Venture capitalists make a beeline for India.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: With the Indian startup scene roaring and more international investors starting to take notice, venture and growth equity firm Accel Partners has decided to dedicate a new $305 million fund allotted specifically for the nation.
Accel has thrown its financial clout behind some of India’s most prominent tech companies, according to TechCrunch, including e-commerce giants Flipkart and Myntra, property startup CommonFloor, and the now Ola-owned TaxiForSure.
Accel stated it is seeking “very early stage companies” and “growth equity opportunities” within the consumer, enterprise, mobile, and healthcare verticals.
However, the Palo Alto, California-based venture capital firm is hardly the first high-profile investment group to allot specific, increased resources to the Indian startup market.
Tiger Global has been particularly active in India of late, designating a significant but unknown portion of its latest $2.5 billion float for the nation, reported TechCrunch. Sequoia continues to invest regularly in Serie A and subsequent funding stages throughout India, while Softbank has made major inroads since it announced it would inject $10 billion into Indian startups last year. TechCrunch’s research revealed it has already completed a range of deals including significant rounds for Ola, Housing.com, Snapdeal, and GrabTaxi.
Accel’s commitment to India will come as welcome news to the administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A crucial pillar of his political platform is attracting foreign investors to India, preferably in droves.
He appears to be succeeding, with the Reserve Bank of India indicating foreign direct investment increased to more than $5.5 billion in January 2015 from about $3.9 billion in December 2014.