Why Tiger Global’s ferocious roar has turned into a soft mewl

livemint.com:

Star Wars franchise, a farmboy who became the galaxy’s greatest Jedi knight. Or perhaps it wasn’t. But one thing was clear: Skywalker Investment Advisors was looking to hitch its wagon to a star.

And so, when Tiger Global was raising PIP 15 (Private Investment Partners), its largest global fund, back in 2021, the small family office from Vadodara, which was testing the global tech investing waters, was very keen to get on board. With some help from an intermediary, Skywalker Investment Advisors, which is backed by the owners of Rubamin, a business that is into metals and recycling of waste, subscribed to the fund. It would go on to become Tiger Global’s largest-ever fund, raising $12.7 billion.

“We got an introduction through an investment banking relationship, as otherwise, it is quite difficult to get through to them," Rammohan Padiyath, the family office’s director, told Mint. Skywalker’s investment in Tiger, during the highs of 2021, was driven by the firm’s reputation as a prolific technology investor, globally and in India. But as things stand, that bet may take some time to pay off.

Because Tiger Global has been on a wobbly trajectory of late. Founded in 2001 by Chase Coleman III, Tiger Global found early success through its hedge funds and its public market funds which invested in the US technology stocks. In emerging markets, it burnished its reputation in China where it made a killing through investments in JD.com, now the country’s largest retailer by revenue, and Didi Global, a ride-hailing app like Uber.

According to a Wall Sreet Journal article, Tiger made $5 billion in gains from its $200 million investment into JD.com. In India, Tiger Global is known to have backed over 160 companies. Its biggest bets