Exciting time for unicorn startups in India: Sequoia Capital’s Rajan Anandan
Rajan Anandan's Sequoia Capital is one of the backers of MobiKwik, including Bajaj Finance and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
Rajan Anandan, the managing director of Sequoia Capital, said on Friday the Indian startup ecosystem has been a decade in the making and the number of tech IPOs in the country has surprised everyone.
“In terms of are companies ready to go public…the real test of that will be in a few years,” Rajan Anandan said on the fourth day of the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2021.
Rajan Anandan’s comments came after the dismal market debut of digital payments start-up Paytm earlier this month. In India's largest-ever IPO, Paytm made one of the worst major Indian stock market debuts as its shares fell more than 27 per cent.
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Bankers and analysts warned that future offerings could be affected, with some specifying MobiKwik's IPO in particular. The company is a direct rival to Paytm in India's ultra-competitive payments space.
Sequoia Capital is one of the backers of MobiKwik, including Bajaj Finance and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
Paytm shares plummeted this month following their debut and are down more than 35 per cent below its issue price of ₹2,150 per share, as investors have questioned both the company's steep valuation and its business model.
