SoftBank India Promotes Sarthak Misra To Partner Position

SoftBank India has elevated Sarthak Misra, formerly an investment director, to the position of partner, as per sources familiar with the matter. The Japanese investment firm, renowned for its focus on technology ventures, conveyed this update to its portfolio companies in India earlier this week.

Misra, who joined SoftBank in 2019 following a tenure at Matrix Partners India, holds board positions in prominent e-commerce platforms such as Meesho and B2B online retailer OfBusiness. He is also closely associated with food-delivery giant Swiggy and Lenskart.

In his new capacity, Misra will continue reporting to Sumer Juneja, who serves as the managing partner for India & EMEA at SoftBank, overseeing the fund’s operations in India and Europe.

Additionally, another key figure at SoftBank Investment Advisors, Narendra Rathi, specialising in deals within the Software as a Service (SaaS) and business-to-business (B2B) sectors, will also maintain his reporting lines to Juneja. "Narendra and Misra will maintain their own separate teams," a source familiar with the matter added.

Juneja has led SoftBank’s investment team in India for over five years, overseeing a team of six executives. Vikas Agnihotri, who previously served as an operating partner at SoftBank India, departed the fund last year.

While SoftBank refrained from making new investments in India over the past year due to tightening funding conditions, the company has actively divested its stakes in publicly listed entities like Paytm, Policybazaar, Delhivery and Zomato. Furthermore, two of SoftBank’s portfolio companies, FirstCry and Ola Electric, have filed draft IPO papers with plans to go public this year. Swiggy, a leading food and grocery delivery platform, is also preparing to file its draft red herring prospectus for an IPO in the same timeframe.

In January, the Japanese investor announced its intention to resume investments in Indian startups in 2024 after pausing bets for 18 months amid a broader funding downturn.