Lightbox returns a third of its second fund to investors

Venture capital firm expects the fund to generate fivefold returns within 3-4 years

- Mansi Verma

Lightbox has returned about a third of its $100 million second fund to investors following a partial exit from cloud kitchen startup Rebel Foods and its exit from Embibe, an AI-edtech company, the founder of the venture capital firm said.

Rebel Foods, which operates Faasos, Oven Story and Behrouz Biryani, raised $210 million last December through the sale of secondary shares and primary capital to investors led by Temasek Holdings, Singapore's state investment company. Lightbox has invested over $26 million in Rebel Foods over multiple rounds.

"We've returned 30% of the capital so far and it'll likely take another three to four years to realize the balanced returns we aim for," Sandeep Murthy, founder and managing director of Lightbox India, told Mint. "Today, the companies are straightforward—Rebel, Furlenco, Droom and Bombay Shirt Company—all with well-understood business models."