Early-stage VC firm 8i Ventures exits M2P Fintech with massive 12x returns

Early-stage venture capital firm 8i Ventures has fully exited its investment in M2P Fintech, achieving a remarkable 12x return on its initial capital.

The firm had originally invested Rs 9.7 crore in the fintech startup in January 2020, and with the recent exit, it realized a total return of Rs 115.9 crore.

This exit was part of M2P Fintech’s recent $100 million capital raise, which included both primary and secondary transactions.

“We got an opportunity to return the capital to our investors, and our limited partners are getting more capital than what they invested,” said 8i Ventures Founding Partner Vikram Chachra, describing the investment as a significant success for the firm.

Investment in M2P fintech yields high returns

8i Ventures' decision to invest in M2P Fintech in 2020 was based on its belief in the company’s vision to create a global Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform.

At the time of the initial investment, M2P Fintech was valued at around $9 million. Today, the startup's valuation has surged to approximately $600 million, which allowed 8i Ventures to generate an internal rate of return (IRR) of 131%, turning the initial investment into a substantial payout.

Chachra highlighted how M2P Fintech evolved from a card-issuing platform to a broader BaaS provider, serving not just neo-banks but also small finance banks in India.

The fintech now offers services ranging from core banking to loan origination and card issuance, which played a key role in boosting its value.

Partial exit in 2022, full exit in 2024

8i Ventures had previously made a partial exit from M2P Fintech in April 2022. The latest exit marks the firm’s complete withdrawal from the company, making it one of the most successful investments in 8i Ventures' portfolio.

The firm’s first fund, Fund I, used just 10% of its Rs 100 crore corpus for the M2P investment, but the exit generated 1.27 times the total corpus of the fund.

This exit contributes to the overall strong performance of Fund I, which has seen a 2.5x growth with a 37% IRR. Other investments in this fund include startups such as Slice, Easebuzz, and Blue Tokai.

M2P Fintech's CEO and Co-founder Madhusudanan R. praised 8i Ventures for their support throughout the company’s growth phases, stating, “8i was the first venture capital fund to believe in M2P Fintech’s vision... They have supported us in every funding round, from seed through Series B. For us, they feel more like co-founders than investors.”