KKR executive Sanjay Nayar sets up VC Fund worth $135 mn to back early-stage tech startups
- ByStartupStory | June 6, 2022
Sanjay Nayar, an industry veteran and advisor at investment company KKR, has launched a venture fund to support early-stage entrepreneurs in India. Sorin Investment Management, a fund founded by Sanjay has secured $125 million from the family offices of Caravel Group’s Nayar and Banga families. The fund intends to invest in ten firms in consumer technology, finance, and software as a service (SaaS). In the future, the fund may grow and raise more capital from institutional investors. Its founding team consists of six individuals.
Nayar said that there is a void to be addressed in the country’s early-stage investment ecosystem, and this fund will operate in that gap. He also added that the funds won’t be hasty or brazen about it, but they will approach it steadily. Startups that assumed VCs were sitting on the sidelines with a lot of dry powder on the sidelines have been proven wrong now, Nayar said about the present scenario.
The Indian startup ecosystem is experiencing a financial winter as a result of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, rising prices and interest rates, and recession projections. In 2022, several Indian firms have laid off staff.
Nayar began his career as a banker at Citibank. He was the CEO of Citigroup’s Indian and South Asian businesses and a member of Citigroup’s management committee and Asia executive operational committee. Nayar was in charge of KKR’s India operations till 2020. He is a member of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum in addition to being an advisor to KKR. Nayar’s family office has invested in a number of technology startups, including beauty ecommerce portal Nykaa and financial venture Flexiloans. It owns more than 52% of Nykaa and is run by Nayar’s wife Falguni Nayar. He is one of the most prolific investors in the Indian PE market, known for establishing teams and turning around firms in addition to multimillion-dollar deals.
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