The $16 billion Walmart-Flipkart deal was bound to have some after effects and one of them was the exit of co-founder Sachin Bansal. After co-founding India’s largest e-commerce company, Sachin, now flush with funds, is set to launch a venture funding company of his own.
The new entity will create a chest of $700 million to $1 billion and it is believed Sachin will pitch in with 40% of the firm’s capital from his end.
Flipkart was founded by Sachin and Binny. While Sachin Bansal shepherded the fledgling startup through its initial years and was Flipkart’s CEO also for some time, he left the company when differences arose within the Board over the Walmart deal and he has reportedly received around $1 billion for the stake he owned in Flipkart.
Besides the VC firm, it is learnt that Sachin Bansal will also be floating a firm to work on Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. These ventures may take off only by the end of the year since Bansal is on a sabbatical. At the time of his departure, issued a statement that he is trying to finish a few personal tasks he could not do earlier. “Will catch up on gaming (and see what kids are playing these days) and brush up on my coding skills,” he said in the statement at the time.
At 37, Sachin Bansal has a lot of fire in him and would want to prove his mettle all over again running businesses on his own. The major difference could be that running Flipkart he and his partner Binny Bansal would have been busy raising funds while now Sachin would be seated on the other side of the table.
But Sachin’s heart still beats for Flipkart as it should and he has posted a message on his Facebook page that he would be “watching and cheering” from the outside. One may hear more from Sachin Bansal in the coming months.