India’s two startup icons switch to the other side — as venture capitalists

• Former Flipkart Group CEO Binny Bansal has closed the first round of $32 million for his VC fund called 021 Capital.
  
• Binny Bansal has raised the round from Premji foundation and others.
  
• Co-founder Sachin Bansal is also said to be raising his own $1 billion fund.

It appears that India’s iconic startup entrepreneurs -- Flipkart co-founders Sachin and Binny Bansal -- are back in business, albeit separately.

Sachin Bansal was said to have begun the process for his own fund for $1 billion to invest in startups. Reports suggested that Sachin was going to pour in 40% of his earnings from the Flipkart exit into the fund while looking at raising investment to close the fund.

Now, Binny Bansal has closed the first round of $32 million for his VC fund called ‘021 Capital’ which he had formed with Sailesh Tulshan, his financial adviser. The former Flipkart Group CEO has raised the round from Premji Foundation also with a backing from former Flipkart employees.

The Bansal Hood

The global retail giant Walmart took up a 77% stake in the Indian e-commerce company for a whopping $16 billion. The deal went on to become one of the world’s largest e-commerce deals with the founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal opening the door for VC-backed startup exits in India.

However, the deal also saw the exit of the Flipkart visionary Sachin Bansal with a cash-out of over $1 billion. Recently, Binny Bansal too stepped down from his position as CEO of the company following an internal review after an allegation of personal misconduct. Although the allegation was taken down, it was Binny Bansal’s lack of transparency in the matter that cost him his job.

Both the co-founders have a high regard in the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem for having scaled up the startup from a two-bedroom apartment in Bengaluru to an e-commerce giant that one could say redefined the way Indians shop by introducing options like cash on delivery and return of goods. And they are not new to investments, both of them in their personal capacity have long been investing in Indian startups.

See also:
Flipkart Group CEO Binny Bansal steps down following allegations of ‘serious personal misconduct’

Indian unicorn Flipkart's board approves $15 billion deal with Walmart

How Flipkart went from being an online bookseller to India’s biggest e-commerce story