Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma Launches Rs 30 Crore Fund For AI, EV Startups: Report

The AIF will invest in Artificial Intelligence and Electric Vehicles (EV)-focused startups that have been incubated in the country.

Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma has launched a Alternate Investment Fund (AIF) ‘VSS Investments Fund’.

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Financial tech company Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma has launched a Alternate Investment Fund (AIF) ‘VSS Investments Fund’, in a bid to invest in electric vehicle (EV) and artificial intelligence (AI) startups, the media has reported. The fund has a total size of Rs 20 crore with a green shoe of Rs 10 crore, making the total corpus at Rs 30 crore. The Alternate Investment Fund has been sponsored by VSS Investco Private Limited, which is owned and controlled by Sharma.

Several follow-on investments of Sharma’s in the B2B tech and consumer tech space will also come from this fund, the Paytm CEO said in a statement, as per a report by LiveMint. He has earlier backed several startups, including Daalchini, Ola Electric, GoQii, Treebo Hotels, Josh Talks, KWH Bikes, LeverageEdu and KAWA Space.

The AIF will invest in Artificial Intelligence and Electric Vehicles (EV)-focused startups that have been incubated in the country and specially focused to serve Indian consumers and businesses.

“The Indian startup ecosystem has some of the brightest entrepreneurs in the world, and we have the potential to become a powerhouse of advanced technology and AI-driven innovations. India's aspiration to be a $10 trillion atmanirbhar economy will be defined by the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship. The launch of this fund is a continuation of my belief in supporting young and promising Indian founders, aligned with the fact that technology has a huge role to play in the development of the country," he was quoted as saying in the report.

To recall, Paytm's payments revenue grew by 31 per cent YoY to Rs 1,414 crore in Q1 FY24 while payments profitability further improved with net payment margin expanding 69 per cent YoY to Rs 648 crore. The company achieved its operating profitability milestone in Q1 due to the consistently improved pace in profitability, strong revenue growth, increase in contribution margin and higher operating leverage.