New-Age Tech Stocks: Insurtech Sell-Off Drags Combined M-Cap Down By $3.6 Bn This Week

New-age tech stocks lost $3.6 Bn in combined market capitalisation this week, with Turtlemint and PB Fintech leading declines at 34.97% and 33.02%, respectively

The week highlighted divergent investor appetite, with sharp selling in listed insurtech companies alongside strong bidding for Moneyview’s IPO and fresh fundraising plans from listed companies

Of the 65 stocks tracked by Inc42, 28 gained and 37 declined, with Capillary and Zelio rising 24.59% and 23.96%, respectively

New-age tech stocks saw a bearish week, with a sharp sell-off in PB Fintech and Turtlemint following IRDAI’s proposed commission caps overshadowing gains in Capillary Technologies and Zelio E-Mobility.

Turtlemint plunged 34.97%, while Policybazaar parent PB Fintech lost 33.02% during the week. The declines came as investors assessed the potential impact of lower insurance commissions on the companies’ revenue and profitability.

SaaS company Capillary Technologies led the gainers, rising 24.59% to ₹603.15. Zelio E-Mobility followed with a 23.96% jump to ₹1,056.90.

Zelio, ESDS, Shadowfax, Nazara, and BlueStone touched fresh 52-week highs during the week. Meanwhile, Shiprocket, IndiaMART, Menhood, Turtlemint, and PB Fintech hit fresh lows. Lenskart, Paytm, and Swiggy also ended the week in the red.

Overall, of the 65 new-age tech stocks under Inc42’s coverage, 28 gained between 0.26% and 24.59% this week, while 37 fell between 0.01% and 34.97%. The combined market capitalisation of the 65 companies declined by $3.6 Bn, or about 2.1%, to $166.6 Bn from $170.2 Bn the previous week. 

The weakness coincided with a seventh consecutive weekly decline in the benchmark indices. However, activity in the primary market continued, with Moneyview and AceVector opening their IPOs for subscription and Spinny confidentially filing its IPO papers.

Now, let’s take a look at some of the key developments at new-age tech companies this week: 

Moneyview, AceVector Open IPOs: Moneyview’s ₹1,092 Cr IPO was subscribed 6.01X at the end of its second day of bidding yesterday. Snapdeal parent AceVector’s ₹420 Cr IPO closed its first day with 23% subscription. Meanwhile, used-car marketplace Spinny confidentially filed its IPO papers with SEBI, targeting an issue of ₹2,500–₹3,000 Cr. 

Investors Pare Stakes Across Listed Tech Companies: TPG exited FirstCry through a ₹202 Cr bulk deal, while Mastercard sold its Pine Labs holding for ₹934 Cr. A91 Partners and Xponentia reduced their holdings in SEDEMAC, Accel and 360 ONE sold BlueStone shares worth ₹513 Cr, and ADIA offloaded 3.5 Cr Lenskart shares for ₹2,390.6 Cr. 

ESDS Reports Mixed Q1 Performance: The cloud and AI company’s net profit rose 14% YoY to ₹29.3 Cr in Q1 FY27 but declined 57% QoQ. Operating revenue increased 7.3% YoY to ₹133.7 Cr, although it fell 20% sequentially. 

Aequs Approves ₹650 Cr Fundraise: The contract manufacturer’s board approved a preferential issue of warrants worth up to ₹650 Cr to promoter group entity Mellwood Trustee Services. The proceeds will support capacity expansion across its aerospace and consumer businesses.

Nykaa, L’Oréal To Back Beauty Brands: Nykaa partnered with BOLD, L’Oréal’s corporate VC fund, to acquire minority stakes in emerging Indian beauty and wellness brands. The brands’ founders will retain operational control of their businesses

ED Chargesheets EaseMyTrip’s Nishant Pitti: The ED chargesheeted EaseMyTrip cofounder and chairman Nishant Pitti in the Mahadev betting app money laundering case, alleging that he facilitated the entry of illegal betting proceeds into Indian equities through FPIs. The agency has provisionally attached shares belonging to Pitti worth ₹59.6 Cr. Responding to Inc42, Pitti said he was unaware of any chargesheet, had not been summoned by the court, and maintained that his transactions complied with applicable laws.

Purple Style Labs Narrows Q1 Loss: Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop parent Purple Style Labs trimmed its net loss by 12% to ₹88.1 Cr in Q1 FY27 from ₹100.3 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Operating revenue increased 13% to ₹119.4 Cr from ₹105.7 Cr. 

Lenskart Raises Le Petit Lunetier Stake: Lenskart’s Singapore subsidiary NESO Brands invested €0.248 Mn (₹2.71 Cr) for an additional 2.52% stake in French eyewear brand Le Petit Lunetier. The transaction increased NESO’s holding to 34.34% from 31.82%.

Ola Electric Eyes Rights Issue: Ola Electric’s board will consider a rights issue on September 28 (Monday). The fundraising proposal comes as the company invests in EVs, battery cells, and energy storage, while its Q1 FY27 revenue declined 45% YoY to ₹455 Cr.

