Amagi slides in India debut, as cloud TV software firm tests investor appetite

Amagi Media Labs, the Bengaluru-based company that provides cloud software for operating and monetising television and streaming channels, saw its stock trade lower on its first day on Indian exchanges after raising ₹17.89 billion (approximately $196 million) through an initial public offering — a notable listing in a market still primarily driven by consumer-facing IPOs.

The stock opened at ₹318 on Wednesday, marking a nearly 12% drop from its issue price of ₹361. Shares later recovered some ground, rising to ₹356.95 before settling around ₹348.85 in afternoon trading. At those levels, Amagi was valued at roughly ₹75.44 billion (about $825.81 million), according to data from the National Stock Exchange. The company was last privately valued at $1.4 billion in November 2022 following a $100 million funding round led by General Atlantic, and demand for the IPO exceeded supply by more than 30 times.

Amagi develops cloud-based software that enables television networks and streaming platforms to distribute content and generate advertising revenue. Despite being headquartered in India, the company derives the vast majority of its income from overseas markets. Around 73% of revenue comes from the United States, with another 20% generated in Europe, according to CEO and co-founder Baskar Subramanian, making Amagi one of the few export-led technology firms to list on Indian stock exchanges.

The IPO comprised a fresh issue of shares worth ₹8.16 billion (around $89.33 million), alongside an offer-for-sale of roughly 26.9 million shares by existing investors. The final offering size was smaller than initially planned after Amagi reduced both the number of newly issued shares and the portion sold by early backers, which had initially been set at 34.2 million shares.

Existing shareholders, including Norwest Venture Partners, Accel, and Premji Invest, participated in the offer-for-sale. Subramanianemphasisedd that these sales represented only a minor reduction in holdings and confirmed that the company’s founders did not sell any shares in the listing.

“For us, this is just a checkpoint along a much longer journey,” Subramanian said.

Accel, in particular, retained a close to 10% stake in Amagi following the IPO, even as the listing crystallised a roughly 3.3x return on shares it acquired at around ₹108 each. Accel partner Shekhar Kirani said the firm exited only the minimum required to facilitate the public offering.

“To get the IPO done, we’re reluctantly selling as little as possible,” Kirani said.

Founded in 2008 by Subramanian, Srividhya Srinivasan, and Arunachalam Srinivasan Karapattu, Amagi serves a roster of major content owners, including Lionsgate Studios, Fox, and Sinclair Broadcast Group. Its platform is also used by distribution partners such as Roku, Vizio, Rakuten TV, and DirecTV, as well as by advertising marketplaces such as The Trade Desk and Index Exchange.

Subramanian said the company is benefiting from an industry-wide transition as broadcasters and streaming services move away from hardware-heavy, satellite-based systems toward cloud-native workflows. He estimates that only a small fraction of the global broadcast industry has completed this transition so far. Amagi has also begun rolling out automation and AI-driven tools to reduce labour-intensive operational costs for media companies.

Amagi reported a 34.6% year-over-year increase in revenue from operations, reaching ₹7.05 billion (about $77.18 million) in the six months ended September 30, 2025. The company’s net revenue retention stood at approximately 127%, indicating that existing customers increased their spending by 27%, according to its prospectus.

The company believes that broadcast and live video remain in the early stages of cloud adoption, with less than 10% of workflows migrated to date. This, Subramanian said, creates a long runway for growth as media companies modernise infrastructure and expand ad-supported streaming offerings.

Amagi’s positioning as a premium, highly reliable platform has helped it win and retain large enterprise clients, said Accel partner Rachit Parekh. Downtime during major live broadcasts can be extremely costly, making reliability a critical differentiator and contributing to strong customer retention and expansion, he added.

However, the company also faces competition from established broadcast technology vendors that are accelerating their own cloud transitions. At the same time, Amagi’s push into AI-led automation will test whether it can move beyond infrastructure services into higher-margin software offerings without cloud costs eroding profitability.

According to its prospectus, Amagi plans to invest the bulk of the IPO proceeds in technology development and cloud infrastructure, allocating ₹5.50 billion (about $60.21 million) to that end. Additional funds will be reserved for potential acquisitions and general corporate needs.

Amagi’s listing comes as India’s IPO market sees growing participation from technology-driven companies, supported by strong domestic investor demand even as late-stage private funding remains constrained. Public markets are increasingly serving as both a source of growth capital and an exit route for early investors — a trend that has become more pronounced as private capital has grown more selective.

India’s technology sector recorded 42 IPOs in 2025, up from 36 the previous year, according to market intelligence firm Tracxn. Several venture-backed startups, particularly in consumer and fintech segments, are expected to explore public listings in 2026 as the pipeline continues to build.