Mumbai-based investment firm Epiq Capital has closed its first three investments since it started its operations two years ago.
The firm has invested an undisclosed amount in three prominent Indian startups, Faridabad-based eyewear solutions company Lenskart, Mumbai-based mobile point-of-sale services provider Mswipe Technologies, and Bengaluru-based online home rental network NestAway Technologies.
Talking about the investments, Rishi Navani, managing partner, Epiq Capital, said, “The investments in Lenskart, Mswipe, and NestAway reflect our core strategy and philosophy. We are privileged to have partnered with exceptional entrepreneurs who have achieved a deep product value proposition with innovative business models.”
Epiq Capital was founded by former Matrix Partners India co-founder Rishi Navani, along with Dheeraj Aggarwal and Ruchi Khajanchi in 2016. It is a growth and later-stage investment firm focused on technology-based startups.
The firm had earlier announced the first close of its $200-250 million maiden tech startup fund in 2017. The firm has a strong focus on secondary deals, it is expected to invest $10-20 million in ventures that have already matures and are on looking to be cash-flow positive.
It was earlier reported that Epiq Capital had made a late investment in Lenskart alongside, TR Capital and Hong Kong-based hedge fund Steadview Capital. However, the nature of investments in Mswipe and NestAway are yet to be disclosed.
Mswipe had raised ₹200 crores ($31 million) in its series D funding round led by UC-RNT Fund in June 2017, while it closed its series D round after raising an additional ₹65 crores ($10 million) in December 2017 led by B Capital.
NestAway had previously raised ₹330 crores ($51 million) in series D round led by Ratan Tata’s UC-RNT Fund in March 2018.
Lately, there have been some high-value private equity investments in the Indian startups market. According to the sixth edition of Grant Thornton’s The Fourth Wheel 2018 report, the year 2017 saw a 54% increase, compared to 2016, while the volumes declined by 24% in 2017.
With more startups coming to the forefront, the PE deals are only expected to increase in the coming year.