Venture Capitalist
Venture capital investors are on the road to raise nearly $2 billion, or about Rs12,400 crore, in new funds this year to power the next generation of emerging businesses in India’s booming startup sector.Top-rung investors such as Accel Partners, Kalaari Capital and SAIF Partners — who recently scored rich returns on consumer Internet ventures such as Flipkart and fund-raising momentum that continues from 2014 when venture funds raised over $1 billion for Indian startups. Several large investors such as Sequoia Capital, Mayfield Fund, Matrix Partners, SAIF Partners and Nexus Venture Partners, have been targeting seed stage startups in the pursuit of more attractive entry valuations. Overall investments hit an alltime high of $2.1 billion in 2014, nearly 50% more than the previous year, and the momentum is expected to continue this year, both in seed and mature companies.
Venture capital (VC) is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund earns money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as biotechnology and IT. The typical venture capital investment occurs after the seed funding round as the first round of institutional capital to fund growth (also referred to as Series A round) in the interest of generating a return through an eventual realization event, such as an IPO or trade sale of the company.
Venture capital is a type of private equity. In addition to angel investing, equity crowdfunding and other seed funding options, venture capital is attractive for new companies with limited operating history that are too small to raise capital in the public markets and have not reached the point where they are able to secure a bank loan or complete a debt offering. In exchange for the high risk that venture capitalists assume by investing in smaller and less mature companies, venture capitalists usually get significant control over company decisions, in addition to a significant portion of the company’s ownership (and consequently value).
Venture capitalists: A venture capitalist is a person who makes venture investments, and these venture capitalists are expected to bring managerial and technical expertise as well as capital to their investments. A venture capital fund refers to a pooled investment vehicle that primarily invests the financial capital of third-party investors in enterprises that are too risky for the standard capital markets or bank loans. These funds are typically managed by a venture capital firm, which often employs individuals with technology backgrounds (scientists, researchers), business training and/or deep industry experience. A core skill within VC is the ability to identify novel or disruptive technologies that have the potential to generate high commercial returns at an early stage. By definition, VCs also take a role in managing entrepreneurial companies at an early stage, thus adding skills as well as capital, thereby differentiating VC from buy-out private equity, which typically invest in companies with proven revenue, and thereby potentially realizing much higher rates of returns. Inherent in realizing abnormally high rates of returns is the risk of losing all of one’s investment in a given startup company. As a consequence, most venture capital investments are done in a pool format, where several investors combine their investments into one large fund that invests in many different startup companies.
Most venture capital funds have a fixed life of 10 years, with the possibility of a few years of extensions to allow for private companies still seeking liquidity. The investing cycle for most funds is generally three to five years, after which the focus is managing and making follow-on investments in an existing portfolio. This model was pioneered by successful funds in Silicon Valley through the 1980s to invest in technological trends broadly but only during their period of ascendance, and to cut exposure to management and marketing risks of any individual firm or its product.
Venture Capital (VC) investments by India-dedicated funds totalled more than half a billion dollars in 2014, a three- year high. In comparison, VC investments by foreign funds in the country added up to below $200 million.
Top Venture Capital Firms In India
HELION VENTURE PARTNERS: Investing in technology-powered and consumer service businesses, Helion Ventures Partners is a $605 Mn Indian-focused, an early to mid-stage venture fund participating in future rounds of financing in syndication with other venture partners.
People You Should Know: Sandeep Fakun, Kanwaljit Singh.
Investment Structure: Invests between $2 Mn to $10 Mn in each company with less than $10 Mn in revenues.
Industries: Outsourcing, Mobile, Internet, Retail Services, Healthcare, Education and Financial Services.
Startups Funded: Yepme, MakemyTrip, NetAmbit, Komli, TAXI For Sure, PubMatic.
Contact Details: 8040183333, 01244615333
ACCEL PARTNERS : Accel Partners founded in 1983 has global presence in Palo Alto, London , New York, China and India. Typical multi-stage investments in internet technology companies are made by Accel partners.
People You Should Know: Subrata Mitra, Prashanth Prakash and Mahendran Balachandran
Investment Structure: Invests between $0.5 Mn and $50 Mn in its portfolio companies.
Industries: Internet and Consumer Services, Infrastructure, Cloud -Enabled Services, Mobile and Software.
