Auxano Capital Scores 7X Return From WIOM Exit

Auxano Capital has completed exit from its portfolio company WIOM, securing a 7X return on its investment via a secondary share sale.

The secondary sale marks Auxano’s second full exit among four exits till date, including two partial ones. The exit was made through a special purpose vehicle (SPV) created before Auxano’s first official fund launched in 2019.

Pertinent to note that WIOM roped in Auxano in 2022 for its seed funding round of INR 30 Cr.

WIOM, founded in 2021 by Satyam Darmora, Nishit Aggarwal, Maanas Dwivedi and Ashutosh Mishra, enables offline retailers and cafes to provide high-speed internet to their customers at INR 5. Formerly known as i2e1, the startup pivoted after the launch of PM-WANI (Prime Minister’s Wi-Fi Access Network Interface) scheme in 2020, and was rebranded as WIOM in 2021.

The startup raised $35 Mn in June to accelerate its mission to improve digital connectivity for India’s underserved middle-income households by building an affordable, inclusive internet access platform.

It counts YourNest, 9Unicorns and Omidyar Network India, as it investors.

WIOM claims to have more than 70,000 Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM-WANI)-compliant hotspots across India in cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Meerut. It also provides internet to households through PDOs (public data officers).

Meanwhile, Auxano Capital has made seed investments in brands such as Bengaluru-based drone startup Aereo, laptop maker Primebook and premium pet food label Petstrong, among others.

Since the second half of last year, there has been a surge in secondary deals, where early investors have been walking out with heavy pockets.

In one such instance, last October, Zodius Capital exited OfBusiness via a secondary share sale of around $100-120 Mn.

Also, in December last year, SaaS-focused venture capital firm Cornerstone Ventures announced its exit from retail analytics startup Intelligence Node.

Most recently, 3one4 Capital exited digital payments solutions provider ToneTag in a secondary round, and the investment firm claimed that it raked in over 5-7X returns from its exit from the startup.

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