Playbook Partner’s Vikas Choudhury On Why Pre-IPO Bets Shouldn’t Be About Exits

Growth stage investments-focussed VC fund Playbook Partners, founded by former Jio vice president Vikas Choudhury, has already made two investments in 2026 — an INR100 Cr infusion into a foodtech firm and another co-investment into an AI startup with a deal size of $15-20 Mn.

The VC firm is looking to close seven to eight growth stage deals, in a mix of primary and secondary infusions, in the consumer tech, SaaS, and AI segments in 2026. 

With a fund corpus of $250 Mn and a first close of $130 Mn, the VC firm has built an impressive portfolio that includes Curefoods, Renee Cosmetics, Exotel, InMobi, Fractal, Rapido and Myntra, among others.

The fund positions itself in the post-VC, pre-PE stage, supporting founders who prefer independence and public markets over large, control-driven private equity deals. Also, while not a pre-IPO fund, Playbook invests in IPO-bound firms and retains significant post-listing stakes, betting on long-term value rather than quick exits.

The VC firm counts Aakash Chaudry of Aakash Educational Services, Manish Choksi of Asian Paints, and Milan Sheth, Partner at EY, as operating partners. Its advisors include InMobi’s Naveen Tewari and Nazara’s CEO Nitish Mittersain.

“We only do growth capital… Series C, D and E — companies that are doing around $50 Mn in revenue, are turning profitable and have a three-year path to IPO,” Choudhury said.

Explaining the fund thesis, he said that there are somewhere between 100 and 200 real growth deals happening in the country in any given year, with fewer than 50 companies raising capital.

“Our fund thesis is to invest in 12 to 15 such growth companies over a three-year horizon.”

Playbook’s differentiation, he added, lies in its operating experience. “Six of us have built billion-dollar businesses. The market is increasingly moving towards entrepreneur-driven funds with operating depth.”

While Playbook was earlier targeting 15-20 investments annually, Chaudhury says the firm’s approach is more selective now. Deal sizes typically land in the $15-20 Mn range, structured through a mix of primary capital and secondaries.

Not A Pre-IPO Fund, But Still IPO-Aligned

While several companies in Playbook Partner’s portfolio are already listed, including PB Fintech, Capillary Technologies and Nazara, others like InMobi and Curefoods are on their way to list on the stock exchanges. Fractal will get listed on February 16. 

Choudhury’s Playbook Partners is looking to invest capital in a long-term horizon for IPO-bound companies where the VC firm holds on to a significant equity in the portfolio company post-listing. 

This marks a clear shift from the belief that many new-age tech company IPOs in India mainly serve as an exit route for VCs, with a large share of the issue size typically allocated to the offer for sale (OFS) portion.

Choudhury offers a more nuanced perspective.

“From an investor’s lens, the IPOs could be an exit route for the earliest investors since they have remained invested in the company for a long time and are nearing their fund cycle life term and have to show good returns to their LPs. Then come VCs like us, who may sell some portions via OFS, but still have the skin in the game and would want to look at the growth of the company post-listing,” Choudhury said. 

Taking the example of Capillary Technologies, he said that there is a lot of value for the investors in such companies. Investors who come in during the IPO, whether institutional or retail, are focussed on these firms in the long haul and would invest in the growth of the company after going public.

The structure also reflects a shift away from control-oriented private equity, especially when tech entrepreneurs don’t want to be owned by one institution. “They want independence and public markets as the eventual destination.”

Playbook’s sectoral focus splits into two broad themes — the Indian consumption economy and disruptive platforms. 

While the Indian consumption economy is about backing digital consumers and supply-side enablers like online marketplaces, and capitalising on India’s aspirational middle class, the disruptive platforms bet is about investing in digital talent out of India, building frugally innovative solutions and selling them first to India, the Middle East, and Asia and then moving to the US and European markets. 

From Legacy Bets To Fresh Investments

Playbook’s portfolio also combines investments from Choudhury’s earlier career. Its key holdings span consumer tech, SaaS and global platforms, many of which are on the path to an IPO. Within the Indian consumption theme, Curefoods stands out as an early bet and is now preparing to go public. Renne Cosmetics, a leader in colour cosmetics within the beauty and personal care (BPC) space, represents another current consumer play.

“Renne is today one of the largest new-age online consumer brands in the colour cosmetic space. In the larger beauty and skincare categories, we have seen Minimalist getting acquired by Unilever and Mamaearth going public. This is the same trajectory that you’re going to see Renne take,” Choudhury said.

In case of tech first disruptive platforms, he referred to Fractal  which has grown 10X in revenue since the investment. “Fractal is a very old investment (almost a decade old), and it has grown significantly.”

Capillary Technologies, a SaaS company for AI-driven customer data management, is a recent success. Invested two years ago, it has doubled in size and listed successfully, up 25-30% post-listing. 

“We were investors in Capillary Technologies… it has grown 2X in terms of size since we invested in the company,” he added.

The IPO Rush: What’s Fuelling The VC’s Confidence 

Public markets have seen new-age tech companies lining up for listing, with the total capital raised almost doubling from 2023 levels. Choudhury views it as a ‘huge development’. He says it brings both primary and secondary capital into the system, which also lifts the sentiment of private investors. 

“I think the VC industry is going to get a significant shot in the arm because of the IPO rush among tech-led companies, which further gives them the confidence to bet on mature firms which have proven paths to profitability,” Choudhury said. 

Despite a slowdown in late stage funding, Choudhury sounds bullish on growth-stage deals in India, although he admits that the euphoria generated by the 2020-21 pandemic-led capital boom has died down. 

“Valuations have rationalised post-2021 hype, with public markets showing better pricing and many stocks growing post-IPO. Having said that, private markets remain ‘fully priced’, but attract capital for resilient companies,” he added.

Private markets can still be a bit overvalued because we are still coming out of that hangover from 2021, but if the growth stage companies can attract capital at all in today’s times, that means they’ve done well, he added.

Secondaries, according to Choudhury, also play a vital role in offering liquidity to early stakeholders and fostering belief in returns. “It lets early investors at the end of the fund cycle, promoters, and employees make a buck.” 

However, he cautions on pricing. He prefers reasonably priced or discounted issues that offer value, and avoids aggressively priced ones that can lead to near-term losses.

He believes there is a new trend in growth stage funding. IPOs are helping late stage startups fill the funding gap private equity (PE) investors usually cover.

“Private equity wants to write either very large cheques or or taking control of companies. But that is not what tech entrepreneurs always want. Many founders prefer to stay independent, take their companies public, and continue running the business themselves,” he added.

According to him, the momentum should continue, driven by institutional books, SIP inflows, and equity’s proven returns. “There is enough and more capital that will chase good quality opportunities through 2027 and 2028,” he noted.

However, global headwinds and robust tech valuations could cause patches of slowdown in public markets in 2026 for some time.

[Edited By Shishir Parasher]

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