General Atlantic to invest $2 billion in India, Southeast Asia

General Atlantic plans to plough $2 billion into India and Southeast Asia over the next two years, as falling valuations have made the region's startups more attractive, a senior executive told Reuters.

Sandeep Naik, the head of its business in India and Southeast Asia, said General Atlantic is in early stages of investment talks with about 15 companies in sectors including technology, financial services, retail and consumer.

The market for startups in India is going through a rough patch. After raising a record $35 billion in 2021, founders are struggling to attract cash, sparking fears of lower valuations and forcing some to cut jobs.

General Atlantic is poised to loosen its purse strings after investing just $190 million in Indian startups in the year 2021, its lowest ever annual figure, Naik said in an interview at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos.

We were waiting for the value creation to happen. Naik said of General Atlantic's plans for India and Southeast Asia, it has investments of more than $4.5 billion, mostly in India.

Naik said that we are very bullish on India, Indonesia and Vietnam, and that we don't want to name any companies it is looking at.

General Atlantic's existing high-profile Indian investments include education technology companies such as Byju's, which provides online tutoring in a country where internet and smartphone use is booming and is valued at around $22 billion.

It has also invested in Reliance Retail, India's largest retailer, and in Southeast Asia its portfolio includes Indonesian food and beverage retailer PT MAP Boga Adiperkasa and social entertainment platform Kumu in the Philippines.

Many tech companies around the world have suffered in recent weeks due to the conflict in Ukraine and rising interest rates. Japan's SoftBank has reported a record loss of $26.2 billion at its Vision Fund investment arm.

General Atlantic is advising all of its portfolio companies to look at consolidation opportunities because of the tough market environment and falling valuations.

Naik said now is the best time to consolidate Strong.