In a notable development, SoftBank India has witnessed a significant departure with the exit of operating partner Vikas Agnihotri. Having played a crucial role in collaborating with Paytm ahead of its IPO in 2021, Agnihotri’s departure raises questions about the future trajectory of SoftBank’s investments in India.
According to an ET report, Agnihotri officially parted ways with SoftBank in September. While it remains unconfirmed whether he has taken up a new role, his LinkedIn profile indicates his association with SoftBank until September of this year. Agnihotri, a Mumbai-based executive, transitioned to SoftBank from Google in February 2020, where he served as the managing director for sales in India.
During his tenure at SoftBank, Agnihotri functioned as the first operating partner, playing a crucial role in overseeing and advising the investor’s portfolio firms in India. He is also a board member of prominent companies in SoftBank’s India portfolio, including FirstCry, GlobalBees, and InMobi. However, sources suggest that Agnihotri is expected to step down from his board roles in the coming months, with his departure from eyewear giant Lenskart’s board in September aligning with his exit from SoftBank.
Inc42 has reached out to both Agnihotri and SoftBank for their responses on this development, and further updates will follow pending their comments.
Agnihotri’s exit coincides with SoftBank’s recent trend of booking profits by divesting its stakes in listed Indian tech startups. In the current month alone, SoftBank completed the sale of its stakes in PB Fintech and Zomato, marking a complete exit from the latter. Sumer Juneja, SoftBank’s managing partner and head for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, revealed in August that the Japanese conglomerate had garnered over $5.5 billion in exits from its India portfolio since commencing operations in Mumbai in November 2018. Notably, $1.5 billion of these exits were realized in the past 12 to 18 months.
