Spice Global to co-invest in tech companies with Silicon Valley-based VC firm Formation 8

BK Modi-controlled Spice Global, a $2 billion diversified conglomerate with interests in mobility solutions, healthcare and entertainment, has committed an undisclosed amount in Formation 8, a Silicon Valley-based and early-growth venture capital fund chasing investments in technology companies, according to a company statement.

"Spice has invested in Formation 8 and side by side, it will co-invest in their deals through the fund," Ozi Amanat, chief investment officer of Spice Global, told Techcircle.in.

One of its group companies is S Mobility, a mobile handset and VAS company listed on the Indian stock exchange.

Formation 8 will offer market knowledge, deployment expertise, sales channels and relationships to Spice Global, and will also help identify early-growth companies and forge strategic global partnerships, according to the company's statement.

Recently, Formation 8 raised its first fund of $448 million to draw on its extensive network and local offices in Asia and win a portfolio of smart enterprises and energy tech companies in the region, as reported by Techcrunch.

Formation 8 is a VC firm by five industry players and launched by Plantar Technologies, a multi-billion-dollar software company in Silicon Valley. The five partners at the VC firm are Joe Lonsdale (co-founder of Palantir Technologies), tech entrepreneur Brian Bonwoong Koo, CMEA Capital's Tom Baruch, Khosla Ventures' entrepreneur-in-residence James Zhang and partner Jim Kim.

In a separate development, Spice Global has partnered with Pangaea group, led by Michael Ault's The Ault Group, to launch a luxury lounge & bar at the Ashok Hotel in Delhi by mid-June.

(Edited by Sanghamitra Mandal)