Sony Corp Setting up India Focused VC Fund
Tokyo based Sony Corp. is setting up an India-focused venture capital that will act as a co-investor in startups alongside celebrities such as sports personalities and film stars and aims to participate in the funding boom that has made several unicorns over the past 12 months.
The $81- billion global media conglomerate, with businesses as diverse as film, gaming, music production and electronics manufacturing, will give $200 million to the VC arm, to begin with.
Former Fox Star Studios chief executive officer Vijay Singh will lead the new venture. Earlier Singh spent 13 years with Fox Star and helped build the film studio in the country.
Sony started an innovation fund with a global focus in 2016. The new VC arm is an initiative within the conglomerate that will aim to support Sony’s celebrity networks in India to create an India-specific pool of investments that could have long term strategic importance for the group.
Successful investments of film star Deepika Padukone and cricketer Virat Kohli would serve as a pattern for Sony’s upcoming VC bets.
From his investment in online general insurance startup Digit Insurance, which was the first unicorn of this year, Kohli has generated several returns. Kohli and Anushka Sharma had invested ₹5 crores in the company in February 2020. Whereas Padukone has invested in FMCG startup Drums Food that owns the Epigamia brand of health food products.
In the past, Singh has been associated with Sony Music in India as managing director and helped to set up the firm’s music label business in the country. In April last year, he quit Fox Star Studios after the completion of Disney’s takeover of Star India. At that time, Singh was likely to join a global media technology company at the forefront of its India launch.
In 2008, Star India entered Bollywood with the distribution of ‘Kismat Konnection’ and ‘Jannat’ under Singh’s leadership. Singh has good ties with Karan Johar’s Dharma Production. The company also distributed films of Vishesh Films, Sajid Nadiadwala and Ajay Devgn FFilms.
The $81- billion global media conglomerate, with businesses as diverse as film, gaming, music production and electronics manufacturing, will give $200 million to the VC arm, to begin with.
Former Fox Star Studios chief executive officer Vijay Singh will lead the new venture. Earlier Singh spent 13 years with Fox Star and helped build the film studio in the country.
Sony started an innovation fund with a global focus in 2016. The new VC arm is an initiative within the conglomerate that will aim to support Sony’s celebrity networks in India to create an India-specific pool of investments that could have long term strategic importance for the group.
Successful investments of film star Deepika Padukone and cricketer Virat Kohli would serve as a pattern for Sony’s upcoming VC bets.
From his investment in online general insurance startup Digit Insurance, which was the first unicorn of this year, Kohli has generated several returns. Kohli and Anushka Sharma had invested ₹5 crores in the company in February 2020. Whereas Padukone has invested in FMCG startup Drums Food that owns the Epigamia brand of health food products.
In the past, Singh has been associated with Sony Music in India as managing director and helped to set up the firm’s music label business in the country. In April last year, he quit Fox Star Studios after the completion of Disney’s takeover of Star India. At that time, Singh was likely to join a global media technology company at the forefront of its India launch.
In 2008, Star India entered Bollywood with the distribution of ‘Kismat Konnection’ and ‘Jannat’ under Singh’s leadership. Singh has good ties with Karan Johar’s Dharma Production. The company also distributed films of Vishesh Films, Sajid Nadiadwala and Ajay Devgn FFilms.
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