Former Jio President Vikas Choudhary-founded Playbook Partners marks first close of maiden fund

Vikas Choudhary, the former president of Reliance Jio and a former partner at Pivot Ventures, has launched a new venture capital (VC) firm, Playbook Partners.

After nearly a year since leaving Pivot Ventures, Choudhary's Playbook Partners emerged from stealth mode, announcing its first close of $130 million (Rs 1,091 crore) as part of a planned $250 million (Rs 2,099 crore) fund.

The firm raised the amount within four months of its inception, supported by strong interest from institutional investors across Europe, the U.S., the Middle East, and India.

Investment strategy and target sectors

Playbook Partners is a sector-agnostic fund, with a specific focus on growth-stage and late-stage startups across Series B, C, and D funding rounds.

The firm will focus on tech-led businesses operating in sectors such as healthcare, climate change, and software-as-a-service (SaaS), emphasizing companies with strong business fundamentals and healthy operating margins. 

The firm is currently evaluating over 200 potential investments, with plans to make its first investment within the coming weeks.

Choudhary explained the fund’s strategy, saying, “We are going to invest in tech-first growth-stage companies which have shown a strong business potential and are operating at a revenue base of between Rs 100 crore to Rs 200 crore.”

He added that Playbook will seek out businesses with positive contribution margins, offering ticket sizes between $10 million and $20 million.

Playbook's approach and leadership team

Playbook Partners aims to capitalize on growth-stage startups in India, which Choudhary described as an "under-represented asset class." He pointed out that while India has over 100,000 startups, fewer than 1,000 have reached the growth stage. He attributes the firm’s appeal to its leadership team, which includes seasoned professionals with decades of hands-on experience in scaling growth-stage companies. 

In addition to Choudhary, Playbook’s leadership includes ex-McKinsey executive Dushyant Singh and Sistema Asia Capital’s senior partner Sumit Jain. The firm has also secured a notable advisory board, featuring figures like Nazara founder Nitish Mittersain and InMobi CEO Naveen Tewari.

The VC firm expects to achieve the final close of its $250 million fund in the near future, aiming to help growth-stage startups in tech-driven sectors reach their full potential in global markets.