SoftBank, the leading investor in the Indian tech start-up market, has announced that it may invest another $5 billion to $10 billion in the country by the next year.

Chief executive office Rajiv Misra said that they are ready to invest more in India if they find the valuations of the companies attractive. Misra said SoftBank had been investing in India for more than 10 years. This has pumped in roughly USD 14 billion over the past six years, he added.

“So far this year, we have invested USD 3 billion and are looking to invest in more. It’s not in three or four companies, we have invested in 24 companies in India. “So, it’s not that there is a feeding frenzy for three or four assets. These are tech companies, education, e-commerce to Ola Electric to fintech,” Misra said.

“If we find the right companies, we could invest another USD 5 billion to USD 10 billion, if we find the right opportunities at the right valuation,” Misra said.

“We came in and invested again in Flipkart, which we had exited in 2018…a lot of investments we have done over the past three years, we will be putting new money into them (as follow-on investment) as they raise new capital,” he stated.

“They’re (founders) raising USD 150-300 million. Unlike two-three years ago, when we could deploy in a billion dollars, the ticket size has come down dramatically. So to invest USD 3-4 billion, it would require like investing in 15 companies,” he added.

“I think fintech is the biggest opportunity in India because India is underbanked. WE had Paytm and Policybazaar, we are looking at a few other fintech companies, because financial inclusion is a must in India…of course, education is another big piece of investing,” he said. Misra also said that India is a “major part” of the growth ambitions of SoftBank.