Suhail Sameer Backed OTP Ventures Eyes First Close Of Debut Fund At INR 400 Cr

Former BharatPe CEO Suhail Sameer-backed OTP Ventures is planning to mark the first close of its debut fund at INR 400 Cr by June. 

Founded in 2023, OTP Ventures is an early stage fund which Sameer cofounded with FoodPanda’s former managing director Kunal Suri and video commerce app Simsim’s cofounder Saurabh Vashishtha. 

“They would be anchoring the fund and be the largest investors in the same, while the rest will come from a mix of founders, institutions (Indian and global), and established professionals. They are still in talks to onboard some Limited Partners (LPs), and will make the first close by June,” Moneycontrol reported. 

The fund looks forward to supporting startups in the consumer, consumer tech and fintech sector. The venture has been signing seed cheques since inception.

On the LinkedIn page, OTP mentioned, “Our fund focuses on early stage. We like to be the first fund that the founder brings into the company at Seed or Pre Series A. Being ex founders ourselves, we believe we can help founders in their early years of building. We are available to founders when they need a sounding board to discuss critical matters affecting their business.”

According to its LinkedIn page, it counts Rupeek, Traya, Fable Street, abcoffee, NatHabit, as among its portfolios. 

Sameer stepped down as the CEO of BharatPe last year after an internal tussle broke out at the fintech startup.

As an angel investor, Sameer has backed the likes of Mamaearth, OTO, Zesty, etc.

He resigned at a crucial time when the startup reported a 3x rise in its losses in FY22 to more than INR 5,000 Cr, including a 30x rise in expenses. Back then, Inc42 learnt from sources that despite BharatPe’s revenue from operations doubling to nearly INR 300 Cr.