BackTiger Global set to raise $6 bn fund for early-stage startups
India continues to be a top market for Tiger Global, and the firm is increasing its focus on very early-stage bets.
PremiumUS investment firm Tiger Global Management is looking to raise a new fund with a target corpus of $6 billion to invest in early-stage startups in India as well as other markets.
The target corpus for the new fund is nearly half of the amount raised for a previous fund, signalling a slowdown in its pace of investment. This may affect fund flows to the Indian market as well, said three people familiar with the technology investor’s plans.
According to a Bloomberg report, Tiger Global is seeking to raise its $6-billion Fund 16 primarily to back enterprise startups in India amid a lower-valuation environment.
Up to a tenth of the new fund will come from its partners, as was the case in a majority of its recent funds.
In a letter to its investors seeking to raise the new fund, Private Investment Partner or PIP 16, Tiger Global said it will focus on “under-penetrated categories" with rapid and long-term growth potential such as internet-enabled enterprise software, fintech and consumer firms, the Bloomberg report said.
According to one of the three people cited above, India continues to be a top market for Tiger Global, and the firm is increasing its focus on very early-stage bets. Earlier this year, Tiger had hinted that its portfolio companies in India must prepare for a benign investment environment and liquidity tightening. However, it made clear that it will not shy away from investing in follow-on rounds of its winner portfolio companies demonstrating stronger unit economics, a second person said.
Tiger is an aggressive early-stage investor and has backed the likes of Flipkart, Zomato, Sharechat, Delhivery, Groww, Ola, Unacademy, Dream11 and Inframarket.
It has been one of the biggest overseas investors to invest in early-stage startups in India.
Tiger Global raised $12.7 billion for its Fund 15, a large part of which flowed into Indian firms. In 2020, it infused $677 million into Indian startups and more than $1 billion in 2021. Initially, Tiger Global started as a hedge fund business, but pivoted to launch its private equity arm in 2003 headed by Chase Coleman and Scott Shleifer.
Shleifer has backed startups across ed-tech, enterprise, and food delivery in India, and is a believer in India’s investment and growth potential.
When contacted, a Tiger Global spokesperson declined to comment on the story.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!
