Lightspeed Venture Partners to raise $115 mn in India-specific fund

Company has been investing in direct and cross-border Indian companies since 2004

US-based venture capital firm, Lightspeed Venture Partners, is in the process of raising $115 million (approximately Rs 725 crore) for an India-focused fund, the company said in a disclosure to the US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC). Over the past two decades, Lightspeed has backed more than 200 companies, many of which have become leaders in their respective industries.

It is currently investing out of Lightspeed IX, a $675-million fund focused on early and expansion-stage investments in the consumer, enterprise technology and cleantech markets. It closed its new global fund at $950 million in March 2014.

Efforts to reach out to the spokespersons of Lightspeed Venture Partners in India proved futile.

Lightspeed, which has an Indian advisory team with offices in New Delhi, has been investing in direct and cross-border Indian companies since 2004. Its India portfolio includes online handicraft marketplace Craftsvilla, web and mobile music streaming service Dhingana, online fashion site Fashionara, power exchange Indian Energy Exchange, pre-paid cash cards firm Itz Cash, social commerce platform LimeRoad, consumer protection platform OneAssist, one-on-one tuition on-demand service TutorVista, branded budget hotels network Oyo Rooms, integrated SMS and call back app Phone Warrior and people discovery mobile app Vee.

"We take a team approach to investing, with two partners dedicated to each portfolio company. The relationship we nurture with each of our entrepreneurs centers on mutual trust, respect and integrity. Building great companies can take a long time, and each of us commits to a set of core beliefs and ethics that stay constant over the long term. As a result, we are proud that many executives from past portfolio companies have chosen Lightspeed as a lead investor for their subsequent ventures," Lightspeed stated in its website.

Thus far this year, Lightspeed has put in fresh investments in four of its existing portfolio companies, including participating in a Rs 110-crore round in Craftsvilla led by Sequoia Capital, with participation from Nexus and Global Founders Capital, and participating in a Rs 185-crore Series-C round in LimeRoad led by Tiger Global with participation from Matrix Partners.

Lightspeed also infused a pre-Series-A round of funds in Phone Warrior, besides participating in a Rs 150-crore investment round in New Delhi-based Oravel Stays, which runs Oyo Rooms, led by Greenoaks Capital. Lightspeed said in its website that it would invest across stages and sectors in India, with investment sizes in the range of $2 million to $25 million.

"Our principal interest is to provide growth or early-stage capital to talented entrepreneurs and management who seek to disrupt or transform large markets in the domestic economy. We invest in technology-led businesses as well as in non-technology opportunities in sectors such as advertising and media, business services, financial services, healthcare, education and retail," it said.