India's InnoVen invests $6m in Capillary, Simplilearn

Capillary and Simplilearn, both based in India, sought the financing to support their expansion overseas, particularly in Southeast Asia, where InnoVen is also actively seeking to expand its presence. The firm made its first investment in Southeast Asia in March, agreeing to provide a total of $5 million in loans to Malaysia-based gym membership app KFit and Thai fashion retailer Pomelo.

InnoVen first invested in Capillary in 2014; the company produces customer relationship management (CRM) software for retailers, specializing in end-to-end customer engagement and loyalty programs. It has raised nearly $80 million from VC backers including Sequoia Capital and Norwest Venture Partners, which led Capillary's 2012 Series A round and 2014 Series B round, and Warburg Pincus, which led its Series C round last year.

Simplilearn offers online and in-person training courses for over 40 globally recognized professional certifications. The company claims to have helped more than 400,000 people gain certification worldwide.

Helion Venture Partners and Kalaari Capital co-led Simplilearn's $10 million Series B round in 2013; Kalaari had previously invested $2.6 million in Series A funding in 2012. The two firms also participated last year in the company's $15 million Mayfield Capital-led Series C round.

InnoVen was launched by US-based Silicon Valley bank in 2008 as SVB India; it was the country's first dedicated venture debt platform and backed such prominent start-ups as Snapdeal and FreeCharge. Last year Singapore's Temasek Holdings acquired SVB India for INR3 billion ($48 million) and renamed it to InnoVen, planning to expand the firm into a pan-Asian source of credit.

The firm sees Southeast Asia as a promising destination for venture debt, due to the large number of talented entrepreneurs in the region who need capital but are unwilling to dilute their equity and unable to source short-term funding from banks and other traditional sources. It also believes its international pedigree matches well with the cross-border ambitions of the region's start-ups.

"Our ability to provide loans across geographies enables clients like Capillary and Simplilearn to rationalize costs while enjoying more flexibility in their funding options," said Ajay Hattangdi, group CEO and COO for India at InnoVen, in a statement. "Going forward, we expect many more companies to take advantage of our cross-border platform capability."

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Southeast Asia
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• Support services
• Financing
• India
• TMT
• Education
• Structured finance
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