Bessemer Venture partners raise $220 million to back founders in India

Bessemer Venture Partners has announced the close of a dedicated $220 million fund in India to build on its long-standing success in the country and back the next generation of innovators in India.

The fund will focus primarily on early-stage investments, consistent with Bessemer’s time-honored approach of starting with seed and Series A investments and sticking with companies throughout their growth lifecycle with later stage investments.

Bessemer plans to apply its roadmap-driven investment approach to deploy the new capital over five roadmaps across consumer internet and cloud software, including marketplaces, digital health, social commerce, vertical and global SaaS. These roadmaps take a deep look at industries to identify emerging areas and understand the complexities behind the sectors.

Vishal Gupta, Partner and Managing Director, Bessemer Venture Partners: “We’ve always had a global investment approach and India has long been a focus for us. This new capital allows us to go deeper in the market, while continuing to support our portfolio with Bessemer’s global network and resources. The dedicated fund exemplifies our confidence in the massive growth opportunities within India. We are excited to not only continue supporting the many companies with whom we already partner, but to expand our investments to even more innovative entrepreneurs who are shaping the future.”

Bob Goodman, Partner, Bessemer New York office: “As we look at where innovation is stemming worldwide, it’s clear that the India startup ecosystem is more vibrant than ever. We see a sizable market of India-based companies that will disrupt global markets and look forward to leveraging Bessemer’s global platform, deep domain expertise and the insights our team has amassed over the years to help these founders navigate areas that are critical to building and scaling their business.”

In tandem with its India fund, the firm welcomed Nithin Kaimal as Chief Operating Officer of Bessemer’s Bangalore office, where he’ll oversee operations, portfolio services, and fund governance. He brings nearly 20 years of expertise across private equity, management consulting and startups, and joins Bessemer from VixCap, an investment management firm he founded and led. Prior to VixCap, Nithin was senior director at India Resurgence Fund (IndiaRF), a leading India-focused investment platform, and began his career at McKinsey & Company.

Anant Vidur Puri, Partner, Bessemer:  “Nithin joins at a time of incredible growth in the market and brings deep operational expertise that will be invaluable as the firm’s focus within India grows even stronger.India represents a trillion dollar digital opportunity across consumer internet and SaaS as we predict 500 million more people will engage and transact online in the next ten years. Through this new fund we will continue to partner with the best entrepreneurs who are looking to build for this opportunity within India and beyond.”

Bessemer first invested in India 15 years ago and has had a dedicated team of investors on the ground ever since. The firm’s track record in India includes multi-stage investments -- ranging from seed to Series D -- in market-leading companies that are reshaping industries, such as: PharmEasy (pharmacy benefits), BigBasket (online grocery), Swiggy (food delivery), Urban Company (home services) and Perfios (credit underwriting platform). The partnership has realized seven IPOs within India including Home First Finance, IEX and Matrimony.com, and today has five companies within its portfolio valued at more than $1 billion, including Livspace (home interior platform) and MyGlamm (direct-to-consumer beauty).

Raising dedicated capital focused on investing in early stage opportunities in India supports the firm’s belief that innovation is borderless and continues its mission of positioning team members across the globe, including in Bangalore, Beijing, Boston, London, New York, Silicon Valley, San Francisco, and Tel Aviv.

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