
Bet early and exit often: How IIMA Ventures creates a healthy investment cycle
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.IIM Ahmedabad's venture platform IIMA Ventures has averaged six to eight exits from its startup portfolio every yearsince the financial year 2012-13 (FY13)—a pace of returns that outstrips even some of India's leading venture capital funds.IIMA Ventures exited Pune-based Unbox Robotics earlier this year when the warehouse automation startup raised $28 million in its Series B round led by ICICI Venture. It was among the first institutional backers of the company, writing an $80,000 ( ₹75 lakh) cheque when it raised a $500,000 seed round back in 2020.
IIMA Ventures saw an 8X return on its investment.“We're there when the founders start their zero to one journeys, and when they start raising follow-on rounds, there are other partners to clean up the cap table,” said IIMA Ventures managing partner Priyanka Chopra.Other exits include a 60X return on its investment in drone delivery startup Airbound, which is currently in the process of closing its pre-Series B round, and a 7X return on Finarkein, which is also in the process of raising its pre-Series B round. IIMA Ventures had participated in Airbound's $1.7 million seed round back in 2022 while Finarkein had been a part of the firm's Financial Inclusion Lab back since 2021.“Exits give us the ability to make new investments.
It makes more sense to invest in up-and-coming interesting opportunities rather than holding on to companies where our part in their story has played out,” said Chopra.The startup incubator, part of the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A), is barred from raising funds from institutional investors due to regulations governing educational institutions’ involvement in commercial, for-profit activities. As a
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