Investment firm 100X.VC is in talks with four large corporates from Japan and Hong Kong looking to invest in early-stage startups in India. This will be part of 100X.VC’s corporate venture capital (CVC) initiative launched in August 2021, under which it partners with large Indian and international corporates keen on early-stage investments and helps them make the right investment decisions.

Panasonic and Pidilite Ventures are two such corporations that have so far tied up with 100X.VC. Notably, Pidilite has to date invested around $9 million in around six startups through this partnership.

“More and more corporates today want to get involved in early-stage investment ecosystem. Many Singapore and Japanese corporate funds also want to invest in Indian startups. However, they find it very difficult to set up a whole team here and evaluate the deals. This is where we help them,” Yagnesh Sanghrajka, founder and CFO, 100X.VC told Fe.

However, Sanghrajka didn’t disclose the names of these corporates as the firm has not closed the partnership deal yet.

A CVC fund is a vehicle used by large companies to invest in new-age companies. Globally, many leading tech companies such as Intel, Google, Microsoft, and Meta have been investing in startups through their CVC funds. In India too, corporates such as Infosys, Wipro and late-stage startups such as Zerodha and Dream11 have been actively investing in startups.

According to 100X.VC, the top 100 corporations in India have kept aside around 10-100 crores of capital to invest in startups.
However, besides a few exceptions, most corporates have been investing in growth or late-stage startups only as they come with lesser risks. This is where 100X.VC bridges the gap, by helping these corporates find the right early-stage investments.

100X.VC has so far invested in over early-stage 150 startups. Some of its portfolio companies include Data Sutram, Dezy and Beyond Snacks. Last month, the Mumbai-based VC firm, founded in 2019, invested $2.7 million in 17 startups as part of its 11th cohort.

The firm, however, doesn’t co-invest with corporates that it partners with under its CVC initiative. Additionally, the firm’s CVC vertical and the venture capital verticals function independently. The CVC programme mainly helps corporates increase their profits by striking the right deals with startups and helps them identify acquisition targets. “We also want to ensure that there is no conflict of interest. We don’t take up assignments from companies in similar industries, which can turn out to be, at some level, some conflict of interest,” he added.

The firm is also currently in talks with five Indian corporates for partnerships. Sanghrajka believes the interest shown by CVCs towards startup investments will increase. And, it is a space that he is keen to be involved with. “We are the fastest growing economy. We are the third largest startup ecosystem. There is no way anybody can ignore India. And, for large corporations, investing in early-stage startups will help them understand the ecosystem better,” he said.

“They will be able to understand the problems Indian startups are solving and what they are building for global. To understand these aspects, one needs to start investing and engaging more,” Sanghrajka added.