Startups Funded: Flipkart, BabyOye, Freshdesk, Book My Show, Zansaar, Probe, Myntra, CommonFloor.
Contact Details: 8041232551, 8043539800
BLUME VENTURES: Venture capital firm, Blume Venture Advisor funds early-stage seed, startups, pre-series A, series B and late stage investments. Blume backs startups with both funding as well as active mentoring and support.
People You Should Know: Karthik Reddy and Sanjay Nath.
Investment Structure: Provides seed funding investments between $0.05 Mn – $0.3 Mn in seed stage. Also, provides follow-on investments to portfolio companies ranging from $.5Mn to $1.5Mn.
Industries: Mobile Applications, Telecommunications Equipment, Data Infrastructure, Internet and Software Sectors, Consumer Internet, Media, Research and Development
Startups Funded: Carbon Clean Solutions, EKI Communications, Audio Compass, Exotel, Printo.
SEQUOIA CAPITAL INDIA: Sequoia Capital India specializes in investments in startup seed, early, mid, late, expansion, public and growth stage companies.
People You Should Know: Shailesh Lakhani and Shailendra Singh.
Investment Structure: SCI invests between $100,000 and $1 Mn in seed stage, between $1 Mn and $10 Mn in early stage and between $10 Mn and $100 Mn in growth stage companies.
Industries: Consumer, Energy, Financial, Healthcare, Outsourcing, Technology.
Startups Funded: JustDial, Knowlarity, Practo, iYogi, bankbazaar.com
Contact: 8041245880, 2240747272, 01149567200
NEXUS VENTURE PARTNERS: Nexus Venture Partners is a venture capital firm investing in early stage and growth stage startups across sectors in India and US.
People You Should Know: Suvir Sujan and Anup Gupta
Investment Structure: Invests between $0.5 Mn and $10 Mn in early growth stage companies. Also, makes investments upto $0.5 Mn in their seed program.
Industries: Mobile, Data Security, Big Data analytics, Infrastructure, Cloud, Storage, Internet, Rural Sector, Outsourced Services, Agribusiness, Energy, Media, Consumer and Business services, Technology.
Startups Funded: Snapdeal, Housing, Komli, ScaleArc, PubMatic, Delhivery.
Contact: 8049456600, 2266260000
INVENTUS CAPITAL PARTNERS: With the sole goal of making new entrepreneurs successful, Inventus is a venture capital fund managed by entrepreneurs and industry-operating veterans.
People You Should Know: Samir Kumar and Kanwal Rekhi
Investment Structure: The firm does not invest in capital intensive companies. It typically leads the first venture round with $1 Mn to $2 Mn and as the businesses grow, it invests from $0.25 Mn up to $10 Mn.
Industries: Consumer, Hotels, Restaurants and Leisure, Media, Internet and Catalog Retail, Healthcare, Information Technology, Hardware and Equipment, Telecommunications etc.
Startups Funded: Poshmark, Savaari, Farfaria, Policy Bazaar.com, Insta Health Solutions, CBazaar.
Contact: +91 80 4125 6747
IDG VENTURES: Having a global network of technology venture funds with more than $4 billion, IDG Ventures India is a leading India-focused technology venture capital fund specializing in startups, early stage, growth stage and expansion stage companies.
People You Should Know: Manik Arora and Sudhir Sethi
Investment Structure: Invests in India-based companies and also in companies outside India. The firm invests between $1 Mn and $10 Mn.
Industries: Digital Consumer – Internet, Mobile, Media and Technology Enabled Consumer Services, Enterprise Software – SaaS, Software Products and Enterprise services, Engineering – Medical Devices, Clean-tech and IP-led Businesses
Startups Funded: UNBXD, Yatra.com, Myntra.com. FirstCry, Zivame, iProf, Ozone Media.
Contact: +91 80 4043 4836, +91 11 3019 4145
FIDELITY GROWTH PARTNERS: Fidelity Growth Partners India is the private equity arm of Fidelity International Limited focused on investing in India. Since 2008, FGPI has made several investments across sectors including Healthcare and Life Sciences, Technology, Consumer and Manufacturing.
