India's JSW Ventures seeks $50m for second fund
A corporate venture capital unit of India's JSW Steel is looking to raise INR3.5 billion ($50 million) for its second fund, with a first close scheduled within a fortnight.
Mumbai-based JSW Ventures expects a first close of up to INR1.55 billion by February 10, according to an announcement. The firm's first fund, of INR1 billion, has been fully deployed across four companies: Purplle, an online cosmetic marketplace; HomeLane, an online furniture seller; Indus OS, a mobile operating system developer; and Overcart, a marketplace that helped retailers sell excess inventory goods. The latter shut down in 2017.
Founded in 1982, JSW Group is a steel-to-energy conglomerate established by Sajjan Jindal (pictured), the son of lawmaker Om Prakash Jindal. In addition to owning JSW Steel and Jindal Steel & Power, the group is a joint-owner of cricketing franchise Delhi Capitals and the football club Bengaluru FC.
JSW Ventures was established in 2015 so the Jindal family could make early-stage investments. It is led by Gaurav Sachdeva, a former Citi banker and Infosys salesman, and Parth Jindal, a managing director of JSW Cement. Sachin Tagra, previously a broadcast media executive, and Kunal Jain, a former start-up founder, serve as managing partners alongside Sachdeva.
“The promoter family of JSW Group, led by Parth Jindal continues to be our sponsor. In addition, we were able to convince various family offices in India and overseas, a lot of professionals, ex-colleagues and friends to invest in our vision,” said Sachdeva.
He added that the second fund will continue to invest in platform-based start-ups but also focus on cloud-based software firms targeting enterprise customers in the retail, manufacturing, health and marketing industries.
JSW Ventures has already committed some of the capital raised for Fund II. Last month, it participated in a $30 million Series D round for HomeLane. Last week, Singapore-headquartered Livspace, an existing competitor to HomeLane, is said to have raised $60 million in an ongoing fundraising round, according to The Economic Times. PepperFry and Urban Ladder also participate in the space.
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