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Speaking on the transformative power of AI, Bloisi emphasised that, within five years, AI will profoundly impact virtually every aspect of technology. “India has to lead on that, and we are going to invest a lot in AI in India,” he stated in an interview with CNBC-TV18.
Bloisi underscored that marketplace, fintech, and artificial intelligence are the top three priorities for Prosus in India. “The priority for Prosus is marketplace and fintech on the base of marketplace,” he explained. “Connecting a billion customers with Internet services and enabling payments and credit through fintech are central goals. On top of that, AI plays a crucial role in transforming these sectors.” Dismissing skepticism about AI as a passing trend, he likened its significance to game-changing innovations such as the iPhone and the internet.
Prosus has invested over $8 billion in India over the past seven years, funding more than 30 startups, including prominent names like Swiggy, Meesho, and Urban Company. Despite these investments, Bloisi views this as only the beginning. “We are investing to build one of the most exciting internet scenes in the world. That’s the potential that India has,” he said.
Looking ahead, Prosus anticipates a vibrant 2025, with around five IPOs expected from its portfolio companies, including PayU, Meesho, and Urban Company.
Below are the excerpts of the interview.
Q: What do you make about how we’ve seen the Indian public markets accept new-age companies, and what has that changed the way that even these startups are operating with a much more focused approach now to profitability?
Bloisi: It’s not like it started last year. It started 15 years ago. I would say it started 23 years ago, when we first started talking about startups in India. But after all this time, it has become clear to society, not just in India but globally, that to drive wealth, you need to grow a technology sector. If you look at the US or China, the technology sector has created trillions of dollars—almost $15 trillion of value—and India deserves to have a strong and mature technology scene. As I mentioned, I believe we are just beginning. There is so much more to grow and build.
Many people think that all you need are entrepreneurs and ideas to innovate and create startups, but you also need capital that can invest and take risks. Obviously, Prosus can invest and take risks, and we are investing in India, but you also need a market like the one we now have in India that is capable of taking these risks to truly create very large companies. I believe we will see many more of them.
Q: India is one of your big growth markets, one of your big bets. You’ve invested $8 billion over the last seven years in India, across a whole host of companies. How is it panning out for you?
Bloisi: We invested $8 billion and we are just starting. We started many years ago with Ibibo, with Flipkart, and now with Swiggy, Mesho, Urban Company, and we funded around more than 30 startups that we are supporting in India. And we think this is the start; this is the beginning. We are investing to build one of the most exciting internet scenes in the world. That’s the potential that India has.
Q: Any sectors in specific that you’re going to be focused on.
Bloisi: The priority for Prosus is marketplace and fintech based on the marketplace. So, three big priorities: marketplace—connecting a billion customers with internet services—and on top of that, fintech, which enables easier payments and provides credit to customers and partners. There’s a third point, which is AI, and I want to emphasise the importance of AI. Sometimes people ask, “Is AI a bubble? Are you over-investing in AI?” It’s like asking, “Is the iPhone a bubble?” or “Is the internet a bubble?” Obviously, some companies are overpriced; that’s part of life with every new technology. But I would say that in five years, everything we do will involve a lot of AI. So, India has to lead in this area. We are going to invest heavily in AI in India.
Q: There’s a whole bunch of your portfolio companies that are looking to go public. Mesho, Urban Company, PayU. Is 2025, likely to be an even more exciting year?
Bloisi: We have more than 30 companies invested by Prosus. We love PayU, Mesho and Urban Company. We expect around five IPOs in 2025 from the companies that we have invested in. So, we are quite excited about this year. I think Swiggy made a good start. People see Swiggy today as a very big company, but actually Prosus started investing in Swiggy when it was a quite small company with a very few orders, and today we have hundreds and thousands of partners, millions of customers. That’s the story, the technology, technology can build. And I’m sure there will be many more Swiggy’s and many more bigger companies, building much more amazing stories.
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