Freecharge co-founder Kunal Shah has joined marquee venture capital firm Sequoia Capitalas an advisor, in the process furthering deepening an existing relationship between the two parties.
Shah, who is also the chairman of the Snapdeal-owned digital payments platform, is expected to play an active role in mentoring Sequoia’s large portfolio spread across India and South Asia.
Shailendra Singh, managing director at Sequoia Capital, is believed to have played an active role in bringing Shah on board, according to sources aware of the developments.
Queries sent by ET to Shah did not elicit any response at the time of going to press. However, he announced the same across multiple social media platforms.
The relationship between Shah and Sequoia goes back almost six years after the investment firm first backed Freecharge, then a largely recharge coupons business, in 2011.
Sequoia had participated in every funding round of the company, including an $80 million in equity financing raised by the company just prior to its acquisition by Jasper, which was announced in April 2015, for an estimated $400-$450 million, making it, at the time, the largest M&A deal to have been struck in the Indian startup ecosystem.
The cash-and-stock deal also gave Sequoia a foothold in Snapdeal.
The development comes less than a year after the MBA dropout from the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management, assumed the role of chairman and mentor-in-chief at Freecharge, following the appointment of former Bharti Airtel senior executive Govind Rajan as the chief executive of the company in May last year.
While Shah’s current role in Freecharge is largely non-operational, he also took over as chairman of industry body Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), which counts companies such as Facebook, Microsoft and Google as members, in January last year.
Shah, who is also the chairman of the Snapdeal-owned digital payments platform, is expected to play an active role in mentoring Sequoia’s large portfolio spread across India and South Asia.
Shailendra Singh, managing director at Sequoia Capital, is believed to have played an active role in bringing Shah on board, according to sources aware of the developments.
Queries sent by ET to Shah did not elicit any response at the time of going to press. However, he announced the same across multiple social media platforms.
The relationship between Shah and Sequoia goes back almost six years after the investment firm first backed Freecharge, then a largely recharge coupons business, in 2011.
Sequoia had participated in every funding round of the company, including an $80 million in equity financing raised by the company just prior to its acquisition by Jasper, which was announced in April 2015, for an estimated $400-$450 million, making it, at the time, the largest M&A deal to have been struck in the Indian startup ecosystem.
The cash-and-stock deal also gave Sequoia a foothold in Snapdeal.
The development comes less than a year after the MBA dropout from the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management, assumed the role of chairman and mentor-in-chief at Freecharge, following the appointment of former Bharti Airtel senior executive Govind Rajan as the chief executive of the company in May last year.
While Shah’s current role in Freecharge is largely non-operational, he also took over as chairman of industry body Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), which counts companies such as Facebook, Microsoft and Google as members, in January last year.
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