India's Mela Ventures reaches $17.5m first close
Mela Ventures, an Indian venture capital firm launched by the co-founders of IT outsourcing player Mindtree, has achieved a first close of INR1.3 billion ($17.5 million) for its debut fund.
The fund has a target of INR2 billion. LPs include institutional investors, global technology leaders, and seasoned startup investors, the firm said. It plans to make four to five seed investments in the next 18 months, writing checks of up to $1 million.
The fund has been launched by Krishnakumar Natarajan (pictured, left) and Parthasarathy N.S. They founded Mindtree in 1999 alongside eight other individuals. The company, which has received several rounds of PE and VC funding, debuted on the Indian stock market in 2006. Nalanda Capital is a major shareholder.
Mela plans to invest in early-stage start-ups that leverage emerging technology such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, augmented reality, virtual reality, and the internet-of-things. It will also work with companies that help customers with cloud migration. Though headquartered in India, most portfolio companies will target a global customer base.
"Many of our investors are technology professionals, who share the same passion as much as we do, for meaningful technology, start-up community and building Indian entrepreneurs,” said Parthasarathy N.S, a managing partner at Mela, according to a statement.
Natarajan served as CEO of Mindtree for eight years from 2008, having previously led the core IT services division. Parthasarathy worked at the company’s global delivery and operations wing before being elevated to COO in 2013. Last year, LTI, the IT services division of construction-to-technology conglomerate Larsen & Tourbo, acquired a majority stake in Mindtree. However, the company continues to operate as an independent subsidiary.
Other VC investors targeting Indian start-ups with a B2B business model include Basis Vectors, Lightspeed India Partners and Inflexor Ventures. Prime Venture Partners, Iron Pillar and Vertex Ventures also participate in the space.
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