India critical to our global strategy: Prosus CEO Fabricio Bloisi

What brings you to India, and how do you view its role in Prosus’ global portfolio?

India is not just another investment destination for us; it’s critical to our global strategy. We’ve already invested $9 billion here over the past few years and we’re planning to invest many more billions soon. We don’t think short term. We want to invest for the next 20-30 years.

When I look at India’s potential, I’m not talking about growing two times—I’m talking about growing 10 times. I am not here just to make returns, I want to help build a $50-billion company in India. The market has the population scale and digital adoption to make that happen. It’s the right place to take bold bets and create companies with massive societal impact.

How will your India portfolio evolve?

Today, we have 35 companies in India, and this will increase significantly. We can do investments ranging from $10 million to $1-2 billion. We’re looking for the best entrepreneurs here to innovate solutions that work for India—like companies building for two- and three-wheelers rather than just cars. Our goal is to help make India more aggressive in technology, and eventually help these companies go global.

How important is AI in your India strategy?

AI is as important as the industrial revolution. It’s transforming every company—how they operate, scale, hire and market. At Prosus, we have 800 AI models running across our companies, making decisions about pricing, offers and personalisation. For India specifically, AI is crucial because it helps companies operate more efficiently and reduce costs, which is vital for connecting the next 100 million customers.

AI’s impact will be even greater in India than in the US or Europe, especially in education and healthcare. Imagine having a personal AI tutor for half a billion people who need education, or giving a village nurse access to the knowledge of the world’s best doctors through AI.

Which sectors in India offer the most compelling opportunities for disruption?

Education and healthcare are massive white spaces. India has hundreds of millions who need better education, and AI can personalise learning at scale—like a tutor adapting to each individual. In healthcare, AI can empower a nurse in a remote village with the knowledge of the world’s best doctors.

India has already shown how public digital infrastructure like Aadhaar can drive innovation. If that approach is applied to health and education, the impact could be transformative.

Your India portfolio has underperformed relative to other markets. How do you assess that?

As an entrepreneur, I’ve built 200 things and seen 180 fail—that’s part of innovation. Yes, we lost money in edtech, particularly in Byju’s, but we’ve seen strong outcomes in companies like Swiggy and Meesho. These ups and downs won’t make us less bold. On the contrary, AI gives us a fresh opportunity to reimagine even sectors that have struggled. We’re here for the long term.

How many IPOs can we expect from your India portfolio?

I’m very confident that around five companies from our portfolio will go public in the next two years, probably more. I can’t announce specific names as companies should announce themselves, but if you check today, there are two or three that will likely go public in the next 12 months. We’re not focused on short-term timing due to market conditions. If companies need more time, we can help by investing more. We’re ready to invest billions more in India.

What’s your approach to governance after some challenges in the market?

We’re building the next leaders, so we have to take risks and bet on companies and people. Sometimes they succeed—like Swiggy, PayU and others. Sometimes they fail. That’s part of the game. I’m not desperate about occasional failures. We’re going to keep taking risks and keep improving.

What is Prosus’ core investment philosophy when it comes to India?

We like high-frequency businesses—like food delivery and payments—as the foundation. From there, we build adjacencies such as e-commerce and consumer experiences. We also focus on synergies within our portfolio; one company’s growth can accelerate another’s. And we believe in India-first solutions. It’s not about copy-pasting from Silicon Valley—it’s about what works here.

Is there a cap on how much Prosus is willing to invest in India?

There’s no cap. We follow opportunity. In the last five months, we’ve spent $6 billion on acquisitions—$1 billion in Latin America and $5 billion in Europe. If similar opportunities arise in India, we’re ready. When the moment is right, we’ll act decisively.