IDG Ventures, one of India's oldest VCs, is now called 'Chiratae Ventures'

IDG Ventures India, one of the country's oldest venture capital firms, on Tuesday said it has rebranded itself as Chiratae Ventures as it looks to tap the emerging opportunities in 'new India'. 

Founded in 2006 by Sudhir Sethi and TC Meenakshisundaram, the Bengaluru-headquartered VC firm has so far backed 76 companies, including Flipkart, Myntra, FirstCry, Lenskart, NestAway, PolicyBazaar and Yatra, among others. Currently, the firm has over $470 million assets under advisory, with a presence in three locations.   

"As we speak, the Indian ecosystem is fast evolving. Our entrepreneurs are unparallelled global leaders who are leading this Indian wave. As India becomes the third-largest economy with a potential to become a $10-trillion GDP in coming years, the country presents immense opportunities to investors," said Sudhir Sethi, founder & chairman of Chiratae Ventures (formerly IDG Ventures India Advisors). To reflect the essence of this change, we are changing our identity, he added. 

Currently, the VC firm has 20 members across Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai. The funds advised by the firm have had two IPOs and two unicorns in the portfolio.  

"Our entrepreneurs embrace the unpredictable and exploratory terrains of the start-up ecosystem, just the way a wild cat... like a leopard does in a jungle. 'Chiratae' means leopard in Kannada. Not only does 'Chiratae' signify our team and our interests, it also signifies our emotion," the company said.