India's 3one4 achieves first close on $50m VC fund

3one4 said several large LPs from previous funds participated alongside new backers including a major US university endowment and Sojitz Corporation, a Japanese conglomerate with a range of technology interests. It marks Sojitz's first VC investment and corresponds with moves by the company to open a new office in Bengaluru.

The fund, known as Continuum, is 3one4's third vehicle and will make investments of $3-5 million in existing early-stage portfolio companies with a view to improving their global partnership networks and future access to growth-stage capital. Sojitz said it would leverage the fund to improve its exposure to start-ups in artificial intelligence and the internet-of-things.   

It follows a INR2.5 billion final close for 3one4's second fund last year with commitments from Catamaran Ventures and Reliance Ventures, as well as a group of family offices and high net worth individuals. Fund I raised INR1 billion in 2016. According to a statement, 3one4 now manages a combined corpus of INR7.5 billion, including the Continuum first close and other unspecified initiatives.

3one4 claims to have backed more than 50 companies with an India focus since 2016, including human resources platform operator Darwinbox and start-up sector database services company Tracxn. Last year, the firm participated in a $25 million Series D for online fresh meat ordering platform Licious. It had supported three previous rounds for the company.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Fundraising
• Venture
• India
• Technology