Sanjay Nayar hunts for India's next startup stars

Sanjay Nayar, an advisor to KKR Co. in India, has set up its own venture fund for early-stage startups when some of India's most well-known tech companies are suffering from a downgrade.

Sorin Investment Management, which means the sun in Romanian, has raised $125 million from investors including Nayar's family office and Caravel Group's Benga family, Nayar said in an interview in Mumbai on Wednesday. The fund will support approximately 10 start-ups focused on sectors such as consumer technology, fintech, and software as a service.

62-year-old Nayar started his own fund after spending 39 years in the Indian financial world. He was named Citigroup Inc. by KKR co-founder Henry Kravis in 2008 and led the alternative wealth manager's Indian business.

Nayar left the position of Chief Executive Officer of India's Private Equity Fund in December 2020 but remains in an advisory position. He is also a board member of the US India Strategic Partnership Forum.

Sorin Investment has the option to scale up later to raise funds from other institutional investors. The Mumbai-based fund and its six-member team will soon look for investment targets.