Private Equity

Product Manager

finally a VC fund that will actually support fraud openly 👏🏻

finally a VC fund that will actually support fraud openly 👏🏻- Grapevine

Welcome to News Discussion's Private Community

Lots of new VC funds coming up + existing funds raising lots of capital

Welcome to Indian Startups's Private Community

VCs have been caught with their pants down in the number fudging scandals and now trying to wash their hands off from it. Impossible to execute without VC blessings. Investigation should be done and strict action taken on rogue VCs.

Finance Consultant

Great to see VCs getting creative :)

Investment Associate

I have evaluated a lot of startups as part of my work. My approach has changed from being optimistic to being suspicious of a lot of founders, even before the process starts. 

The sheer number of founders that I come across that try to game metrics/play around with data to make the startup look good. 

Most commonly:
1) Completely changing the definition of margins, repeat rates, etc. and never clarifying that they are using different definition. 
2) Often giving rebates/discounts to key stakeholders but finding ways to hide it from their P&L so that it’s not visible. THIS IS SO COMMON - lot’s of them start showing revenues, and then you will see another cost item rising at the same pace, and lot’s of times it will just be money moving around
3) Sometimes completely giving the wrong picture of how their product works on ground. You then speak with their customers, and they describe something completely else.

Things like these are eating up the ecosystem. These founders also end up fooling some VCs, and then capital get’s kept away from actually good founders who have good intentions.

There was a recent major investment in the commerce space, and that is another one such example of a startup doing this. Needs to stop.

RANT: Founders who fake metrics

Product Owner

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 :)

My notes on Bain's 2024 VC report as a VC Associate

Investor

- Accel gearing up for eighth India fund, aiming for $600-700M by end of 2024
- First major VC fundraise after 2022's funding winter, signaling potential market thaw
- Firm's stable team and strong track record expected to attract significant LP interest
- Accel known for early bets on Flipkart and Freshworks, seeks to maintain early-stage edge
- Company culture praised for alignment and handling of failures, but some sector gaps noted 

 Source: [The Arc](https://thearcweb.com/article/accel-india-fund-flipkart-freshworks-venture-capital-1lhpqpT5OmDbBxTs)

Accel Targets $700M India Fund, Largest Yet Amid VC Landscape Shifts

Journalist

Even as Matrix was one of the most active startup investors, the VC firm halved its investments in 2022 from a year earlier, when the VC participated in 22 rounds, data by Tracxn Technologies showed. This year, the VC has not participated in a single deal yet

Matrix Partners expands India-focused fund to $525M amid funding winter

More capital with another top VC as we continue to go through a bear market, interesting

Tiger, Elevation and Matrix backed fintech startup has started layoff.  CTO has left and they have started firing in business roles with the largest cuts in tech. 

- Bad product fitment and loses money on every account
- Core team has started leaving
- Even got an opportunity to see their office space available for rent
- Classic case of poor culture and no actual product
- Founders travel to USA/london on trips
- Horrible place to work as a girl

Got this from one of their devs.  


STAY Away!!

JODO - Silent layoffs Started!!!

Krutrim has become a unicorn after securing $50m in funding, making it the first Indian AI startup with a valuation of $1bn. It seems like an extremely overvalued company being built yet again. Thoughts?

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