8i Ventures Exits M2P Fintech With 12X Returns

SUMMARY

8i Ventures has completed a successful exit from M2P Fintech, achieving a 12X return on their investment over 4.5 years, and generating 126% of their first fund's corpus with just 10% of its capital.

The firm's initial investment of INR 9.7 Cr in M2P Fintech, which specialises in API infrastructure for financial services, culminated in a return of INR 115.9 Cr.

This strategic exit supports 8i Ventures' plan to focus on early-stage investments, coinciding with the launch of their $50 Mn second fund and the Origami seed funding program targeting fintech and e-commerce.

Early-stage VC firm 8i Ventures has announced a full exit from fintech startup M2P Fintech with 12X returns in 4.5 years.

In 2022, the VC firm made a partial exit from the startup at a return on investment (ROI) of 36X.

8i Ventures said in a statement that it has invested INR 9.7 Cr in M2P Fintech, starting from January 2020. The exit generated 126% of the entire corpus of Fund I on a pre-tax basis, while using only 10% of its capital.

“We invested 9.7 Cr in this company starting from Jan 2020, which was our first check. And we invested in Series A as well as B. We’ve exited for a total amount of INR 115.9 Cr, are booking and MOIC (Multiple on Invested Capital) of 12X and an IRR of 131% over four and a half years,” Vikram Chachra, founding partner of 8i Ventures told Inc42.

The exit aligns with 8i Ventures’ strategy to return capital to investors and reinvest in early-stage companies.

Chachra said, “Every fund is like a basket of future winners. When you can use a minimum amount of capital and return the cost of that basket, you should do it, because then the rest of the basket becomes free.”

8i Ventures’ Fund I, launched in May 2019 and closed in July 2021, managed $15.5 Mn.The fund’s value has increased by 2.5 times its initial investment. It has achieved an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 37% and a MOIC of 3.3X

M2P Fintech, founded in 2014 by Madhusudanan R, Muthukumar A, and Prabhu R, is an API infrastructure company that enables businesses to embed financial services. It provides payment processing, card issuance, core banking systems, and lending infrastructure etc., to companies such as CRED, Ola, Razorpay, Jupiter.

It recently raised INR 850 Cr in a Series D round led by Helios Investment Partners, valuing the company at INR 6,500 Cr.

This exit aligns with recent trends in the Indian startup ecosystem, particularly in the fintech sector. Last month, Zodius Capital exited OfBusiness with over $100 Mn returns on an $8 Mn investment.

In July, SoftBank’s exit from Paytm at a loss of $150 Mn. Also in January, SoftBank scored a $650 Mn return in exit from PolicyBazaar parent. In a non-fintech but significant exit, Ratan Tata partially exited Upstox with 10X returns in October 2024.

8i Ventures’ portfolio includes other high-potential startups like slice, Blue Tokai, Easebuzz and Bbetter. The firm recently launched ‘Origami’, a $10 Mn seed funding program for pre-seed to early revenue stage startups.

“We felt that we could let one go, which has done its job. It had reached a point of returning the fund and some,” Chachra said, explaining the decision to exit M2P Fintech.

The VC firm plans to focus on its second fund of $50 Mn and the Origami program, investing in fintech and e-commerce sectors.