Blume Ventures to demand portfolio firms hold Indian accounts, reduce exposure to foreign markets after SVB collapse

The collapse of the US lender left the firm, which says it manages about $600 million, scrambling to shore up capital for its firms whose funds got stuck, according to partner Ashish Fafadia.

To further diversify banking risk, Blume’s portfolio companies will now be asked to maintain multiple accounts to park funds, and invest money in term deposits to the extent there is insurance cover, Fafadia said.

“I am ready to implement all things rigorously which otherwise used to be requests or guidance,” Fafadia said.

Fafadia joins executives at companies ranging from startups to publicly traded entities saying they are reviewing their cash and financing strategies and looking to reduce potential risks.

Also read | Indian startups look for ways to move their funds out of SVB

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The world’s second-most populous nation has a robust startup ecosystem and many fledging firms set up offices in the US to be closer to investors, while still continuing to use India as a base for functions such as operations, research and data crunching.The venture capital firm will actively discourage startups from investing in any money market instruments with durations longer than three to six months, said Fafadia, who spent hundreds of hours trying to help portfolio companies with exposure to Silicon Valley Bank when it began to unravel last week. He declined to specify which firms had accounts with the bank.

“Keeping money in long-term bonds is always something I have been against, but somehow chief financial officers and founders of startups look at that bit as extra income,” he said.