venture capital | inves4: Indian Equity Investing

Bet early and exit often: How IIMA Ventures creates a healthy investment cycle

The startup incubator, part of the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A), is barred from raising funds from institutional investors due to regulations governing educational institutions’ involvement in commercial, for-profit activities. As a result, IIMA Ventures doesn’t operate a fund, and instead invests through its balance sheet. The firm, which invests in pre-seed and seed-stage companies, … Read more

Reinvested Dabur dividends created valuable non-core assets: Gaurav Burman

Reinvesting dividends from Dabur over 30 years has created a pool of non-core assets for its promoters that are equally valuable, according to the Burman family scion, Gaurav Burman. The Burman family control Dabur with two-thirds of the company’s shares. “We have been lucky, Dabur achieved excellent growth over the last 30 years, and we … Read more

Three MDs quit Peak XV Partners as senior-level exits continue

Three managing directors, Ashish Agrawal, Ishaan Mittal and Tejeshwi Sharma, have exited Peak XV Partners, marking another round of senior-level departures at the venture capital firm amid an ongoing leadership reshuffle. The exits come at a time when Peak XV is in the midst of a broader transition, recalibrating the organization and investment strategy following … Read more

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Kunal Bahl, Varun Berry: Meet the mentors of Nikhil Kamath and Kishore Biyani’s The Foundery

Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath and Future Group co-founder Kishore Biyani have come together to introduce The Foundery, a residential business launchpad designed to back early-stage startups. The programme, aimed at helping Indian startups to gain momentum, promises to turn aspiring entrepreneurs into co-founders of funded, launch-ready businesses within three months. The Foundery is a 90-day … Read more

Indian family offices have a new favourite—early-stage VC funds

Family offices are increasingly investing more in venture capital firms that back early-stage startups, departing from their traditional playbook of focusing on IPO-ready or pre-IPO funding rounds that deliver faster returns, said fund managers and investment advisors. While family offices mostly allocate only $2-8 million to such VC funds, the investments open up crucial access … Read more

SVB in talks to sell itself, as crisis triggers global banking rout

SVB Financial Group’s efforts to raise money have failed and the troubled bank was in talks to sell itself, CNBC reported on Friday, as a crisis at the tech-heavy lender rippled through global markets and hit banking stocks. Shares of SVB Financial Group were halted on Friday after tumbling 66% in premarket trading. SVB, which … Read more

360 One acquires controlling stake in Mumbai Angels

360 One has completed acquisition of a controlling stake in Mumbai Angels. Mumbai Angels is one of the oldest and a leading player in the early investment space. Financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed. Reason for the subject transaction is obviously the synergy between Mumbai Angel’s network, wide experience in the investment … Read more

Unicorns become ‘cockroaches’ as tech funding dries up

For years, becoming a unicorn was the main goal of startups. Now, with venture funding drying up and many young firms’ survival in doubt, another creature is the talk of the town: the cockroach. Venture capitalists and technology chieftains converged in Singapore in recent weeks to hobnob over a number of high-profile annual conferences, … Read more

How to Land an Investment From Serena Williams’ VC Firm

Serena Williams launched Serena Ventures in 2014 and has invested in over 60 companies. In March, the firm announced it had raised an inaugural fund of $111 million. Williams’ partner shares how to win an investment from the fund, which gets 200 pitches a week. Last week, amid the bright lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium, … Read more