mumbai, Dec. 20 -- The Indian capital markets are poised for a wave of listings by cloud-based software providers, with bankers and investors predicting that at least seven to eight such startups are preparing to go public locally over the next 12-18 months. Unlike the consumer-facing firms that have dominated the listed pipeline so far, software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies are expected to drive tech initial public offerings (IPOs) next. RateGain and, recently, Capillary Technologies are the only large such listings in India. Now, their peers, including Amagi, Leadsquared, BusinessNext, Zenoti, Icertis, Mindtickle, Juspay and Whatfix, are either preparing for IPOs or considering public listings, bankers and investors said. "Over the last few quarters, we have been seeing a clear build-up in the SaaS IPO pipeline in India, particularly amongst profitably growing companies that scaled during the 2020-22 period and are now approaching predictable ARR (annual recurring revenue) and operating profitability thresholds," said Pankaj Naik, managing director and co-head, digital, tech and consumer investment banking, Avendus Capital. "The number of IPO-ready SaaS companies today is materially higher than in 2021-22, when only a handful qualified." Several SaaS companies, having crossed the $80-100 million revenue mark during the last fiscal year, are trying to raise funds as they seek to provide exits to investors and protect their turf from challengers built around artificial intelligence (AI), experts told Mint. Still, the expected IPO rush will have to overcome AI disruption of the global SaaS industry and slowing growth after the pandemic-era highs. While large, cash-generative names such as Salesforce, Snowflake and HubSpot proved relatively resilient, many mid- and small-cap SaaS stocks, including Freshworks, witnessed steep drawdowns from listing-era highs. However, Indian cloud-based platforms are lining up public listings before the new breed of AI-native startups fully disrupts the industry. Amagi, which provides cloud-based applications for media firms, received the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi) nod for an IPO last month, with a fresh issue of Rs.1,020 crore. The company is evaluating its listing timeline. ".we continue to stay disciplined in how we evaluate market dynamics," an Amagi spokesperson said. Avataar Ventures, a SaaS-focused investor in Amagi, RateGain and Capillary Technologies, is seeing the IPO pipeline building up in its portfolio. "After Amagi, we have BusinessNext and Zenoti, both of which are above $100 million in revenue," said Mohan Kumar, founding managing partner, Avataar Ventures. BusinessNext is a Westbridge-backed lead management software for banks and financial services firms, while Zenoti offers cloud software for spas and fitness centres. Leadsquared, which offers customer relationship management software, told Yourstory earlier this year that it was targeting an IPO in 12-18 months. Chief executive Nilesh Patel told Mint that the company has spent the last few years "strengthening fundamentals such as profitability, operational efficiency, vertical focus and its US business"....