Ashneer, wife plan ‘Third Unicorn’ after ‘swindling’ BharatPe

According to data accessed through Tofler, they have now registered a new company. The nature of the startup is not known yet

After allegedly swindling fintech platform ‘BharatPe’, Ashneer Grover and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover have formed a new company called Third Unicorn Private Ltd, and are set to launch a third startup.

Before co-founding BharatPe, Grover was associated with Grofers, which is now 15-minute delivery platform Blinkit that has been acquired by Zomato for Rs4,447 crore (about $568 million) in an all-stock deal.

According to data accessed through Tofler, the Grovers have now registered a new company. The nature of the startup is not known yet.

Ashneer and Madhuri Jain, former head of controls at BharatPe, are both directors of the firm that was founded on July 6.

The firm has a total paid-up capital of Rs10 lakh and an authorised share capital of Rs 20lakh.

Last month, celebrating his 40th birthday, Grover posted on Twitter that it is time to build another unicorn.

“Today I turn 40. Some will say I’ve lived a full life and experienced more things than most. Created value for generations. For me it’s still unfinished business. Time to disrupt another sector. It’s time for the Third Unicorn,” he posted.

Grover recently said that he was planning to start his own venture without seeking funds from the investors.

Allegations

He, along with his wife, was stripped of all BharatPe titles over alleged “extensive misappropriation of company funds” and using “company expense accounts” to “enrich themselves and fund their lavish lifestyles”.

BharatPe sacked Madhuri Jain over allegations of financial irregularities during her tenure at the company as head of controls. On the other hand, Grover decided to quit right before the crucial board meeting to grill him over misappropriation of funds.

As part of its corporate governance review of the company after the financial irregularities were unearthed, the company found many vendors were involved in malpractices, such as incorrect or inflated invoices, who have been blocked for further business with the company.

Grover also became popular during his stint as a judge on Sony TV’s Shark Tank India show.