Are Indian startup IPOs actually progress… or just risk being dumped on retail investors?

I keep seeing headlines that Indian startups raised ₹44,000 crore from public markets in FY25, more than private capital. The narrative is: “We’ve matured. IPOs are the new exit. We’re not dependent on VCs anymore.” But I can’t help wondering… have we matured, or just shifted the risk?

When companies go public before they’ve nailed profitability, governance, and sustainable unit economics, isn’t that just transferring downside from VCs (who can absorb losses) to retail investors (who often can’t)?

Think about the incentives, VCs get liquidity, Founders get exits, Banks get fees. Retail holds the long-term bag if growth projections don’t materialize. A lot of these IPOs are pricing in a decade of growth in year three. If multiples compress, who eats that?

To me, real maturity would mean, IPOs at profitability, Strong post-IPO performance and Retail actually creating wealth, not subsidizing early investors.

Curious how others here see it. Is this ecosystem evolution or just a public-market bubble in the making?