Outlook Business Desk
Among start-up leaders, 17 founders across 10 listed new-age tech companies cumulatively earned about ₹41 crore in fixed pay in FY25, averaging (₹2.4 crore), according to Inc42 analysis of company filings. ESOP encashments and performance-linked payouts further boosted their overall wealth.
Logistics giant Delhivery, one of India’s leading new-age tech firms, paid its CEO Sahil Barua a fixed salary of ₹2.8 crore in FY25, a 3.4% decline from ₹2.9 crore in FY24. Alongside this, he exercised ESOPs worth ₹26.5 crore. Delhivery also posted a net profit of ₹162 crore on revenue of ₹8,932 crore in FY25, marking a sharp turnaround from loss of ₹249.2 crore in FY24.
Barua’s co-founder Kapil Bharati also earned ₹2.8 crore in fixed pay. But his Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) exercise added ₹15.2 crore in additional income during FY25.
In FY25, Ola Electric CEO Bhavish Aggarwal's fixed salary climbed to ₹6.5 crore, more than double the ₹2.9 crore he received in FY24. The pay increase came during a difficult year for the EV maker, which reported a loss of ₹2,276 crore on revenue of ₹4,645 crore during the fiscal and carried out two rounds of layoffs that cut over 1,000 jobs.
IndiaMart’s co-founders, Dinesh Agarwal and Brijesh Agarwal, earned ₹5.5 crore and ₹4 crore fixed salary in FY25, respectively. They also received performance pay of ₹1.9 crore and ₹1.4 crore respectively. Dinesh’s total pay grew 10% to ₹5 crore, while Brijesh’s rose 14.2% to ₹3.5 crore, alongside company revenue of ₹1,388 crore and profit of ₹664 crore during the period.
Paytm’s founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma saw his fixed salary dip 9% to ₹4 crore in FY25. Despite regulatory challenges and restructuring, Paytm reduced its losses by 54% to ₹663.2 crore, later turning profitable in the first quarter of FY26.
Swiggy’s co-founder Sriharsha Majety earned a fixed salary of ₹1.6 crore in FY25. He steered the company through its successful IPO in November 2024. Swiggy’s revenue rose strongly during the year, driven by the rapid growth of its quick-commerce arm Instamart. However, the aggressive expansion of Instamart also pushed up operating costs, which in turn widened Swiggy’s annual losses by 33% to ₹3,116.8 crore in FY25.
Nykaa founder Falguni Nayar drew one of the lowest fixed pays at just ₹78 lakh in FY25.
Deepinder Goyal of Eternal (Zomato) continued his no-salary approach in FY25, choosing not to draw any fixed pay. His compensation remains tied to equity, reflecting a contrasting approach compared to other high-earning start-up founders.