MUMBAI:
SoftBank Investment Advisers, which invests through
SoftBank Vision Fund, is looking to strengthen its presence in India’s technology ecosystem with plans to open an office in Mumbai. The Japanese investment giant has also roped in Sumer Juneja from venture capital firm
Norwest Venture Partners to lead Indian operations.
ET was the first to report, in its Wednesday’s edition, that Juneja would join
SoftBank to lead its India investments. He had a nine-year stint at Norwest Venture Partners, where he led and invested in deals like those in
Swiggy, Komli Media and
Quikr.
Juneja “will play a pivotal role in working with our existing portfolio companies as well as sourcing new opportunities on the ground”, Rajeev Misra, CEO of SoftBank Investment Advisers, said in a statement. “India represents an enormous addressable market comprising a young, tech-enabled population. I am excited by many of the opportunities we see there and look forward to announcing further investments in the coming months,” said Misra.
Of the $8 billion that SoftBank has invested in India, about $5 billion has come from the 18-month-old SoftBank Vision Fund in four of India’s highest-valued technology companies: hospitality group
OYO, digital payments provider
Paytm, insurance comparison site
PolicyBazaar and online retailer
Flipkart.