When Scott Shleifer, Tiger Global Management’s head of private investments, landed in Bengaluru india, in November to meet executives of Indian startups backed by the venture-capital firm, the mood was optimistic. This was in stark contrast to what one of the world’s largest investment firms was facing halfway across the globe in the US. Over the last few months, it has either pared or exited some of its major investments, including Microsoft, Zoom, DoorDash, and Coinbase, among others, on its home turf. The investment giant has also paused future investments in China owing to economic and geopolitical concerns. So, after meeting his Indian investees, Shleifer proclaimed that India was the ‘silver lining’ amid the global gloom and tech-stock meltdowns in the US. His ‘bullish’ sentiment seemed to belie what was bubbling beneath the surface for some pompously valued Indian unicorns. And Tiger Global, by the way, has or had investments in almost half of India’s 100-odd unicorns. Some of them have resorted to mass layoffs. Other sizeable investments in edtech and fintech startups in the country also seem to be faltering. This year, Tiger Global has clawed back on late-stage investments and focused on smaller early-round funding in younger startups. In that case, who will unicorns that are burning cash at breakneck speed turn to if funds like Tiger Global and SoftBank turn off their money taps? What explains this change in Tiger Global’s strategy in the country despite its top executive calling it a silver lining amid bad news all around? How will the smaller startups, receiving cash loaded with the expectations of quicker returns in their early-stage funding, cope with Tiger Global’s hands-off management style? The MMS has capture the undercurrents of its transforming fortunes and the consequent domino effects on Indian startups as of now.
