Vikash Choudhury, the former top executive of Jio, has launched his own investment firm named Playbook Partners. The firm has reportedly announced the first closing of its maiden fund at $130mn.
Choudhury told the Economic Times that the firm might later expand the size of the fund to $250mn. Due to significant interest from institutional investors based in Europe, the US, the Middle East and India, Playbook announced that they closed their first fund in just four months after starting it. However, as per reports, the names of the investors have not been disclosed.
The purpose of the fund is to focus on growth-stage companies with an established business model but who are in need of funds to expand their business model. Speaking to the Economic Times, Choudhury said, “We are going to invest in tech-first growth-stage companies that have shown strong business potential and are operating at a revenue base of between Rs 100 crore and Rs 200 crore."
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Choudhury also mentioned that they will be looking for a positive contribution margin in the businesses. The company, which is already in talks with start-ups with regards to investment, is focusing on tech-first businesses. To add to it, the average ticket size of the investment would be between $10mn and $20mn.
Other areas that would be the key focus of the firm include healthcare and climate change. While the exact number of start-ups in which the firm would invest is not known, as per Inc42, Choudhury said that Playbook has 200 growth-stage start-ups lined up for potential investment.
He reportedly said, “There are over 1 lakh start-ups in India and less than 1,000 start-ups that have reached the growth stage. Therefore, it is an underrepresented asset class in India. Further, it takes a certain kind of DNA to partake in growth capital.” Choudhury reportedly mentioned that their leadership team has several decades of practical experience in developing growth-stage enterprises, which gives them an advantage in this field.
