British-American billionaire James Murdoch is looking to invest in India in a big way, towards this end he plans to raise $150 million from half a dozen ultra-rich family offices.
Lupa Systems has made several investments across India and US, and plans to use the fund to expand its Indian portfolio. Former Morgan Stanley banker Nitin Kukreja is managing Lupa System’s operations in India.
The New York and Mumbai-based equity firm’s portfolio includes Gurugram-based edtech startup Doubtnut, online learning platform Harappa Education and India’s first vernacular unicorn Dailyhunt.
Rupert Murdoch founded Lupa Systems in 2019 with $2 billion in proceeds from the $71 billion sale of most of the Murdoch family’s 21st Century Fox empire to Disney. He had cut ties with his media businesses such as News Corp and Fox Corp last year.
Lupa Systems, in partnership with former Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific Chairman Uday Shankar, is also planning to raise $345 million through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) for his new media and technology venture named Seven Island Inc.
Seven Island will focus on media, entertainment, consumer technology, healthcare and education industries in south and southeast Asia. The firm will lay particular focus on India. “Lupa Systems set up its India presence less than two years ago and has already created a promising portfolio of technology investments. Partnering with Uday Shankar to build ambitiously for the long term, will take us to another level,” Nitin Kukreja, managing partner of Lupa Systems India, said in January 2021.
