Prosus is a global investment group and one of the most active investors in Indian startups. The firm  invests in startups across various sectors with long-term growth potential. This investing firm  announced a change in its strategy from making large bets in Indian startups to investing in early and  seed-stage startups. Prosus has invested over $7 billion in Indian startups to date. 

The data from Tracxn and inc42 shows the firm has invested mostly in unicorns including Swiggy,  Pharmeasy, and Meesho. The number of deals secured by the company has declined since 2021 from  10 deals to 3 deals in 2023 and one deal in the late-stage company for 2024 so far. However, the firm  has increased its investment in series A rounds and seed-stage startups. The company invested Rs 160  crore in a seed funding round of Kratos Studios in 2023, followed by a $26 million investment in Lyscraft  during its seed funding round with the participation of Peak XV partners who lead the funding round.  

This VC firm has increased its focus of investment towards Artificial Intelligence platforms like EMA.  The company invested $35 million in the seed funding round of EMA with the participation of Accel  and other investors. Prosus has also invested in seed-stage startups in other countries including the  US, and Australia. The company changed its strategy and is now competing and collaborating with  early-stage investors. To reduce the losses faced by late-stage companies, VC firms are now building  larger portfolios rather than depending on startups for return. The large-deal startups are also coming  back to track slowly, Flipkart recently secured investment from Google, and Meesho also raised large  rounds. 

Prosus is looking forward to the IPOs of its other investments including Swiggy, PayU India, and,  Eruditus. The firm changed its focus from China to India in 2022 after overriding regulatory concerns  to divest its 25 percent in Chinese e-commerce giant, tecent. The demand gap in late-stage startup  ecosystems is driving away investors. The only alternative for large VC firms is to invest in early-stage  startups and emerging sectors in the Indian startup ecosystem such as AI development,  Semiconductor, deep tech, and fintech sectors. Various VC firms including Tiger Global, accel, and Peak  XV partners also moved their focus to early-stage companies.  

Conclusion: 

Prosus is one of the most active investors in India that plans to invest in seed and early-stage startups.  This VC firm has invested over 7 billion USD in Indian startups to date. The company used to mostly  invest in unicorns and late-stage companies including Swiggy, Pharmeasy, and Meesho. However, the company has now increased its investment in series A rounds and seed-stage startups. Prosus has also  invested in early-stage companies in other countries including the US, and Australia. The company  changed its strategy and is now competing and collaborating with early-stage investors. To reduce the  losses faced by investing in late-stage companies, VC firms are now focusing on building larger  portfolios rather than depending on startups for returns.