Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) has come on board as an anchor limited partner (LP) in Kalaari Capital’s fourth fund, said Vani Kola, the founder and managing director of the domestic venture capital firm, in an email to startup founders and investors. In the email, Kola said Kalaari, which has backed e-commerce companies such as Myntra, Snapdeal, and Urban Ladder, was “honored to have RIL as an anchor LP or limited partner in its recent fund” and that the two firms shared a ‘common enthusiasm’ for investments in startups and the digital development of Bharat.
“I felt it was important to discover and develop the Indian LP base for the long-term viability of our industry. My interactions with RIL senior management inspired me to request them to consider being an LP at Kalaari. Their thorough diligence, fair terms, and transparent process met our expectations of a blue-chip LP,” Kola, a long-time investor in India’s thriving consumer internet sector, said in the email.
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The communication to a wide set of stakeholders in the startup and venture community comes at a time when industry watchers have raised concerns over Reliance’s backing of the venture capital fund and possible conflict of interest that it may throw up. “Our LPs are financial investors and have no special rights in invested companies,” she said in the email, adding that the fund offers standard investment terms to founders, removing any onerous burden on their path to building successful businesses.