People You should Know: Abhinav Sinha, Harsh Jhaveri
Investment Structure: Typically, FGPI invests between $10 Mn and $50 Mn for a minority stake in the company
Industries: Healthcare and Life Sciences, Technology, Consumer and Manufacturing
Startups Funded: Netmagic, Yebhi
NASPERS: Naspers is a leading multinational media group, incorporated in 1915 as a public limited liability company and was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in September 1994. The group’s principal operations are in internet platforms (focusing on commerce, communities, content, communication and games), pay-television and the provision of related technologies and print media (including publishing, distribution and printing). The group’s most significant operations are located in South Africa and elsewhere in Africa, China, Central and Eastern Europe, India, Brazil, Russia, Thailand and the Netherlands.
People You should Know: N/A
Investment Structure: N/A
Industries: Ecommerce, Print Media, Pay Television
Startups Funded: OLX, Flipkart
STEADVIEW CAPITAL: Steadview is a leading alternative asset manager based in Hong Kong. The firm makes concentrated long-term investments across multiple industries
People You should Know: Ravi Mehta
Investment Structure: Early Stage Venture and Later Stage Venture Investments Industries: Ecommerce
Startups Funded: Olacabs, Flipkart, Saavn, Urban Ladder
JUNGLE VENTURES: Jungle Ventures is a Singapore based, entrepreneur backed venture firm that funds and helps startups scale across Asia Pacific. It invests in global startups that are solving problems relevant to Asia Pacific markets. It currently has investments in US, Singapore, India, Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
People You should Know: Amit Anand, Subrata Mitra
Investment Structure: Venture Capital that does Seed and Early Stage Venture Investments
Industries: Ecommerce, Digital Media, Saas, Fintech, Big Data, Analytics, Enterprise
Startups Funded: Zipdial, Ekstop, Pokkt, Milaap
ZODIUS CAPITAL:Operational since 2011, Zodius typically develops one company every six months and works intensively with its portfolio company teams to “speed up” and “shape up” for exceptional growth and profitability.
People You should Know: Neeraj Bhargava, Gautam Patel
Investment Structure: N/A
Industries: Big Data and Analytics, Digital Media and Commerce, Education
Startups Funded: BigBasket, Culture Machine
QUALCOMM VENTURES:Qualcomm Ventures is the investment arm of Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM), a Fortune 500 company with operations across the globe.
People You should Know: Karthee Madasamy
Investment Structure: N/A
Industries: Business Software, Cloud/Enterprise, Consumer Software, Hardware, Health Care, Infrastructure, Semi/Components
Startups Funded: Appsdaily, Capillary, Deck, Portea, Housing
WARBURG PINCUS: Warburg Pincus is a leading global private equity firm focused on growth investing. The firm has more than $37 Bn in assets under management. Its active portfolio of more than 120 companies is highly diversified by stage, sector and geography.
People You should Know: Hari Ravichandran
Investment Structure: It emphasizes growth investing and has successfully built companies at all stages, from conceiving and creating venture capital opportunities, to providing capital to meet the needs of existing businesses, to investing in later-stage buyout transactions and special situations with unique characteristics.
Industries: Consumer, Industrial and Services, Energy, Financial Services, Healthcare, Real Estate, Tech, Media, Telecommunications
Startups Funded: Lemon Tree, Biba, Quikr
Contact: +91 22 66451234
CANAAN PARTNERS: Global venture capital firm investing in people with visionary ideas, Canaan Partners specializes in all stages of development, seed financings, start-ups, growth and early stage investments, typically Series A and B financings.
People You Should Know: Wende Hutton
Investment Structure: The firm typically invests between $0.05 Mn to $80 Mn in its portfolio company. It prefers to exit its investments within 7 to 10 years.
Industries: Technology- Advertising & Marketing, Big Data/Cloud, Consumer, Enterprise/SaaS, FinTech, Hardware, Healthcare – Biopharma, digital Health & MedTech.
Startups Funded: Naaptol, Bharat Matrimony, iYogi, Happiest minds, mCARBON, CarTrade, Surewaves.
Contact: +91 124 4301841
SAIF PARTNERS: Investing in India since 2001, SAIF Partners specializes in private equity and venture capital across Asia.
People You Should Know: Mukul Arora & Mukul Singhal
Investment Structure: Invests between $10 Mn and $100 Mn in one or more rounds of financing with investments between $200,000 to $500,000 in early stage companies and between $30 Mn and $35 Mn in more mature unlisted ventures.
