US-based venture capital firm Tribe Capital, which has a dedicated India investment vehicle, has partnered with homegrown investment firm Oister Global to launch a new fund focused on secondary transactions in India.
Together, Tribe Capital and Oister Global will invest $500 million in the next two years.
The Indian secondary market has steadily become a substantive source of funding. In the last 4–5 years, $7.7 billion has been transacted – a number that rivals total amounts raised via IPO exits during the same period, the firms said in a joint statement.
“Secondaries will be the tipping point for qualified investors to enter private markets, just as IPOs have revolutionised access to public markets,” said Sandeep Sinha, Co-CEO of Oister.
Globally, the secondaries’ market is estimated at over $130 billion, while India’s secondaries are still at an early stage. The launch of this franchise seeks to capitalise on the growing demand and bring unparalleled expertise to the table.
“The Indian private equity and venture capital sectors are ripe for secondaries, with increasing numbers of investors seeking to monetise their positions. In the first half of 2024, 62% of startup deals valued between $50-500 million were secondary transactions or buyouts. As companies with strong unit economics prepare for potential IPOs, we expect demand for secondaries to soar,” said Raj Snehil Juneja, co-founder of Tribe Capital India.
Earlier this year, DealStreetAsia reported that Tribe Capital is looking to launch a fund dedicated to the country with a target corpus of $150 million.
Tribe Capital has been so far investing in India through its three global venture funds that have a combined corpus of over $800 million.
It is understood to have invested over $1.5 billion across diverse markets and has backed 13 unicorns, of which two are in India. These include Shiprocket, a logistics tech platform headquartered in Bengaluru; and online trucking platform BlackBuck.
The firm’s portfolio companies include Khatabook, a digital ledger app that helps micro, small and medium-sized businesses track transactions; health and insurtech startup Loop Health; and Krab, a SaaS and fintech startup that enables truckers/trucking companies with no formal credit score to access loans from banks.
Oister Global floated a new fund worth $53 million in April to fuel innovations across consumption-driven and emerging technology-led sectors. Founded by Rohit Bhayana and Sandeep Sinha, Oister has previously invested in funds like Blume Ventures and Stride Ventures.
