Page 4 - Venture Capital

India can be global hub for IP-led innovation: Accel's Prashanth Prakash

Asserting that there is "limitless headroom for entrepreneurs", Prashanth Prakash, partner at Accel says the venture capital firm will use its recently announced USD 650 million fund over the next two-three years to back start-ups focused on AI and tech-led industrialisation. The company is eyeing 20-25 start-up investments this year as it mounts an aggressive push to tap into India's growing innovation landscape. "If you're a start-up entrepreneur, there's no better time to begin. The number of sectors that start-ups are impacting is also 10-fold...it is more multi-dimensional and multi-sectoral," Prakash told PTI in an interview. "There are a lot of opportunities for founders who have the capability to imagine and envision what products India and the world need. There is limitless headroom for entrepreneurs," he said. While US tariff impact remains uncertain, India does have a strong potential to position itself as a global hub for IP-led innovation and high-value manufacturing,

US VC firm Expert Dojo to invest $45 mn in Indian startups by FY28

US-based venture capital firm Expert Dojo on Friday announced plans to invest USD 45 million (about Rs 387 crore) in Indian startups over the next 3-4 years. Launching its USD 100 million global fund at the Expert Dojo Investors Conclave 2025 in Bengaluru, the firm earmarked USD 15 million to be invested in 20-25 Indian startups in FY26. "Expert Dojo will deploy the USD 15 million in the first year to fund 20 to 25 early-stage startups across sectors such as fintech, B2B, SaaS, and AI. While sector-agnostic, the fund will focus on startups with global scalability. Founders can expect investment cheques ranging from USD 50,000 to USD 1 million, alongside access to Expert Dojo's international mentorship and go-to-market network," the company said in a statement. Over the next 2 to 3 years, Expert Dojo plans to invest an additional USD 30 million in Indian startups, the statement said. The company has also opened its India office in Bengaluru, positioning it as a central hub for ...

Cornerstone Ventures to raise $200 million in its second fund by 2025 end

Through its second fund, the company aims to focus on companies operating in the domains including agentic AI, quantum tech, and Web3

India's VC funding surges 40% in early 2025, defying global slowdown

Deal volume also increased 11 per cent during the same period, underscoring growing investor confidence in the country's innovation-driven startup ecosystem

Smallcase raises $50 million in funding from Elev8 Venture, others

Model portfolios platform Smallcase on Friday said it has raised USD 50 million in a new funding round led by Elev8 Venture Partners. The funding round is a mix of primary issuance of shares by the company and also secondary, where existing investors have sold shares, as per a statement. Other investors who participated in the round include State Street Global Advisors, Niveshaay AIF, Faeringcapital and Arkam Ventures, it said. Newly raised money will be deployed for expanding investment product offerings across asset classes and strengthen relationships with retail investors and ecosystem partners, it said. The company launched in 2016 helps individuals take a diversified approach towards building long-term portfolios, and has witnessed transactions of over Rs 1.2 lakh crore. "The opportunity to help millions of Indians design better financial futures is one of huge responsibilities and we will continue to deliver on it," its co-founder and chief executive Vasanth Kamath ...

Sidbi VC to manage Rs 1,000 crore venture capital fund for space sector

SIDBI Venture Capital Limited has been selected as the fund manager for Rs 1,000 crore venture capital fund announced by the government to support private sector firms in the space technology domain. The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) made the announcement in this regard on Friday. "M/s SIDBI Venture Capital Limited is selected as the Fund Manager / Investment Manager for the Rs 1,000 crore Venture Capital Fund for the Indian Space Sector," the IN-SPACe said in a statement. The fund will deploy the amount earmarked for it over a period of five years, with a planned deployment of Rs 150 crore in the 2025-26 financial year followed by Rs 250 crore each in the next three financial years and Rs 100 crore in 202930. "The indicative range of investment is proposed to be Rs 10 crore-Rs 60 crore, contingent upon the stage of the company, its growth trajectory and its potential impact on national space capabilities," the government said in an ...

Lighthouse Canton plans $150-$200 mn second VC fund, eyes India growth

This comes after closing its first VC equity fund at $50 million and an ongoing second close for its $75 million venture debt fund

Venture capital, private equity funds bet big on traditional sectors

Investments in the BFSI segment went up 3.5x in 2024 over the previous year, touching $ 1.1 billion through 42 deals in which 47 per cent were above $50 million.