Industries: IT, ITes, Industrials, Financial Services, Internet, Consumer Product, Mobile
Startups Funded: Justdial.com, Paytm, Network18, HomeShop18, Book My Show.
Contact: +91 124 496 5500
ASCENT CAPITAL ADVISORS: Ascent Capital, an India-focused independent private equity firm, is among the most experienced teams on ground with over 150+ years of collective experience in Indian capital markets.
People You Should Know: Raja Kumar
Investment Structure: The firm makes investments ranging from $10 Mn to $30 Mn.
Industries:Technology, Ecommerce, Healthcare, Financial Services, Consumer Brands, Infrastructure
Startups Funded: Bigbasket.com, KIMS
Contact: +91 80 3055 1230, +91 80 3055 1231
AXON PARTNERS GROUP: Specialised in global emerging markets, the Group prefers to invest in technology focused companies in countries like Latam, Spain and India.
People You Should Know: Francisco Velázquez de Cuéllar
Investment Structure: Invests from 100,000K to $25 Mn in growth phases, from seed capital to international expansion.
Industries: Games, Software, Security, Biotechnology, Telecommunications
Startups Funded: iYogi, ByHours.com, Hot Hotels.
BAIN CAPITAL PRIVATE EQUITY: Bain Capital professionals in aggregate is the largest investor in every fund raised. Bain Capital, along with management teams, provides the strategic and analytic resources needed to build and grow great companies.
People You Should Know: Samonnoi Banerjee
Investment Structure: Invests between $5 Mn and $1 Bn in companies in wide range of Industries.
Industries: Consumer, Retail and Dining, Financial and business Services, Healthcare, Industrial and Energy, Technology, Media and Telecom.
Startups Funded: ASIMCO, BMC Software, Biglobe, Atento, BPL
Contact: +91-2267528000
BASIL PARTNERS: It’s a Venture Capital fund involved in Early Stage Venture Investments focusing on investing in India besides investing in North America, Europe and Asian Countries.
People You Should Know: Ramanan Raghavendran and Rajeev Srivastava.
Investment Structure: Investment is done in the range between $1 million and $ 5 million with minimum revenue of $5 million.
Industries: IT
Startups Funded: Endeavour Software Technologies, Karmic LifeSciences
Contact: www.basilpartners.com
BATTERY VENTURES: Battery Ventures is based in Boston, Silicon Valley and invests in technology driven companies. With over 30 years of experience, this VC fund has deep pockets.
People You Should Know: Neeraj Agrawal
Investment Structure: They invest in all stages of a company’s life, are flexible in the amount of investment, and are creative when it comes to syndicating, finding alternate sources of money, and designing financing to best match businesses.
Industries: e-Commerce and Retail Digital Media, Industrial Technologies, Infrastructure, Software and Services.
Startups Funded: HackerRank, AppDynamics
BESSEMER VENTURE PARTNERS: With great experience in investing, this 1911 founded company operates on a global scale with offices located in Israel, India and both coasts in the US.
People You Should Know: Raghav Bahl, Aakash Goel
Investment Structure: They invest in the range of $75,000 to $66 Mn.
Industries: Cyber Security, Financial Services, Mobile, Cleantech Cloud Computing
Startups Funded: Snapdeal, OnMobile
Contact: +91-80-3082-9000
CATAMARAN INVESTMENT PVT LTD: Founded in 2010 is a private investment office headquartered in Bangalore, India and London, UK. It’s a INR 600 Cr. multi-stage, multi-sector fund.
People You Should Know: N R Narayana Murthy.
Investment Structure: N/A
Industries: Venture Capital & Private Equity
Startup Funded: Yebhi
FORUM SYNERGIES (INDIA) PE FUND: The company’s vision and mission is to be a unique, ethical private equity fund management model in India that provides investors with a best-in-class private equity model.
People You Should Know: Samir Inamdar
Investment Structure: Forum Synergies invests between between $2 – $10 Mn in firms with revenues between $3 – $50 Mn.
Industries: Healthcare, Automotive, Electronic Hardware, Electrical Equipment, Chemical Engineering, Medical Devices, Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology, IT
Startups Funded: Zomato, Ola, Quikr, TaxiForSure, Commonfloor, Freecharge, Housing.
