SEBI Approves the Opening of IndiGo Ventures' Venture Capital Fund

Nitin Konde, Varun Bhardwaj

17 Oct 2024 — 3 min read

SEBI Approves IndiGo Ventures

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has approved IndiGo Ventures, the corporate venture capital fund of India's largest domestic airline, as an alternative investment vehicle. The announcement was made on October 15.

The fund will seek pre-Series A, Series A, and Series B capital and invest in entrepreneurs that have the potential to completely transform the aviation industry and beyond. Among them are start-ups developing innovative products and technologies for the aviation industry. According to IndiGo's press announcement, the fund will also consider investing in consumer firms that are involved in any aspect of the passenger trip, including travel, lifestyle, hospitality, and transportation.

Pre-Investment Activities Already Started

Pre-investment efforts have already begun, and these involve interacting with a limited number of start-ups and their founders. According to IndiGo, the website GoIndiGoVentures.com provides further information about the fund, including its investment thesis, the founders' key valuation argument, and information on governing entities and their membership. By the end of FY25, the corporate venture capital fund is anticipated to begin making investments.

The new venture, IndiGo Ventures, will help IndiGo fulfill its mission of supporting innovation and providing opportunities for people to achieve their dreams in the aviation industry and beyond, according to Neetan Chopra, IndiGo's chief digital and information officer. The entrepreneurs will gain from IndiGo's broad geographic reach and deep technical experience, which will encourage the creation of new goods and services.

IndiGo’s Recent Challenges

With roughly 54% of the domestic civil aviation market, InterGlobe Aviation is the biggest operator but faces several obstacles. The airline, known by the name IndiGo, has been embroiled in a number of crises in recent days, including one in which a furious client attacked personnel in Delhi and another in which travellers turned the runway of Mumbai International Airport into a restaurant. To make matters worse, the Mumbai Airport Authority and the Civil Aviation Ministry both sent it a show cause notice to the operator early this year.

On January 14, during a thirteen-hour delay, a passenger assaulted the pilot of an IndiGo aircraft headed for Goa as it was still parked at Delhi International Airport. Although the airline has blamed the thick fog that blanketed the airport, a fellow passenger who recorded the incident and shared it on social media subsequently said that the airline employees were uncooperative and unfairly placed the responsibility on the rowdy traveller.

If that weren't enough, the airline angered the civil aviation ministry when, that same day in Mumbai, travellers from one of its flights hurriedly disembarked from the plane, sat down on the tarmac, and proceeded to eat on the spot. The strange event happened when a Goa-to-Delhi flight was rerouted to Mumbai because of poor visibility in the national capital area. We are deeply sorry to our consumers and are investigating the matter at this time. The airline said in an official statement that it will take the required precautions to prevent any similar incidents in the future.