It came as a surprise to Meesho co-founder and CEO Vidit Aatrey when early-stage backer Elevation Capital wanted to increase its stake in the company ahead of its public market debut. In a round in June 2025, co-founders Aatrey and Sanjeev Kumar offloaded their shares, with Elevation Capital increasing its shareholding in the company to 14 percent ahead of the IPO in December.

The move reflected Elevation Capital’s confidence in Meesho’s upcoming public market performance, and the long-term relationship shared by the early-stage investor and the value-commerce platform.

“Ecommerce in India was built for the top 40 million to 50 million customers living in urban areas before Meesho came in and built a true value-ecommerce play for the broader India,” says Mukul Arora, co-managing partner at Elevation Capital.

He adds, “Even if online commerce in India grows to 15 percent of the total retail opportunity of nearly $1 trillion in a few years, from the current share of 6 percent, the headroom is massive. Meesho is well-positioned to command a disproportionate share of this market with its differentiated platform, stellar team and being the only one generating cash. We think of ourselves as long-term partners of Meesho.”

The association worked out well for Elevation even as it sold shares worth ₹271 crore in the Offer for Sale (OFS) during Meesho’s listing process, booking a 37x return on its initial investment. It continues to hold 12 percent in the company, apart from being a part of its board.

Not just Meesho, Elevation Capital has also seen Urban Company generate 19x returns in 2025 on partial sale of its stake during the OFS, while it holds around 9 percent. The venture capital firm continues to hold its shares in Wakefit and did not participate in the OFS in December 2025. Its past portfolio of winners include Swiggy and Paytm, as well as FirstCry from which it exited ahead of the IPO.

Elevation Capital also announced its $400 million late-stage fund, Elevation Holdings, in August to bet on companies one to three years away from a public listing. The new fund ties in with the firm’s principal of offering long-term partnership to its portfolio companies, in addition to investing in opportunities it might have missed along the way.

A closer look at the fund’s investments........

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