Flipkart Picks Up $2.5 Billion From Softbank Vision Fund

Another day, another billion dollar investment from the Softbank Vision Fund.

Flipkart is the latest company on the receiving end of Softbank’s technology-focused investment fund, having just announced a whopping $2.5 billion deal. The investment is a mix of primary and secondary capital and will make Softbank the largest shareholder in Flipkart, giving the previous largest backer (New York investment firm Tiger Global Management) a partial exit if they wish.

Flipkart is a 10-year-old ecommerce company based in Bengaluru, India. They act as an Amazon competitor but market solely for the South Asian country they call home, with over 1.3 billion citizens as potential customers.

This investment comes as part of a collectively huge funding round for Flipkart, including a previous $1.4 billion investment from Tencent, Microsoft and eBay. This means Flipkart will have over $4 billion of cash from both investments combined to work with.

“This is a monumental deal for Flipkart and India. SoftBank’s proven track record of partnering with transformative technology leaders has earned it the reputation of being a visionary investor,” said Flipkart co-founders Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal in a statement. “We’re excited to welcome the Vision Fund as a long-term partner as we continue to build our business with a focus on serving the needs of all Indians.”

Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son outlined plans late last year about his $100 billion Vision Fund with a goal of becoming the largest technology investor in the world, and these recent moves are cementing that assertion.

“India is a land of vast opportunity. We want to support innovative companies that are clear winners in India because they are best positioned to leverage technology and help people lead better lives,” Son said in a statement. “As the pioneers in Indian ecommerce, Flipkart is doing that every day.”

The Softbank Vision Fund has been on a spending spree over the past four months, with three separate billion-dollar investments and a smattering of multi-million dollar deals to boot. Companies like Roivant Sciences, Grab and more have been on the receiving end of billion-dollar Softbank investments.