Prosus is testing waters in early stage investing in India after some major bets in Indian startups like BYJU’S, Pharmeasy having backfired while a few other portfolio startups reeling under losses Prosus this year marked its first seed stage investment in India and has also rejigged its top brass to execute early stage investments As VCs write the new playbook, analysts say that large ticket deals will be delayed than before Prosus, one of the most active investors in the Indian startup ecosystem, is gradually undergoing a shift in its India strategy. The Dutch investment major’s focus has turned from large bets and buyouts in India to seed and early stage investments. Notably, Prosus has poured in more than $7 Bn into Indian startups so far, according to data from Inc42 and Tracxn, mostly through large ticket sizes and investments in unicorns such as Swiggy, Meesho, Pharmeasy, The Good Glamm Group, Urban Company among others .
The investment giant’s volume of large deals has fallen consistently since 2021 from 10 deals to five such deals in 2022 and then 3 in 2023, and just the one late stage deal in 2024. In contrast, Prosus had invested in more Series A rounds in the past few years than ever before — two in 2021, five in 2022 and another deal in 2023. In February 2023, Prosus took a seed stage bet for the first time in India, when it invested in Bengaluru-based Kratos Studios in an INR 160 Cr round .
Prosus also participated in the $26 Mn seed round for Gurugram-b.