Key takeaways from Prosus 2024 Annual Report

"BYJU’S grew considerably since our first investment in 2018, but, over time, its reporting and governance structures did not evolve sufficiently for a company of that scale. Despite repeated efforts from our Director, executive leadership at BYJU’S regularly disregarded advice and recommendations relating to strategic, operational, legal, and corporate governance matters. The decision for our Director to step down from the BYJU’S Board was taken after it became clear that he was unable to fulfil his fiduciary duty to serve the long-term interests of the Company and its stakeholders." https://techcrunch.com/2023/07/24/prosus-questions-byjus-governance-says-indian-edtech-regularly-disregarded-advice/?tpcc=tcplustwitter

- Early investors in Swiggy, including Prosus, Accel, and Elevation Capital, are selling shares ahead of the company's IPO later this year. - New investors, such as 360 One and high net-worth individuals, are buying these shares, showing confidence in Swiggy's growth potential. - The company is signaling a potential IPO valuation of $10-13 billion, with current secondary transactions valuing it at $9.3 billion. - Accel and Elevation Capital, early investors since 2015, are selling shares to realize gains accumulated over the years. - Prosus, holding around 33% of Swiggy, needs to reduce its stake to 25% or below to avoid being tagged as a promoter during the IPO. Source: Moneycontrol

Prosus just released their annual report - was checking it out and saw that they've written off 100% of their Byju's stake For the unaware, they're Byju's largest share holder with ~10% of the business - their stake was last valued at 2 billion. They're writing off TWO BILLION - let that sink in! Also they've marked down their stake in pharmeasy by 35% 🤔

I am currently working at a startup for 1.5 years now and wants to switch. If swiggy has an opening , is it a good place to work at ? Also how’s the pay there ? But good work culture is more important for me.

While I'm proud of these two revolutionising the quick commerce space, I somehow have a bad feeling about this Profits aren't coming, money is flowing Don't know what the VCs are seeking? Why bake a a pie that you can't eat later?

- Swiggy, backed by SoftBank, plans to file its draft red herring prospectus with India's market regulator by the first week of September, aiming for a $1.28 billion IPO. - The IPO will be the second-largest for a venture capital-backed company in India, following Paytm, with Swiggy aiming to raise Rs 10,400 crore. - Swiggy's valuation is expected to be around $16 billion, approximately 60% of Zomato's market capitalization, according to sources. - The company confidentially filed documents for the IPO in April and received shareholder approval for a fresh issue of Rs 3,750 crore and an offer for sale worth Rs 6,664 crore. - Swiggy's IPO comes as its rival Zomato has seen significant stock price gains, and the listing will set a valuation benchmark for Swiggy, which needs to achieve profitability to attract investors. Source: [Your Story](https://yourstory.com/2024/08/swiggy-drhp-ipo-first-week-september)

- Zepto is looking to raise an additional $310 Mn, marking a 40% increase from its previous fundraise just over a month ago. - This latest round will bring the total funds raised by Zepto to nearly $1 Bn across two successive rounds. - In June, Zepto raised $665 Mn, more than doubling its valuation to $3.6 Bn from $1.4 Bn in August last year. - Mars Growth Capital and General Catalyst are set to participate in the next round, with Mars Growth investing about $50 Mn and General Catalyst around $200 Mn. - Zepto's valuation has increased more than three-and-a-half times in the past year, driven by rapid growth in demand for quick commerce. Source: [Inc42](https://inc42.com/buzz/zepto-in-talks-for-another-funding-round-of-310-mn-at-5-bn-valuation/)

Been spending way too much time on Grapevine lately - absolutely loving it @Micheal_Scott! Posted the Prosus report takeaways yday - lots of you DMed asking questions. Then I saw NewsAnchor break down the entire Prosus Annual Report - great stuff. I was an Associate at one of the largest VC funds in India, so I enjoy going through new reports and summarising them - found my notes from Bain's India Venture Capital Report 2024. Thought of sharing the unedited summary that I shared with the Partners at the fund, have a bunch of these - can share more if of value to any of you here (ofc removing the confidential parts) Notes: 1/ India's maintaining its gravitational pull despite the global funding crunch. Sure, overall funding nosedived 63% to $9.6B, but we're still the #2 destination in Asia-Pacific. Might not necessarily be a crash, it's a necessary course correction. 2/ Early-stage investing is showing remarkable resilience. Seed deals now comprise 70% of all deals, up from 60%, with average check sizes holding steady at $1.4M. Smart money is quietly positioning itself for the next wave of innovation. 3/ The tech-only playbook is being rewritten. While consumer tech, fintech, and SaaS still command 60% of funding, traditional sectors like BFSI are gaining ground, with average deal sizes jumping from $8M to $15M. We're witnessing the birth of tech-enabled, not just tech-centric, growth stories. 4/ The unicorn factory has hit pause, with only 2 new billion-dollar valuations vs. 23 in 2022. Mega-rounds ($100M+) plummeted from 48 to 15. This isn't a drought; it's a return to fundamentals. The era of grow-now-profit-later is firmly behind us. 5/ Generative AI isn't just hype; it's reshaping the landscape. Funding exploded from $15M to $250M, with 80% flowing to existing companies integrating AI. India's quickly becoming a laboratory for practical AI applications, not just speculative moonshots. 6/ Electric mobility is rewiring itself. While overall funding dipped slightly to $600M+, charging infrastructure investment surged 50%. The real opportunity isn't just in vehicles; it's in building out the entire EV ecosystem. 7/ Exits are defying gravity, leaping 1.7x to $6.6B. Public market sales led the charge at 55%, even as IPOs cooled. LPs are getting liquidity, and the secondary market is proving surprisingly robust. There's still appetite for quality assets. 8/ PE is no longer just watching from the sidelines. These players doubled their share to 25% of investments, going toe-to-toe with traditional VCs. The lines between growth equity and venture capital are blurring, and it's changing the game for late-stage rounds. 9/ We're watching natural selection in real-time. Yes, 35,000+ startups shuttered and 20,000+ layoffs hit the headlines. But companies like Groww and Indifi turned profitable. This isn't a bubble bursting; it's an ecosystem strengthening its foundations. 10/ Domestic VCs are coming of age. While overall fund-raising halved to $4B, homegrown VCs led 90%+ of raises. They're not just following; they're specializing, with thematic funds like Omnivore's $150M agritech vehicle. The ecosystem is bootstrapping its own future. 11/ Regulation isn't just tightening; it's evolving. Angel Tax expanded and lending norms got stricter, but we're also seeing innovative policies like UPI for foreign travelers. India's crafting a uniquely balanced approach to fostering innovation while maintaining stability. Topics we can discuss during our standup: 1/ Can India produce global tech giants if it's primarily adopting rather than pioneering in areas like AI? How do we enable this? 2/ How will the shift towards profitability impact India's ability to foster truly disruptive innovations? Implications for us, how should we be evaluating deals differently? 3/ With domestic VCs leading the charge, how will this change India's startup narrative on the global stage? 4/ Is this maturation setting the stage for more resilient, globally competitive Indian startups, or are we risking our innovation edge? How do we look at thesis driven investing v/s fomo investing? Link to Bain's report - https://www.bain.com/insights/india-venture-capital-report-2024/ P.S. Do note that this is 6+ months old - data points mostly look diff now but sharing it anyways. Will post more as and when I get time :)

Managed to cash out atleast 25% of ESOPs (on average) up till now? This is a very important test of liquidity for our ecosystem. Its been almost 8 years of VC funded existence. Any thoughts on this?