Auxano Capital exits Lets Game Now with single-digit returns

Venture capital firm Auxano Capital has exited online e-sports tournament platform Lets Game Now for a single-digit return through a secondary transaction, marking its fourth exit this year, Partner Brijesh Damodaran told YourStory.

In April, the firm exited Android laptop brand Primebook at 4X returns, telecom startup WIOM in June at 7X, and a partial exit from edtech company EduGorilla in September at 5.5X. 

Auxano’s exit from Lets Game Now comes at a notable time for India’s gaming sector, which is currently undergoing significant shifts due to the recent online gaming bill, which banned real-money gaming platforms in the country. While this bill in itself did not affect the company’s operations, which hosts e-sports, Damodaran noted that it triggered a series of re-evaluations in the sector. 

“Three to four months earlier, the ruling came on RMG, which actually led the whole sector to undergo a re-rating, that is how we look at it. So, when we saw that happening, we said, "Okay, let's exit LGN." We got a single-digit return on that. We held it for maybe 15 months,” Damodaran told YourStory.

He did not specify how much the return was or to whom the firm sold its shares in the company. 

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Auxano’s recent string of exits comes from the firm’s ability to identify the company’s growth trajectory and the exit opportunities it creates. “We like to look for opportunities for partial exits at every future fund raise, if possible... Or if there is the opportunity so large that one big exit matters, then that is when we exit the company fully. This is what our strategy looks like,” Damodaran noted. 

However, it is not a one-size-fits-all. The firm constantly evaluates its portfolio companies’ growth and performance, and revisits each investment based on how the ecosystem is evolving and adapting, the firm said. 

Auxano is currently in the midst of raising two funds—an angel fund called Auxano Entrepreneur Trust and the Auxano Dawn Fund, which aims to make growth-stage and pre-IPO investments in companies. “We still need to raise 40% for both the funds,” Damodaran said.

The firm has already begun deploying capital from the fund. Two of its exits—EduGorilla and Lets Game Now—are investments made from its angel fund. It invested in WIOM and Primebook through a special purpose vehicle prior to raising the funds.