Veefin Gets In-Principle Mainboard Nod: Fintech SaaS company Veefin Solutions received BSE’s in-principle approval to migrate from its SME platform to the mainboard. The approval carries a 45-day validity window for completing the prescribed formalities, including submitting a listing application and an updated information memorandum.

The Sensex and Nifty declined 0.54% and 0.88%, respectively, during the week to close at 73,895.74 and 23,140.50, extending their losing streak to seven weeks.

Higher crude oil prices, renewed Middle East tensions, and rising US bond yields weighed on sentiment. For India, elevated crude prices raised concerns over the import bill, inflation, and the rupee.

Foreign investor selling added to the pressure. Provisional exchange data showed net foreign equity selling of ₹11,490 Cr during September 21-25.

In the coming week, investors will track developments involving the US and Iran, Brent crude prices, US bond yields, and the rupee, alongside domestic economic releases.

“On the domestic front, industrial production data for August, government budget data, the external debt position and the HSBC Manufacturing PMI reading will be released during the week,” said Ajit Mishra, SVP – Research at Religare Broking.

Now, let’s take a detailed look at the performance of PB Fintech, Turtlemint, and Zelio this week.

PB Fintech and Turtlemint bore the brunt of the week’s selling after IRDAI proposed product- and channel-specific commission caps and tighter expenses of management (EoM) limits.

PB Fintech fell 33.02% during the week to ₹1,165.50 on the BSE, taking its market capitalisation to ₹53,933.83 Cr ($5.6 Bn). Turtlemint declined 34.97% to ₹87.30.

The proposals would reintroduce product-level commission ceilings more than three years after IRDAI removed such limits in April 2023 and gave insurers greater flexibility within an overall EoM framework. 

Under the consultation paper, insurance distribution entities would receive no commission on third-party insurance for new vehicles, while commissions on new-vehicle own-damage, personal accident, and legal liability covers would be capped at 5%.

For individual health insurance, commissions for these entities would be capped at 15% on new policies and 5% on renewals and portability.

IRDAI has also proposed reducing life insurers’ EoM limits to 15% of premiums within two years and 12.5% within five years. General insurers would face limits of 25% and 20%, respectively.

For digital insurance distributors, lower payouts would reduce revenue earned from policy sales and renewals, putting pressure on margins unless they can offset the impact through higher volumes, lower acquisition costs, or other income streams.

Jefferies estimated that a 10% reduction in new business commission rates could lower PB Fintech’s earnings by 10%-12%. It retained its ‘Buy’ rating but cut its price target to ₹1,540 from ₹2,050.

The proposals have also prompted PB Fintech to consider a broader change in strategy. Cofounder and group chairman Yashish Dahiya said on an investor call on Thursday (September 24) that the company was considering entering insurance manufacturing, which would allow it to design and underwrite policies, although it would await greater regulatory clarity.

The selling extended to insurers, with HDFC Life declining 6.13% and ICICI Prudential Life falling 4.23% during the week.

The proposals remain under consultation, with stakeholder comments invited until October 25. The final commission ceilings and implementation timelines will determine the extent of the impact on distributors and insurers.

Zelio E-Mobility gained 23.96% during the week to close at ₹1,056.90 on the BSE SME platform, with the rally coinciding with its proposed ₹167.95 Cr fundraise.

The EV manufacturer’s board approved a preferential issue of up to 9.73 Lakh equity shares at ₹853 apiece to four non-promoter investors, targeting nearly ₹83 Cr.

Motilal Oswal Financial Services will invest ₹40.1 Cr, followed by Calliope Capital Advisors at ₹31.4 Cr, Param Value Investments at ₹8.5 Cr, and Hem Growth Opportunities Fund at nearly ₹3 Cr.

Zelio also plans to issue over 9.96 Lakh convertible warrants at the same price to promoters Niraj Arya, Deepak Arya, and Kunal Arya, raising nearly ₹85 Cr. The promoters will pay 25% of the warrant value upfront, with the balance payable upon conversion within 18 months.

Following the equity allotment and full warrant conversion, promoter shareholding is expected to decline to 70.9% from 72.8%, while public shareholding would increase to 29.1% from 27.2%. 

Zelio plans to deploy the proceeds towards growth initiatives as it expands manufacturing capacity and distribution. Following the addition of its Coimbatore facility, the company is targeting annual production capacity of 2.4 Lakh units in Q2 FY27, up from 1.8 Lakh units.

It also plans to expand its dealership network to 550 by the end of FY27 from 400 at the end of FY26.

Founded in 2021, the Hisar-based company primarily manufactures low-speed escooters. It listed on the BSE SME platform in 2025 after raising ₹78.34 Cr.

Zelio’s standalone profit rose 75.4% to ₹28 Cr in FY26 from nearly ₹16 Cr in FY25. Including its auto-components subsidiary, consolidated operating revenue stood at ₹310.7 Cr in FY26.

Edited by Vinaykumar Rai
Creatives by Varshita Srivastava

Source: Inc42