Wipro Consumer Care Ventures, which has backed startups such as Anveshan, Baker’s Dozen and Let’s Try, is looking to invest in funds as it seeks more sectoral expertise and source deals in India and Southeast Asia, aiming to broaden its presence, managing partner Sumit Keshan told Mint in an interview.
The firm will write larger cheques, ranging between ₹10-30 crore, up from its earlier strategy of ₹12-14 crore, and plans to participate in pre-series A, series A and series B rounds, Keshan said. It will broaden its horizon beyond its core categories such as personal care, home care, wellness, and nutraceuticals to include other sub-sectors such as pet care, appliances and packaged foods.
The company has already made an investment in Singapore-based DSG Consumer Partners—a venture-capital firm focused on the in India and Southeast Asia—through its first fund.
“We are open to looking at investing in other funds focused in the consumer sector. DSG has the same focal point as us in terms of the sectoral expertise and the geographies they operate in and we look for similar synergies for future investments as well,” Keshan said.
Deployment delays in 2nd fund
The firm recently made its first investment in Moi Soi, a pan-Asian food and beverage brand, through its ₹250-crore second fund. Its ₹200-crore first fund in 2020 invested in other Indian consumer startups such as Gynoveda, Goofy Tails and The Ayurveda Company, among others. Nearly 85% of the first fund was deployed in fresh investments, while the remaining was used for follow-on bets in companies such as LetsShave, Anveshan and Soulflower, among others. Outside India, the company has invested in wellness startups such as Indonesia’s Youvit and Singapore’s Moom.
“Of the 16 companies in the first fund, these are our two investments in Southeast Asia. We are very actively scouting for more deals in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam for our second fund,” Keshan said. He added that the company has made a key hire for the region and expects to see more action in the coming months.
To be clear, the second fund was launched nearly three years ago but the firm has just begun active deployment due to operational reasons. While the venture arm received the necessary approvals to invest from the fund in 2023, Keshan clarified the delays were because the firm wanted to first exhaust its maiden fund.
“We finished deploying from the first fund only in 2025. However, we would like to deploy faster for the second fund as we plan to target slightly larger deals and stages,” he said, adding that the number of investments is also expected to be higher.
Care & Lighting’s venture arm is also preparing for at least two exits over the next 18 months, Keshan said. It has already exited MyGlamm and partially exited Ustraa, selling some of its shares to VLCC.
M&A strategy
Keshan also oversees mergers and acquisitions (M&As) for the core fast-moving consumer goods () business, where the company is actively building a food portfolio. It sells the popular Santoor brand of soaps.
The consumer goods firm has an active M&A trajectory, having invested over $1 billion on acquiring brands in various markets, including India, over the past two decades. In April 2023 it acquired Kerala-based packaged foods brand Brahmins, which offers breakfast pre-mix powders, spice mixes, pickles, and dessert mixes. The same year, it acquired personal care brands Jo, Doy, and Bacter Shield from VVF (India) Ltd.
“We have specific filters for startup investments and for M&As to happen within the larger consumer arm. If our venture portfolio companies meet those thresholds and fall into those criteria, we are open to absorbing them into our corporate arm,” Keshan said. “However, we don’t pre-set these conditions while making the investment as we function as a pure-play venture capital firm in that sense,” he said.