VC firm Endiya says it ranks among India's top-performing seed investors

'For every $1 we invested, our portfolio companies raised over $50 in follow-on capital,' says top executive

Traditional VC model not enough for deep science: Social Alpha founder

Manoj Kumar, the founder of venture development platform Social Alpha, says that deep science is all about impact first, rather than return first, making it harder to find typical venture funding

India's venture capital funding rises 43% to $13.7 billion in 2024

India's Venture Capital (VC) ecosystem exhibited robust growth in 2024, with funding surging 43 per cent year-on-year to USD 13.7 billion, according to a report. This recovery was fuelled by a 45 per cent rise in deal activity, with 1,270 transactions recorded, reinforcing India's position as the second largest market for venture capital and growth funding in the Asia-Pacific region, the report by Bain & Company and IVCA said. "Small- and medium-ticket deals (< USD 50 million), which made up around 95 per cent of the deals, increased by 1.4x, whereas USD 50 million+ deals nearly doubled, rebounding to pre-pandemic levels as high-quality assets attracted deployments. Megadeals (USD 100 million+) also rebounded with 1.6x increase in volumes as investors backed high-quality companies that successfully weathered the two-year funding winter," it said. The report noted that the consumer technology, software and SaaS (including generative AI), and fintech sectors attracted over 60 per

India's venture capital funding jumps 70% in January, outpaces China

Notable VC funding deals announced in India during the first month of the year include fundraising by building materials platform Infra

OpenAI co-founder Sutskever's startup to raise funds at $30 bn valuation

Greenoaks Capital Partners, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm, is leading the deal for the startup, Safe Superintelligence, and plans to invest $500 million

PE/VC investments in India off to a strong start in 2025: EY IVCA report

The report highlights a favourable macroeconomic environment, strong fiscal health, and stable government policies as key drivers of India's PE/VC ecosystem

Senior partners Shailesh Lakhani, Abheek Anand exit venture firm Peak XV

Lakhani and Anand have been with the firm for 17 years and 12 years, respectively. Both partners have made significant investments for the firm over the years

Raising funds this year will be tough for VCs: Pavestone Capital

However, the firm is not looking to raise any more for at least 12 months, having just closed Rs 816 cr in fundraising, said Managing Partner Laxmikanth V

VC investors take leading role in guiding startups through AI disruption

From advising on strategic integrations to connecting with top-tier AI talent, VCs are offering more than just capital

PE-VC bets grow 5% to $56 bn in 2024, 2025 to be challenging: Report

Investments by the private equity and venture capital industry grew 5 per cent to USD 56 billion in 2024, after declining for two consecutive years, a report said on Wednesday. The ongoing calender year is going to be a "challenging" one with many uncertainties expected to unfold, the report by industry lobby grouping IVCA and consultancy firm EY said. "The yet to be unveiled policies of the new US govt could have far reaching effect on international trade flows, exports, currency, crude oil prices and their cumulative impact will have a bearing on the Indian macro," the consultancy firm's partner Vivek Soni said. He said Indian consumption also appears to be slowing down, and it hopes government takes steps to address the same. The firm is "cautiously optimistic" and hopes for the ongoing corrections in markets to close the valuation gap which can help in deal closures. In the year gone by, PE and VC funds' deal volumes surged 54 per cent to 1,352 transactions, indicating a declin

With IPO hopes high, AIFs inclining towards late-stage startups: Report

Of the total investments by value, 39 per cent in FY24 went into late-stage startups, compared to only 18 per cent in FY14

With new $650 mn war chest for India, Accel eyes AI, fintech startups

Global venture capital firm Accel on Monday announced that it has raised a USD 650 million early-stage fund to fuel the next generation of category defining startups in the focus sectors of artificial intelligence (AI), consumer, fintech and manufacturing. Accel is the first institutional investor in 80 per cent of its portfolio companies. Its prominent portfolio companies include BlackBuck, BlueStone, Cult.fit, Flipkart, Freshworks, Swiggy, Urban Company and Zetwerk. "Accel, a leading global venture capital firm, today announced that it has raised a USD 650 million early-stage fund dedicated to supporting bold founders in India and Southeast Asia," the company said in a release. Accel said its latest fund eighth in India and Southeast Asia -- builds on its commitment to partnering with early-stage founders to establish disruptive, category defining businesses that create meaningful impact. Sectors in focus for this fund include AI, consumer, fintech and manufacturing. On Accel's