Omidyar Network India to Wind up Operations, Stops Making New Investments

Investment firm Omidyar Network India has announced to transition out of the India market by the end of 2024, and will stop making new investments.

The news came at a time when the funding in India's tech startup ecosystem in 2023 was lowest in the last five years, dropping the country’s global ranking from third place to fourth spot.

Backed by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, the local unit made investments in several Indian startups like Kiwi, Tata 1mg, CloudSek, DealShare, Otipy, Doubtnut and more.

Last month, homegrown fintech startup Kiwi raised $13 million (about Rs 108 crore) in a Series-A funding round led by Omidyar Network India.

Omidyar Network India said in a statement that it will shut down operations in the country next year.

“After several months of deliberation, it has been decided that Omidyar Network India will stop making new investments and will completely transition out of the market by the end of 2024,” the group said in a statement.

“Over the next two months, the board and leadership team will assess how best to manage the organisation’s portfolio while recognising the long and trusted partnerships that the Omidyar Network India team has built,” it added.

YourStory first reported about the development. According to reports, the investment firm had nearly $673 million worth cumulative assets in India.

“Today, there is more Indian led philanthropic and venture capital than ever before, the country has a vibrant start-up sector, and several funds now have a middle and lower-middle income focus as part of their investment strategy. From its outset, the Omidyar Network India team identified these system shifts as critical to impact and worked diligently to help catalyze this change,” the group noted.

The move came as homegrown digital EMI financing platform ZestMoney, backed by Omidyar Network among others, is shutting down operations after several unsuccessful attempts to find a buyer.