Contact: +91 80 4000 6400
FULCRUM VENTURE INDIA: Founded in 2000, Fulcrum is a private equity investor which focuses on the SME business opportunities.They prefer to invest in like-minded entrepreneurs with solid principles and objectives.
People You Should Know: Krishna Ramanathan, Ethan Khatri, Mahesh Shankaranarayanan
Investment Structure:The firm seeks to invest between INR 5 crores – INR 15 crores.
Industries: Education, Financial Services, FMCG, Healthcare, Niche Retail
Startups Funded: Shield Healthcare Private Limited , SwaaS Systems, Congruent Solutions Pvt Ltd
Contact: +91 22 6712 8484, +91 22 6712 8484
GENERAL ATLANTIC LLC: 980, is a leading global growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support for growing companies. It does Early Stage Venture, Later Stage Venture and Private Equity Investments.
People You Should Know: Sandeep Naik.
Investment Structure: Invests between $75 Mn and $400 Mn.
Industries: ECommerce, Software, Fashion, Cloud Computing, Curated Web
Startups Funded: Vox Media, Klarna, Citiustech, Squarespace.
INDIA QUOTIENT: Launched in 2012, India Quotient is an early stage fund with a corpus of INR 30 Cr.
People You Should Know: Madhukar Sinha, Anand Lunia
Investment Structure: Venture Capital fund that does Seed Investments between 100k – 500k.
Industries: Education, Food and Travel, Mobile, Fashion, Lifestyle, Consumer Finance
Startups Funded: Grabhouse, FRSH, Roposo, Prettysecrets, DogSpot
INTEL CAPITAL: The firm focuses on mergers, acquisitions, and equity investments related to tech startups. Till date, it has invested $10.7 Bn in over 1,250 companies in 52 countries.
People You Should Know: Pradeep Tagare, Bhavanipratap Rana, Amit Behl, Sudheer K Kuppam.
Investment Structure: Invest between $300 Mn and $500 Mn per year.
Industries: Internet-Digital Media, Manufacturing-Labs, Security, Smart Phones-Tablets, software and Services, Ultrabook-Perceptual Computing, Wearables
Startups Funded: Gigya, Hungama, Snapdeal
IVYCAP VENTURES: Guided by an entrepreneur-centric investment approach, IvyCap focuses on high-quality professional entrepreneurs from premier education institutions of the country.
People You Should Know: Norbert Fernandes
Investment Structure: The Firm does Early Stage Venture Investments and invests between $0.3 Mn and $7 Mn.
Industries: Healthcare, Education, Technology, Commerce.
Startups Funded: Aujas Networks, Leixir, eShakti.com, Vinculum Solutions, FieldEZ
Contact: +91-22-67000567
KAE CAPITAL: Kae Capital invests in those companies which bring out innovative solutions for existing gaps in the markets.They believe in identifying and building large companies even from a concept.
People You Should Know: Navin Honagudi, Shashank Hirawat, Sasha Mirchandani, Nisa Mohamedi.
Investment Structure: Investment is made between $0.05 – $2.5 Mn and typically they invest between $0.2 – $1 Mn in the first round.
Industries: Mobile, Ecommerce, Education, Healthcare, Consumer, Internet
Startups Funded: SysCloud, ShepHertz, FortunePlay, Nuiku, Shopsense, Airwoot.
KALAARI CAPITAL: With a strong advisory team in Bangalore, Kalaari is a $160 Mn venture capital fund investing in early-stage technology-oriented companies in India. They seek companies that are capable of capturing new markets, providing innovative solutions and creating new wealth for India and beyond.
People You Should Know: Vani Kola, Sampath Kumar P., Rajesh Raju
Investment Structure:The firm invests $1Mn to $5Mn in technology savvy companies and technology-enabled services for India and the global markets.
Industries: ECommerce, Internet, Curated Web, cleantech.
Startups Funded: Mettl, UrbanLadder, Snapdeal, Zivame
Contact: 080 67159600
LIGHTBOX MANAGEMENT LTD: India based Lightbox Management Ltd with an investment horizon of seven to eight years is a new $100 Mn tech fund focussed on early stage consumer technology businesses.
People You Should Know: Sandeep Murthy, Siddharth Talwar
Investment Structure: Invests between $3 Mn and $5 Mn in the consumer technology space with a focus on education technology.
