By Aditya Kalra

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters). General Atlantic is a global private equity firm that plans to spend $2 billion on India and Southeast Asia in the next 2 years. This follows falling valuations making the region’s startups attractive. A senior executive spoke out to Reuters.

General Atlantic is currently in the early stages of investment discussions with approximately 15 companies in sectors such as technology, financial service, retail and consumer. Sandeep Naik from its India and Southeast Asia business said this in an interview.

Startups in India are experiencing a tough time. Funders are having difficulty attracting cash after raising record $35 billion in 2021.

General Atlantic has invested $190 million, the lowest amount of any year, in Indian startup companies in 2021. This is the reason General Atlantic decided to relax its purse strings.

The realism is finally starting to set in. We waited for value to be created. “We are now ready,” Naik stated about General Atlantic’s plans in India and Southeast Asia. It has more than $4.5 Billion of investments, most of which is in India.

Naik said, “We are bullish about India, Indonesia, and Vietnam,” but declined to identify any company it was considering.

General Atlantic’s Indian high-profile investments include Byju’s education technology company. This offers tutoring online in a country with high internet usage and smartphones and is worth around $22billion.

Reliance Retail is India’s biggest retailer. It also owns Southeast Asia’s largest food and beverage retailer PT MAP Boga Adiperkasa in Indonesia and Kumu, a social entertainment platform in the Philippines.

As rising interest rates have impacted investor sentiment and caused conflict in Ukraine, many tech companies worldwide have experienced losses in the last week. SoftBank Japan reported an unprecedented loss of $26.2 million at Vision Fund Investment Arm.

General Atlantic has advised all portfolio companies to consider consolidation possibilities in light of the current market conditions and fall in valuations.

Naik stated, “Now is the right time to consolidate… Strong becomes stronger.”