Outgoing BharatPe CEO Suhail Sameer to set up venture capital fund

Suhail Sameer, CEO, BharatPe.

BharatPe chief executive officer Suhail Sameer, who will step down from his position on January 7, is setting up a venture capital (VC) fund to invest in startups.

“Three friends will start (the VC fund) together. Can’t name others as of yet. We have already applied for setting up the management entity. Once that approval comes, we will apply for an AIF (alternative investment fund) licence,” Sameer told Moneycontrol.

“Fund size is a function of how much the 3 partners can invest (yet to decide). We want to be the single largest investors in our fund,” he added.

According to Sameer, this would be in contrast to the traditional VC approach of general partners investing 2 percent of the fund from their own pockets and raising the rest from limited partners. The planned venture capital fund will look to make investments in consumer brands, consumer tech startups, and fintech firms.

Although he has stepped down as CEO, Sameer will remain with BharatPe as a strategic advisor, even as the fintech unicorn's board has begun the search for a new CEO, according to a statement issued on January 3. Meanwhile, chief financial officer Nalin Negi will serve as interim CEO.

In a LinkedIn post on January 2, Sameer said that one of his New Year’s resolutions for 2023 was to “continue to invest in founders chasing their dreams. Invest in 20 more founder teams. Set up the fund I have been meaning to for the last couple of years.”

Sameer also plans to run 1,000 kilometres, read 52 books, and travel to six countries outside of work commitments as part of his six resolutions for the year.

Prior to joining BharatPe in August 2020, he was instrumental in launching and managing the RP Sanjeev Goenka Group's $50 million venture investing arm.

Last year, he and ousted BharatPe founder Ashneer Grover had a verbal spat, with the latter accusing Sameer of convincing him to take a voluntary leave before the company launched an internal investigation into alleged financial wrongdoings by Grover and his family members.

Four of the company's senior executives have left to pursue their entrepreneurial interests since the beginning of 2022, including chief technology officer Vijay Aggarwal, chief product officer for lending and consumer products Rajat Jain, and Nehul Malhotra, head of consumer lending platform PostPe.

Geetanshu Singla, who served as the Vice President of technology too has moved on.

The exits came in a year when Tiger Global and Sequoia-backed BharatPe saw the controversial exit of founder Ashneer Grover. Grover’s exit was followed by co-founder Bhavik Koladia leaving the company in April.