Industries: Data & Analytics, Brand & Design, Product & Marketing, Culture & Company Building.
Startups Funded: Embibe, Cleartrip, GreenDust
LIGHTSPEED VENTURE PARTNERS: Founded in 2000, Lightspeed Venture Partners investment company engages in consumer, enterprise, technology, and cleantech markets.
People You Should Know: Bejul Somaia, Dev Khare, Anshoo Sharma, Maninder Gulati.
Investment Structure: $1 to $25 Mn
Industries: Enterprise Software, Software, Mobile
Startups Funded: Eyeview, SimplyTapp, Luxe Valet, Vee, Blockchain, FiveStars, Gainsight.
Contact: +91 (11) 4980 0800
LOK CAPITAL GROUP: Gurgaon based Lok Capital initiative launched at the end of 2000 with support of a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation specializes in bottom-of-pyramid customer segment investments.
People You Should Know: Rajiv B.Lall
Investment Structure: Invests between $1 Mn and $7 Mn
Industries: Education
Startups Funded: Hippocampus Learning Centres, Qed | Everest Edusys And Solutions
Contact:+91.11.3090.0100
MATRIX PARTNERS INDIA: Mumbai Based Matrix Partners was founded in 1977, and is committed to build long-term relationships. With capital over INR 3000 Cr., they invest across sectors in India.
People You Should Know: Avnish Bajaj
Investment Structure: Invests INR 1 Cr. to 75 Cr.
Industries: Internet, Consumer internet, eCommerce, Travel, Internet, Consumer Internet, eCommerce, Travel, etc.
Startups Funded: NewsHunt, Quikr India, LimeTray, Hearing Plus, Ola (ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd.), WeAreHolidays.
Contact: +91-22-67680000
MAYFIELD FUND: One of the oldest Venture Capital Firms focusing on early-stage to growth-stage investments in information technology companies, in particular on enterprise software, Internet consumer & media services, and communications.
People You Should Know: Vikram Godse, Navin Chaddha and James Beck.
Investment Structure: In India, it invests between $500,000 to $10 Mn
Industries: Consumer Services, Infrastructure Ancillaries, Healthcare Services, Manufacturing Opportunities
Startups Funded: Gigya, Lantern, IndiaProperty
Contact:+(91)-9867577504
NEW ENTERPRISE ASSOCIATES: It’s one of the most largest and most active Venture Capital Firms which helps entrepreneurs to build transformational businesses across multiple stages, sectors and geographies.
People You Should Know: Krishna Kittu Kolluri, Tarun Sharma
Investment Structure: The firm seeks to invest between $0.05 Mn and $20 Mn in Early Stage Venture, Later Stage Venture, Private Equity, Debt Financing.
Industries: Energy, Infrastructure Services, Consumer Services, Agriculture Sector, Systems, Software, Technology
Startups Funded: IndiaHomes, Forter, Inksedge, Blueshift Labs
Contact: +91-22-4223 5600
NEWPATH VENTURES: New Path Ventures, LLC is a venture capital firm which specializes in seed stage, startups, and early stage investments. They prefer to invest in technology based startups in India and US.
People You Should Know: Vinod K. Dham, Tushar Anil Dave, Mahesh Karanth.
Investment Structure: It does Early Stage Venture and Later Stage Venture Investments.
Industries: Semiconductors, Curated Web
Startups Funded: Telsima, inSilica, Montalvo Systems
NIRVANA VENTURE ADVISORS: Nirvana Venture Advisors invests in early-stage and market leading companies in the fast growing Indian internet and mobile segments.
People You Should Know: Amit Patni
Investment Structure: N/A
Industries: Internet and Mobile Fund, Large Markets,ecommerce, online travel, online advertising and marketing.
Startups Funded: KartRocket, Transerv, Reviews42
Contact: 91-22-6742-3800
NORWEST VENTURE PARTNERS: NVP is an India-centric multi-stage investment firm that has partnered with entrepreneurs to build great businesses for more than 50 years.
People You Should Know: N/A
Investment Structure: It invests $1Mn to $30 Mn in early stage and $15 Mn-$100 Mn in growth equity companies depending on the growth of the company.
Industries: Internet, telecommunications, financial services, and education sector.
Startups Funded: Indusind Bank, Komli, Fashionandyou.com.
