Silicon Valley Bank, the 16th largest bank in the USA and the biggest bank in Silicon Valley, has recently collapsed, causing shockwaves across the VC industry. This collapse is not only affecting companies in the USA, but also across the globe, including India, where the bank had investments in many startups and MNCs.
One of India's biggest fintech companies, Paytm, had received its initial investment from SVB. However, the company's CEO, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, clarified on Twitter that SVB had already exited long ago, with a substantial return on their investment.
Silicon Valley Bank was one of my first investor when @AshLilani supported us in first around of investments at One97.
— Vijay Shekhar Sharma (@vijayshekhar) March 11, 2023
Thanks to him, we grew from a telco VAS company to what we are today. ??
Long back, by selling to other private investors, #SVB exited fully with handsome… https://t.co/l7x9ElnrbG pic.twitter.com/t1ttYPOEXl
Meanwhile, former Shark and Dogalapan author Ashneer Grover made a scathing remark on Twitter, taking a sly dig at venture capitalists. He reminded everyone that VCs invest money that is not their own and that the SVB's collapse means that there will be spring cleaning in the VC space. Grover refers to VCs as 'stupid people' who make easy money.
Eager to see how many VCs lose their jobs (yes they do jobs - are not founders and it’s not their own money that they deploy) in the aftermath of SVB. VC space needed a cleanup for long. Ab number aayega inka - too stupid people have made too much easy money in VCs doing nothing
— Ashneer Grover (@Ashneer_Grover) March 12, 2023
His sister, Aashima Grover, responded to the post by slamming VCs for forcing founders out of their companies. She alluded to Ashneer Grover's own exit from BharatPe in 2022.
The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank has caused chaos in the VC industry and is a reminder of the risks involved in investing.
