SoftBank India Elevates Sarthak Misra To Partner Role

Sarthak Misra, formerly investment director at SoftBank India, has been promoted to the role of partner.

SoftBank communicated this update to its portfolio companies in India on Tuesday, ET reported.

Having joined SoftBank in 2019 following his tenure at Matrix Partners India, Misra currently holds board positions in startups such as the ecommerce unicorn Meesho and B2B online retailer OfBusiness.

Additionally, he works closely with food delivery giant Swiggy and eyewear retailer Lenskart.

In his new role, Misra will still report to Sumer Juneja, SoftBank’s Managing Partner for India & EMEA, who oversees operations in India and Europe.

Narendra Rathi, investment director at SoftBank Investment Advisors focusing on deals in SaaS and the B2B sector, will also work under Juneja, who has led SoftBank’s India investment team for over five years.

Vikas Agnihotri, an operating partner who worked closely with Paytm ahead of its IPO in 2021, exited the investment fund in September.

This promotion comes at a time when SoftBank is reportedly preparing itself to invest in Indian startups again, after a dry spell of nearly 18 months. SoftBank will be resuming signing deals with Indian startups shortly, Juneja said earlier as per reports.

SoftBank which usually invests over $100 Mn per round will continue to do so, particularly in growth-stage investments.

The fair value of SoftBank India’s investment portfolio across vision fund I and II stands at nearly $14 Bn, up by 9% as of December 2023, according to a presentation from the Japanese investor during its earnings release.

SoftBank turned profitable for the first time in five quarters with a net profit of over $6 Bn for the three months ended December, aided by a stock rally in listed firms from vision fund I. The investor made a full exit from Zomato and Policybazaar last year.

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