Ajay Kumar, who retired as India’s defence secretary in 2022, is setting up a Rs 250-crore venture capital firm. Separately, furniture retailer Pepperfry is said to have postponed its IPO plans.
Ajay Kumar’s VC fund gets Sebi nod
Ajay Kumar, who retired as India’s defence secretary in 2022, is setting up a Rs 250-crore venture capital firm, Mounttech Growth Fund, focusing on early-stage startups in the defence, aerospace, and deeptech sectors
The fund has secured approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and received subscriptions worth Rs 280 crore. It is set to invoke the green-shoe option for another Rs 250 crore, the report said.
The fund is primarily sponsored by Suryakant Dalmia, board member of Dalmia Securities, and includes multiple other high-net-worth individuals and domestic family offices as limited partners or sponsors.
While Kumar is the chairman of the fund, former senior telecom industry executive Ravi Sethia is the CEO.
Pepperfry to focus on growth, profitability
Furniture retailer Pepperfry has postponed its IPO plans, The Economic Times reported on Monday, citing an interview with founder Ashish Shah.
The firm will prioritise focusing on growth and profitability in the current financial year.
“We have postponed our IPO plans for the time being. There are other important areas to focus on in the business. From a cost standpoint, we are strong. Therefore, we are focusing on growth now. We aim to go slow but get solid growth which is also profitable. If we can continue this growth for 8-10 months, we will be IPO-ready,” Shah said.
