India’s unicorn backers are shoring up their funds as they hunt for the next big startup

• India’s investors are raising more funds even as they look for the next big startup that emerges from this pandemic.
• Chiratae Ventures announced its latest funding of $10 million from CDC Group, the UK’s publicly owned impact investor.
• Earlier Lightspeed Ventures and Sequoia India too had announced the closure of their funds.

The biggest crises lead the way for the biggest of opportunities. At least, that’s what India’s Venture Capital (VC) firms seem to be counting on.

From turning cautious during the early days of the pandemic, to actively hunting for ideas and innovations now - these VCs have come a long way. India’s investors are adding fresh capital infusion to their funds as they look for the next big startup that rises out of the coronavirus pandemic.

Chiratae Ventures

Today, Chiratae Ventures announced its latest funding of $10 million from CDC Group, the UK’s publicly owned impact investor. Chiratae has invested in 85 startups over the last 14 years, through four funds.

“We look forward to working closely with our new partner to invest in technology differentiated companies solving for challenges faced by India using technology as a disruptor, enabling them to scale in India and go global,” said Sudhir Sethi, Founder and Chairman, Chiratae Ventures.

Top startups backed by Chiratae

Flipkart	PolicyBazaar	Cure.fit
Lenskart	Firstcry	Myntra

Target sectors: Consumer media and technology, Software/SaaS, HealthTech, Fintech

Lightspeed Venture Partners

Earlier this week, yet another prominent investment firm Lightspeed Venture closed its third fund – Lightspeed India Partners III – for $275 million. The fund, which has been investing in India for 13 years now, has so far invested $750 million into Indian companies, including unicorn startups.

Lightspeed’s biggest bets in India

OYO

Byju’s

Udaan

Sharechat

Innovaccer

Target sectors: Sector agnostic

Sequoia India

Meanwhile, Sequoia India also closed $1.35 billion for two new funds: a $525M venture fund and an $825M growth fund. Sequoia India’s managing director Shailendra J Singh believes that ironically enough, the COVID pandemic has already catalyzed a massive change in almost every startup’s trajectory. “Our markets are deepening, our founders are world-class, our tech talent is formidable - but we need to hold ourselves to a higher bar. It’s time to aspire for massively large and profitable companies. It’s time to build more products that can compete globally on quality, not just on price,” he had said in a note.

Some of Sequoia’s starry portfolio

BYJU’s	Zomato	Unacademy	Ola	CRED
Grofers	Druva	OYO	BankBazaar	Razorpay

Target sectors: Sector agnostic

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