Goldman Sachs (India), Jefferies India, JM Financial and Morgan Stanley India; the shares will list on the BSE and NSE.

The numbers behind the filing are strong. Cult.fit operated 708 fitness centres across 77 cities as of March 31, 2026, drew 9.87 lakh paid members — about four times the next largest player — and posted FY26 operating revenue of ₹1,720.61 crore, up 36.26%, while narrowing its net loss to ₹251.8 crore from ₹480.8 crore. Adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 8.41% from -2.76%. Redseer estimates India's fitness services market at ₹25,600 crore in 2025, growing to ₹48,700–53,100 crore by 2030.

Why it matters for founders

Cult.fit's path — a loss-making unicorn that used three years of discipline to reach positive unit economics and an IPO — is the new template. Investors now reward revenue depth and margin turnaround over pure growth. If you are scaling a consumer brand, the Cult.fit DRHP numbers (revenue up 36%, losses nearly halved) are the benchmark public markets will judge you against.