Ex-US ambassador-backed firm Terra plans big investment in Indian AI startups with $2.5-billion fund

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Terra Invest, a new investment firm backed by former US ambassador to Singapore Kirk Wagar, aims to invest a significant portion of its $2.5-billion fund into Indian artificial intelligence (AI) startups by 2025.

Operating on a deal-based model, the firm has already completed transactions worth over $230 million.

“Clearly, there is an opportunity to do well in India… the reason that India is so important is the part that it plays as a proving ground on both the investment and the policy for us to then maybe go to Riyadh or Malaysia,” Wagar told Moneycontrol in an interview.

Investments in the AI sector, the new technology frontier, have gathered pace following its potential to upend businesses and change our lives.

Terra's focus on Indian startups is an addition to the growing list of investments in AI companies.

Terra Invest's India strategy extends beyond just financial investments, Wagar added. “It’s incredibly important that any investment firm, and frankly any emerging technology, looks to India as its laboratory, as its partner on policy front, as well as the investing point.”

Terra Invest, which has offices in London and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has expertise in deep policy and regulatory knowledge. The fund aims to invest in startups working on AI-based solutions for financial services and healthcare distribution, as well as clean energy.

Unlike traditional investment firms bound by rigid timelines, Terra Invest has a flexible and patient investment approach.

“One of the successes you’ve seen of some of the better sovereign wealth funds and some of the better global pension funds, particularly the Canadian pension funds, is not being held to some artificial five-seven-year time horizon,” said Wagar, who was the US’ ambassador to Singapore from 2013 to 2017.

During his time in Singapore, Wagar worked with many of the over 4,000 American companies based in the city-state to spearhead foreign direct investment into the United States.

Wagar said India's regulatory landscape and market opportunities make it an attractive destination for global investors. “It was never hard to get into India, but… it used to be very hard to get out. And that’s not the case really anymore,” Wagar added.

He further said an optionality on exits now is one of the reasons why interest in India has increased globally.

Wagar has served as a senior adviser to companies such as Binance, Tik Tok, Tesla, and some of the largest private equity, sovereign, and pension funds. Backed by prominent Asian family offices and funds, including Mount Row Partners, Terra Invest is led by a group of financial and public policy veterans.

Apart from Wagar, Terra Invest’s founding partner included Ankiti Bose, the former chief executive officer of fashion e-commerce Zillingo.