Ratan Tata has joined the advisory board of venture capital firm IDG Ventures India as a senior advisor, third such move by Tata Sons’ chairman emeritus this year. IDG Ventures, which holds stakes in e-tailer Flipkart and online travel portal Yatra, has offices in Delhi and Bengaluru.
Tata will be advising IDG Ventures India and portfolio entrepreneurs on its overall business strategy and growth, global expansion, team building and leadership. He will also be a special invitee, on selective basis, in portfolio company board meetings on strategic matters, said a statement.
The venture capital firm, which completes ninth year of operations in India, has backed 50 companies from its funds committing over Rs 1,000 crore in the Indian early stage technology venture capital market. Other portfolio companies include Lenskart, Zivame, Vserv, Manthan, Perfint, NestAway, Hiree, and Uniphore.
“Technology companies are changing the future across verticals like retail, healthcare, analytics and enterprise technology. The vision and experience of Mr. Ratan Tata will help us pave the way for homegrown disruptors to scale rapidly as category leaders in India and globally. This is a huge opportunity for IDG Ventures and our portfolio companies,” said IDG Ventures founder and chairman Sudhir Sethi.
Earlier this year, Tata had joined Kalaari Capital in a similar role earlier this year. He has invested in nearly a dozen of Kalaari’s portfolio companies like Snapdeal, UrbanLadder, Holachef, Yourstory and Bluestone.
He also joined Jungle Ventures, which focuses on Southeast Asia besides India, as an advisor. These roles are besides his direct investments in internet companies and startups like Ola, Cardekho, Paytm and Kaaryah.