With the Indian startup ecosystem growing rapidly, an arm of Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs on Tuesday said it is bullish on the space and will be scouting to invest up to $10 million in domestic financial technology companies.
Goldman Sachs Principal Strategic Investments (GSPSI), which invests from the bank’s balance sheet, has two ‘legacy investments’ in the country, including in NSE and NCDEX, its head Alokik Advani told reporters here. While GSPSI continues to manage these investments, it is the new opportunities that the arm is excited about and is looking to invest between $2-10 million for a minority stake, he said, adding that it is in discussions with some companies. The announcement comes amid a focused thrust on developing the startup ecosystem, which has seen the government launch the ‘Startup India’ initiative.
Advani said PSI looks for businesses in the financial technology space which can benefit by associating with its parent. Typically, before taking a stake, the relationship with a startup begins with Goldman Sachs becoming a client, he said. GS already has sizeable presence in India’s startup hub Bengaluru and PSI is looking at the city as a centre for innovation, he said.