Flipkart to reverse flip, but will it have a happy homecoming?

Walmart-backed Flipkart has officially confirmed its intent to shift its holding company from Singapore to India—a move that’s been in the works for some time and is seen as a precursor to a public listing on Indian stock exchanges. The reverse flip makes Flipkart only the latest among a slew of startups—including the likes of Razorpay, Pine Labs, Zepto, and Meesho—which are either returning home or exploring domestic listings in response to shifting investor expectations, regulatory priorities, and macroeconomic conditions.

Flipkart’s decision marks a significant milestone for a company long considered the poster child of India’s internet economy. But while the optics of “coming home” are strong, the road ahead is anything but smooth. Behind the headline lies a complex challenge: how to engineer one of India’s largest IPOs while managing deep-rooted structural issues within the business, balancing cash burn with growth, and navigating a highly competitive and increasingly saturated e-commerce environment.

The first challenge is the sheer scale of the listing. Flipkart’s last funding round valued it at $35 billion. Even if the company looks to list at a flat valuation, it would make it one of India’s biggest ever IPOs—third only to LIC and Hyundai by market cap—and potentially the largest by issue size. That scale, however, comes with its own set of hurdles. For one, the public markets are yet to show a sustained appetite for tech IPOs of this size, particularly when profitability remains a concern.