<div><em>The deal size is pegged at $3 million but could not be verified, writes <strong>Paramita Chatterjee</strong></em></div><div> </div><div>Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani is in advanced talks to invest in a two-year-old Bangalore-based start-up Mubble Networks Private Ltd, in his personal capacity, signaling a strong vote of confidence in the new breed of India's entrepreneurs.</div><div> </div><div>Talks are at an advanced stage and the deal is expected to close over the next few days, a person with direct knowledge of the development told BW.</div><div> </div><div>Mubble is a mobile first, India centric product in the telecom utility apps space. It is the first app in the world which automatically maintains a live prepaid bill for its users. The company was founded by three IIT engineer friends who have a strong background in marketing, analytics and mobile technology platforms. The Mubble app supports Indian operators across the country and is built for dual SIM phones. It works offline and what’s more, it is also available in all Indian languages – a true ‘made for India’ app!</div><div> </div><div>When contacted, Ashwin Ramaswamy, Co-Founder & CEO at Mubble Networks declined to divulge any details pertaining to the transaction. “Thank you for writing to us. We are in advanced stages of talks with various investors, and therefore, I am sorry that I will not be able to answer any of your questions for now,” he said over an email response. Nilekani, however, declined to comment on the story. </div><div> </div><div>Another person, an industry executive, pegged the deal size at $3 million. However, this could not be independently verified. The funds that the company is raising will help Mubble recruit talent. Currently the company has 12 employees including the 3 owners.</div><div> </div><div>So far, 2015 seems to be the year of startups with young entrepreneurs increasingly churning out winning ideas and attracting huge dollars in funding. In fact, investing in emerging businesses has opened up new entrepreneurial avenues for India Inc's head honchos as well who are now parking their personal wealth in startups. “While for startups, having senior executives on board obviously helps in gaining knowledge and strategic input, for industrialists and corporate honchos it gives an opportunity to bolster entrepreneurship,” said Raja Lahiri, partner at advisory firm Grant Thornton.</div><div> </div><div>Recently, Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, invested in taxi firm Ola in his personal capacity, while Nilekani was in news for his Rs 100 crore investment along with billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala in an entity that owns Café Coffee Day.</div><div> </div><div>Also, in the risk capital market, there is growing chatter that venture market is the place to watch out for. In the first half of the current calendar year, as many as 363 venture capital deals were sealed, three times more than the number of private equity deals, which stood at 99, as per data available with Grant Thornton.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div>
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