Azim Premji, Binny Bansal join government’s startup fund to invest in Alteria Capital

• Premji Foundation, Binny Bansal along with SIDBI have led an investment of ₹960 crore in venture debt fund Alteria Capital.
• This makes Alteria Capital the largest venture debt fund in India.
• Alteria invested in startups like Dunzo, Vogo, Stanza Living, toppr among others.

Former Wipro Chairman Azim Premji’s Premji Foundation, Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal along with SIDBI,invested ₹960 crore in the venture debt fund, Alteria Capital.

This investment has made Alteria Capital the biggest venture debt fund in the country. According to reports, it is also SIDBI’s single largest investment, as the government nodal agency pumped in as much as ₹160 crore.

Alteria Capital was founded by Ajay Hattangdi and Vinod Murali who had earlier led Innoven Capital. The firm has so far invested in hyperlocal delivery startup Dunzo, electric bike startup Vogo, student accommodation startup Stanza Living among others. The firm also placed its bets on cricketer Virat Kohli’s apparel brand Wrogn.

Meanwhile, ace entrepreneur and investor Binny Bansal has been on an investment spree. In July, he invested in fashion designer Masaba Gupta’s brand. In June, Bansal sold some of his shares in Flipkart for $76.4 million, according to filings sourced by paper.vc. That leaves him with a residual share of 3.52% in the company he co-founded.

He made personal investments too, like in insurtech startup Acko and legal startup Spotdraft amongst others.

Interestingly, earlier Bansal for his own fund had raised money from his co-investor in the round for Alteria Capital – Premji Foundation. Bansal formed 021 Capital with his financial adviser Sailesh Tulshan for which he had raised $32 million from Premji Foundation and a few former Flipkart colleagues.