Sanjeev Bikhchandani-founded Info Edge (India), the BSE-listed Internet company most well known for jobs portal Naukri, has been flexing some serious muscle in the early stage startup investing space. At the close of its latest financial year ended March 31, 2013, the Delhi-based company had nearly Rs 250 crore (approximately $46 million at prevailing foreign…More
Rajesh Raju on Kalaari Capital’s mass consumer focus and Fund II deal run
If there’s a slowdown underway in venture capital deal making in India, it isn’t evident from Kalaari Capital’s deal run in recent months. Seven-odd months into its relaunch under the current brand identity, the Bangalore-headquartered venture capital investor has put together a portfolio of 10 companies from its second India-dedicated fund, the $150 million Kalaari…More
Opinion: Sushrut’s sale to Smith & Nephew: what it says and what it doesn’t
On May 2, UK-based trauma care products company Smith & Nephew said it would acquire Pune-based Sushrut Surgicals, a homegrown closely held maker of orthopaedic implants such as bone plates and screws used to correct fractures and deformities, for an undisclosed sum, from the Pitre family. The move took me by surprise. After all, Ajay…More
Opinion: Accelerator-to-angel-to VC flow still struggling to find equilibrium in India
I had fun moderating the panel on early stage financing at India Internet Day. VCCircle has an interesting article. The key issues are as under: 1. Too few deals are progressing from accelerators to angel, and from angel to Series A. Only five per cent of deals going from accelerators to Series A might not…More
Mukesh Bansal on Myntra’s acquisitions, marketplace plans
Early last month, in an environment of consolidation-driven acquisitions in the domestic ecommerce market, Myntra decided to change lanes. It went to San Francisco to snap up a technology startup called Fitiquette to bring on board the capability of offering its customers a virtual fitting room. Strategic acquisitions, where the acquirer buys a specific capability…More
Vikram Vora on MyDentist’s run to 150 clinics
Mumbai-based affordable dental care services company MyDentist raised its Series B round of funding this Monday from new investor Asia Healthcare Fund and existing investor Seedfund. For Vikram Vora, MyDentist’s founder and CEO, the round spells growth at an accelerated pace over the next 18 months, at the end of which he expects his four-year…More
How Lok Capital is making the best of the MFI crisis
Betting on microfinance has turned out to be not quite as rough as expected for Lok Capital, the Rockefeller Foundation-backed social venture capital firm. Last week, the firm staged its fourth exit from the sector with the sale of its stake in Delhi-based microfinance institution (MFI) Satin CreditCare Network. Sources close to the firm say…More
Pepperfry’s Ambareesh Murty on why it doesn’t take much money to build a good ecommerce biz in India
Earlier this month, Pepperfry, the Mumbai-based ecommerce company founded by former eBay India country manager Ambareesh Murty, raised its Series B round of funding — $8 million from existing investor Norwest Venture Partners. Several things have changed inside the company since it went live with its online store a little over a year ago. The…More
Former Genpact chief Pramod Bhasin on upskilling and social impact
In his earlier life as the CEO of Gurgaon-headquartered BPO Genpact, Pramod Bhasin often found himself interviewing prospective recruits. But instead of dwelling on academic or professional qualifications, Bhasin found it more interesting to delve into the person’s background, often looking for anecdotal evidence of struggle, passion and life skills. In May 2011, after stepping…More
Anunta Tech founders on moves post-funding
Anunta Technology Management Services, a Mumbai-based cloud startup that offers applications delivery as a service (ADaaS), has spent most of the past two years evolving its own identity. The company started out in early 2010 as a spin-out subsidiary of BSE-listed BPO company Firstsource Solutions and became an independent entity only last year. In February,…More