Sequoia raises $530m for India fund
Sequoia Capital has raised $530 million for its fourth India-focused fund, which has an expanded remit to take in opportunities in Southeast Asia as well.
The fund will primarily invest in the technology, consumer and healthcare sectors. The team is particularly interested in mobile, online payment, big data, software-as-a-service, cloud computing, enterprise software and medical and lifestyle-related opportunities. Check sizes will range from a few hundred thousand dollars to $50 million.
Sequoia has been active in India for eight years, making seed, venture and growth investments. It has backed around 75 companies, including search engine Just Dial, which went public in May 2013, raising $174 million, and outsourcing firm GlobalLogic, which was sold to Apax Partners last October.
Shailendra Singh, a managing director with the firm, said there would likely be more seed rounds in the coming years, Live Mint reported. With this in mind, Sequoia has set up a team of 10 executives to assist founder-entrepreneurs on legal, financing and marketing issues, human resources, business development and IT and engineering.
The new fund takes the total committed capital to the firm's India funds to around $2 billion. The first entity, Sequoia Capital India Growth Fund I, raised $400 million in 2006. According to AVCJ Research, two funds followed in 2007 - a second growth fund of $725 million and an early-stage vehicle of $300 million.
In between raising the current and previous funds, Sequoia's India franchise has seen some upheaval. A merger with WestBridge Capital in 2006 did not turn out as planned, with the WestBridge founders departing in 2011 to restart their own franchise.
India-focused venture capital funds received $319.7 million in commitments last year, the lowest since 2004. This compares to $993.3 million in 2012, when the likes of Helion Venture Partners, Nexus Venture Partners and Kalaari Capital Partners - formerly IndoUS Venture Partners - raised their most recent vehicles.
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