Even as most large VC and PE funds in India are moving the focus away from growth stage investments, Yash Kela-led Singularity AMC seems to be bucking the trend.

Founded in 2016, Singularity’s core philosophy revolves around “innovation that distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”

In an exclusive interview as part of Inc42’s Moneyball series, Kela also credits his background in shaping his approach to investments.

Raised in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, in a business-oriented family, Kela was influenced by his father, who built a business in the agri-commodity sector. Besides this his uncle, Madhusudhan Kela, founder of MK Ventures, was an experienced investor in capital markets, which increased Yash’s exposure to this domain.

From an early age, Yash Kela became familiar with tech-first business models, capital allocation strategies, and sharp decision making which has since been seen in Singularity AMC’s portfolio.

In the last eight years, Singularity AMC has built a portfolio of some of the most promising startups in India, with notable investments in B2C and B2B segments, including the likes of mCaffeine, Exotel, WebEngage, XYXX, and Lohum Cleantech.

In 2021, Singularity launched its first fund of INR 560 Cr, which was closed in March 2023 and is fully deployed across 17 companies, with 16 being private equity investments and one listed company.

Building on this momentum, the firm announced the first close of its second fund, Singularity Growth Opportunities Fund II, at INR 500 Cr, with a total corpus of INR 1,500 Cr in October 2023.

“The fund is already oversubscribed to the tune of INR 1800 Cr. In the second Growth Fund (Growth Fund 2), INR 600 Cr has been deployed so far across five companies,” Kela told Inc42.

As Singularity continues to evolve, it remains committed to identifying and nurturing innovative companies, embodying the belief that “the best way to predict the future is to create it.” With a focus on growth-stage investments, the firm aims to support companies that are scaling their operations and expanding their market reach.

Here Kela gives us insights into Singularity’s investment thesis, ecosystem trends, and future outlook.

Edited excerpts

Inc42: Give us an idea of how the investment thesis at Singularity AMC has evolved in the last eight years. What is your big focus right now?

Yash Kela: We operate with two pools of capital—private equity and public equity. Within private equity, we have launched two funds, while our public equity fund is open-ended. This structure allows us to remain invested in high-quality businesses for a long period across both private and public markets.

Our approach is inspired by firms like WestBridge and Premji Invest, which have successfully executed similar models with dollar capital. Our goal is to achieve this with rupee capital. In 2021, we launched the Singularity Growth Series, focussing on growth equity investments.

There are four key pillars to our strategy:

• Risk-Reward Balance:........
  

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