Bengaluru-based logistics firm Shadowfax Technologies has filed an updated Draft Red Herring Prospectus (UDRHP) with India’s markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to raise ₹2,000 crore via an initial public offering (IPO).
The proposed structure: a fresh issue of shares worth up to ₹1,000 crore, paired with an Offer-for-Sale (OFS) of up to ₹1,000 crore by existing shareholders.
Below, we explore how Shadowfax went from a late-millennial IIT-founded startup to a logistics player gearing up for a public listing — including its founding story, what it does today, and where it is headed next.
The Founding Story
Shadowfax was born in 2015, co-founded by Abhishek Bansal and Vaibhav Khandelwal, both alumni of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi. They were later joined by two more co-founders: Gaurav Jaithlia and Praharsh Chandra.
Bansal, originally from Meerut and an IIT-Delhi graduate, had prior experience in retail in China and insights into last-mile logistics from early professional stints.
In March 2015, along with Khandelwal, he co-founded Shadowfax in Bengaluru, with the vision of solving one of India’s most persistent problems: last-mile delivery at scale.
Their early proposition: take the “Uber-style” crowdsourced model and apply it to delivery across urban India — food, groceries, e-commerce parcels — while layering in tech and routing sophistication.
What They Do Today
Fast forward to now, Shadowfax has evolved into a full-fledged logistics network offering:
-
End-to-end last-mile delivery for e-commerce, D2C brands, quick commerce, hyperlocal and reverse logistics.
- Coverage across 2,200+ cities and 14,300+ PIN codes (per the company’s own numbers) across India.
- A partner network comprising a significant number of delivery-persons, micro-entrepreneurs and fleets.
- A technology stack that includes geocoding engines (to deal with India’s tricky addressing), routing optimisation, and data-driven operational efficiency.
In the most recent financial disclosures tied to the IPO filing, Shadowfax reported revenue of approximately ₹2,485 crore for FY 25 and processed tens of millions of orders — indicating a year-on-year growth of around 30 % for that period.
The business is backed by marquee investors such as Flipkart Internet (Walmart-owned), TPG, Eight Roads Ventures, Mirae Asset and international partners like the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Why the IPO Now and What It Signals
By filing for an IPO of ₹2,000 crore, Shadowfax is signalling several things:
-
Capital for expansion – The fresh issue (₹1,000 crore) will be used for network infrastructure build-out, lease payments for first-mile/last-mile and sort-centres, marketing, and potentially inorganic acquisitions.
- Exit/Partial exit for early investors – The OFS portion allows existing investors and some founders to realise some of their gains. For example, Flipkart is set to offload shares worth up to ~₹237 crore.
- Market positioning – A public listing will elevate Shadowfax’s brand visibility, compliance discipline and competitive posture. The logistics sector in India is under pressure, and listing may create more credibility with enterprise clients and institutional capital.
- Timing with market tailwinds – India’s e-commerce and hyperlocal commerce volumes are expected to grow strongly, and last-mile logistics remains a high-leverage play. Shadowfax is positioning itself to capture this tailwind.
For more updates and insights on upcoming public listings and market debuts, explore our IPO News.
Founder Focus: Abhishek Bansal
As co-founder and MD & CEO, Abhishek Bansal plays a pivotal role in shaping the company’s strategy and scaling its operations. A quick profile:
-
Educated at IIT Delhi in Production & Industrial Engineering.
- Early professional experience included work in retail and consulting, and exposure to China’s retail/logistics environment.
- Vision: create a platform that generates meaningful self-employment (“micro-entrepreneurs”) by enabling delivery partners to run their units via Shadowfax’s tech and network.
-
Under his leadership, the company has grown from a small startup to one of India’s major last-mile logistics names.