Lightspeed China closes Fund II at $260m
Lightspeed China Partners has reached a final close of $260 million on its second China fund, exceeding the target of $220 million.
The firm was set up by Ron Cao and James Mi, formerly managing directors at Lightspeed Venture Partners. The global firm, which has offices in Silicon Valley, India and Israel, collaborates with the China affiliate.
Lightspeed China's first vehicle raised $168 million in 2012, beating its target of $150 million. The new fund will follow a similar strategy to that of its predecessor, targeting early-stage companies in internet, mobile, technology-enabled services, and enterprise solution areas.
Investments from the first fund include online furniture retailer Meilele, online financial products marketplace Rong360, online vacation rental vacation service provider Tujia, cloud infrastructure provider Qingcloud, and peer-to-peer lending online platform PPdai.
Lightspeed China Partners II is expected to invest in 30 companies, committing $500,000 to $7 million in seed and Series A rounds.
"China today represents a unique environment for early-stage venture investments, not only in internet and mobile, but also in the enterprise IT space. There is increasing demand from Chinese enterprises for products and services in cloud computing, SaaS, and cyber security," Mi said in a statement.
According to AVCJ Research, a total of 21 China-focused VC funds have raised $4.11 billion between them so far this year. This compares to $2.97 billion accumulated by 53 funds in 2013 as a whole.
Leading fundraises include IDG Capital Partners, which reached a final close of $586 million on its latest early-stage China fund. Shunwei Capital Partners closed its second fund at $525 million, exceeding the target of $500 million. Legend Capital reached a final close of $500 million on its sixth US dollar-denominated fund.
GGV Capital, which reached a final close of $620 million on its fifth Sino-US fund, exceeding the original target of $500 million. Matrix Partners raised $350 million for its third China fund, with Qiming Venture Partners and DCM closing at $500 million and $330 million, respectively.
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