Contact: 91 22 6150 1111
OJAS VENTURE PARTNERS: India based Venture Capital Ojas Venture Partners believes that for young startups to become successful, it is imperative for them to have the guidance of experienced professionals with in depth understanding of the marketplace.
People You Should Know: Dr Rajesh Srivathsa
Investment Structure: Typically, make an initial investment of $ 250,000 to $ 1.5 Mn and follow that in subsequent rounds up to a maximum of US $ 3 Mn per company over the life of the company.
Industries: Mobile Technology and Applications, telecom, wireless technologies, enterprise software, SaaS, Web Applications/Services, Consumer Internet
Startups Funded: Tyfone, Vizury, Mango Techno, RiverSilica, CBazaar.
Contact: +91 80 4061 0300
SEEDFUND: This venture capital fund recognized the need for an early stage investment ecosystem in India and hence, focuses on investing in Indian startups.
People You Should Know: Shailesh Vikram Singh
Investment Structure: The firm seeks to invest between INR 1 Cr. ($0.19 Mn) and INR 25 Cr. ($4.67 Mn) in each portfolio company.
Industries: Internet, Media, Mobile, Telecommunications, Retail, Technology, Consumer
Startup Funded: Chumbak, Browntape, Heckyl, AxisRooms, Voonik.com.
Contact: (+91) 120 319 2958
SIDBI VENTURE CAPITAL LIMITED: It focuses on life sciences, clean technology, retailing, light engineering, food processing, information technology, infrastructure related services, healthcare, logistics and distribution, water and sanitation, agriculture, and education sectors.
Investment Structure: It invests between INR 5 Cr. to 25 Cr.
Industries: Ecommerce, SemiConductors.
Startups Funded: Printland, CircuitSutra Technologies, Skelta Software
Contact: 91 – 22 – 2652 7124 /25 /27 /28
UNITUS SEED FUND: Unitus Seed Fund is a seed stage venture fund based in Bangalore and Seattle which invests in developing markets with primary focus on rural startups focusing on low income groups.
People You Should Know: Dave Richards, Will Poole
Investment Structure: It invests INR 50 Lakh to INR 1 Cr.
Industries: Education and Skilling, Healthcare, Mobile Commerce, Marketplaces and E-Commerce, Agriculture, Retail and Distribution, Water and Energy.
Startups Funded: Blowhorn, Addresshealth, mGaadi, Welcare, GoCoop, Medypal.
Contact: +91.80.4112.0008
UTTHISHTA: A firm that seed funds for software, web, mobile, and cloud computing based Indian Startups, and also claims to provide a unique experience for entrepreneurs.
People You Should Know: Mohsin Khan, P.Ramakrishna.
Investment Structure: The firm seeks to invest between $0.02 Mn and $0.03 Mn per startup in return of equity stake between 10% and 15 %.
Industries: Software, Technology, Mobile, Web, Analytics, Cloud Computing
Startups Funded: Vaava
VENTUREAST FUND ADVISORS INDIA LIMITED: It’s an India based investment company which is involved in multi stage investing.They prefer to invest in early stage startups.
People You Should Know: Sarath Naru, Ramesh Alur
Investment Structure:The company prefers to invest in technology and technology-enabled sectors
Industries: Biotechnology, Healthcare Infrastructure, Microfinance, Agribusiness, Biogas, Pharma, Food, Retail, Life Science, Clean Technology, Healthcare, Education, Financial Services
Startups Funded: Little Eye Labs, Eyantra
Contact: +91 44 2432 9864 / +91 44 2432 9863
TRIFECTA CAPITAL PARTNERS: It is a INR 300 Cr. venture debt fund which is expected to be closed in next three to six months. It is also technically India’s first venture debt fund.
People You Should Know: Rahul Khanna, Nilesh Kothari
Investment Structure: The fund will invest between INR 5-15 Cr. for 16-18% borrowing cost, compounded annually in firms that have already raised a first or second round of funding.
Industries: Technology, Consumer, Internet Space
UNILAZER : It is a Mumbai based private equity and venture fund specialising in early stage and late stage investments
People You Should Know: Ronnie Screwvala
Investment Structure: N/A
Industries: Agriculture, Healthcare, Education, Ecommerce
Startups Funded: Maroosh, PIFA FC, Ektstop