Flipkart co-founder to launch $400m fund in Singapore, sources say

Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal is planning to launch a venture capital fund with a target size of US$300 million to US$400 million to focus on startups needing growth capital, two sources familiar with the matter told The Times of India.

Photo credit: Flipkart

According to the report, Bansal looks to base the fund out of Singapore and roll it out by the end of 2019. Its focus would primarily be startups in India, but founders in Southeast Asia may also be considered.

Bansal will act as a general partner of the fund and is likely to make investments accounting for 10% to 20% of its target size, a source said, adding that Bansal will start roping in other investors soon. Other possible anchor investors could include fund of funds and family offices, the source said.

Another former Flipkart executive, Rajneesh Baweja, has also been tapped to handle the entity’s finance and legal functions, the report said.

Bansal left his post as the CEO of the Indian ecommerce firm late last year. Prior to that, Walmart had snapped up Flipkart for roughly US$16 billion, during which Bansal sold more than 1.1 million shares for about US$159 million.

It was also reported that the former Flipkart chief sold an additional US$76.4 million worth of shares in the company to a Walmart entity early this year.