Sequoia Capital seeks opportunities in emerging tech area

Sequoia Capital is betting big on data analytics, mobile applications, cloud computing and payment solutions

Venture Capital firm Sequoia Capital India is banking on the growing start-up ecosystem in the country to expand its portfolio, with a focus on emerging technologies such as big data analytics, mobile applications, cloud computing and payment solutions.

The company has invested in around 12 companies last year such as JustDial, Knowlarity, Freecharge, Freecultr, Practo, iCreate, AdNear among others. “In India, there is a shift happening where people are moving to smartphones from feature phones. With the growing adoption of android-based smartphones, we are seeing the emergence of lot of companies who are developing mobile applications and this is an opportunity for us,” said Mohit Bhatnagar, Managing Director of Sequoia Capital.

“We are also seeing many promising companies starting in the big data analytics and payment solution space which are growing areas,” he added.

Sequoia India has been investing from three funds with a total corpus of $1.4 billion. So far, it has invested around $1.1 billion in over 60 portfolio companies in the country. The company typically invests around $1-20 million based on the stages of investment and sector. In 2013, the company is also seeking investment opportunities in the growing consumer segment.

“Other than the technology segment, we are also focusing on sectors like consumer and healthcare in India. The consumption story is still strong in the country. We are a large economy and there are many white spaces in India where we don’t have any established brand. The market is growing which means it is not saturated, and that itself provides an opportunity,” Bhatnagar added.

Sequoia Capital India has already made investment in food and beverage and kitchen appliances businesses like Prataap Snacks and Kebab, Faaso’s, Stovekraft among others.

In 2012, Sequoia had made an exit from Bangalore-based Cafe Coffee Day with around 18 per cent returns on investment. In the consumer segment, it is looking at investing in companies focused on apparels, fashion, food and beverage businesses.

In 2009, Sequoia entered the healthcare segment through its investment in eye care chain, Vasan Eyecare. Last year, the company had invested around Rs 40 crore in pathology services provider, Suburban Diagnostics and around Rs 100 crore ($22 million) in Delhi-based Moolchand Healthcare.