Binny Bansal, co-founder of Flipkart, has reportedly intensified his investment efforts in India following his departure from the company’s board in January. According to sources familiar with the matter cited by ET, Bansal is actively involved in scaling up his investments in the country, particularly in his latest venture, OppDoor.
Following the sale of his remaining stake in Flipkart last year, which yielded approximately $650 million, Bansal has expanded his investment portfolio. He injected an additional $25 million into Curefoods as part of a $60 million funding round, consequently increasing his ownership from 12% to 18% in the Bengaluru-based company. This funding round has placed Curefoods at an approximate valuation of $375 million.
Continue Exploring: Curefoods secures additional INR 200 Crore investment from Binny Bansal’s Three State Ventures, round size hits INR 500 Crore
According to sources, Bansal’s investment involved acquiring Cultfit‘s remaining shares in the cloud-kitchen platform, as well as those held by certain angel investors. Additionally, it’s reported that the company received nearly $10 million in primary capital. In a secondary share sale, the capital does not flow directly to the company; instead, it goes to the selling investors.
At the same time, Bansal is actively seeking CEOs to lead his upcoming ventures—OppDoor, as well as a venture focused on providing offshore legal services to US brands aiming for global markets. According to insiders, the IIT-Delhi alumnus is dedicating substantial effort to engage with the boards of prominent startups like PhonePe, Curefoods, and GreyOrange, where he holds significant ownership stakes.
Continue Exploring: Binny Bansal’s Three State Ventures fuels OppDoor with $2 Million investment
Ankit Nagori, founder of Curefoods, confirmed the latest investment from Bansal.
Bansal did not reply to emails and messages seeking comments on his investment in Curefoods and plans for the new venture.
Bansal has invested $50 million in Curefoods, the parent company of brands such as Nomad Pizza, Eatfit, and Sharief Bhai.
According to reports, Bansal’s Three State Ventures has injected nearly $2 million into his new startup OppDoor in several installments.
As mentioned by one of the sources earlier, Bansal has allocated a “significant amount of capital” towards his new ventures.
Continue Exploring: Flipkart Co-Founder Binny Bansal may invest $25-30 million more in Ankit Nagori’s Curefoods
“He has allocated in multiples of tens of millions for OppDoor, and a legal services venture. He is busy finding new executives who will lead these ventures while he will strategically spearhead them,” this person said.
Another source noted that Bansal, who co-founded Flipkart in 2007 with his batchmate Sachin Bansal, is investing more time in companies where he holds a significant stake. “Offlate, he is spending more time on GreyOrange with a new CEO coming in there. He has a large position in PhonePe now also and is guiding the founders after separation from Flipkart,” this person said.
Individuals familiar with Bansal’s plans indicated that he has pinpointed a handful of investments where he intends to hold a substantial stake while also assuming a strategic role alongside the founders.
“More than a week in a month is kept for board meetings only and then he is speeding one full day with founders to work on long-term plans and execution ideas,” this person said.
“Three State Ventures is one focus for investments and other being the new startup,” one of the persons said. Bansal has invested around $100 million in a recent funding round of PhonePe at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion. He was instrumental in PhonePe acquisition by Flipkart in 2016.
Unlike Sachin Bansal, Binny Bansal chose to retain his stake in Flipkart following the Walmart deal in 2018. He proceeded to gradually divest his ownership through multiple funding rounds at Flipkart.
Following Walmart’s acquisition of Flipkart, Binny Bansal resigned from his position as Flipkart Group CEO several months later amidst allegations of significant personal misconduct, as stated by Walmart. Subsequently, he was cleared of the allegations following an internal investigation conducted by the e-commerce company.
