Silicon Valley-based early-stage venture capital firm Rocketship.vc has been bullish on the Indian market. It has already invested in startups including Khatabook, Apna, Moglix, etc, and plans to focus more on the emerging Indian landscape.
Speaking about the startup activity in India, Madhu Shalini Iyer, Partner, Rocketship.vc says Rocketship.vc is data-driven and has been very bullish on the Indian market. “We are a venture capital firm with a twist. We have the largest startup database activity in the world,” she shares in an episode of YourStory’s Daily Dispatch.
The firm has been focusing heavily on India lately and has been doubling down on investments in the Indian startup ecosystem.
Madhu Shalini Iyer, Partner, Rocketship.vc
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“India is still showing up very heavily on our screens,” says Madhu. The firm’s strategy continues to be — 'the best comes first’. She adds that the team is currently seeing a lot of fintech activity in the Indian market. Apart from that, B2B, B2C and ecommerce players are also coming into focus, but fintech is outshining other sectors.
While talking about the valuation scenario in India at present, Madhu mentions that company market capitalisations have been very high as of now. However, Rocketship.vc is noticing some value corrections across the board.
“In the Valley, late-stage deals are getting squeezed in and that is what’s going to happen everywhere,” she says. She adds that even for early-stage startups, the valuations are coming down and in her opinion, this wave of correction is going to hit India as well.
“I do think that there is going to be a lot of appetite for companies and startups that are doing really well and that has a lot of value creation. They are going to see a lot of fundraising before things take a turn to correct themselves,” says Madhu.
In terms of the fundraising scenario, she says that Rocketship.vc has already raised two rounds and is in the process of raising a third. “We have always been a global fund; our strategy is global,” she says.
The firm is very excited about the emerging markets, especially India. “We are going to go where the algorithms take us and that algorithm is really reflective of what’s going on in the world,” Madhu signs off.
Edited by Kanishk Singh