‘Ten of 14 Lightbox cos to clock profit in 1 year’
Mumbai: Lightbox India Advisors Pvt. Ltd expects 10 out of its 14 portfolio companies in India to turn profitable over the next year, a top executive at the venture capital firm said. The company, which entered India in 2014 by acquiring six portfolio firms of venture firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) and Ram Shriram-led Sherpalo Ventures, has raised $450 million across three funds over the last decade and has backed the likes of Dunzo and Rebel Foods.
“If I look at where we sit today with the current portfolio, within the next nine months, six companies will get to profitability. Within the next 12 months, another four will turn profitable. And they will get there by growing smart, improving margins," Sandeep Murthy, partner, Lightbox India, said in an interview.
He declined to name the startups that will become profitable. Lightbox is also invested in startups such as Rupeek, Truecaller, Citiflo, Waycool, Bombay Shirt Co., Zeno Health, and Mellora, according to its website. One of its other portfolio companies Paymate is likely to go public over the next six months.
“If you can create a profitable company, the options for it are manifold. If you are a profitable company, you’re not dependent on any future capital," Murthy said. Lightbox is also not raising its next fund till it can show more liquidity through exits, Murthy said, adding that given its recent changes, the firm would like to focus on generating liquidity.
In August, news website Arc reported that three partners Siddharth Talwar (also a co-founder), Prashant Mehta and Jeremy Wenokur are separating over differences in fund strategy. “We’re not officially raising a fund right now. Because, given our changes, we want to settle down the current
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