SAIF India closes $400m VC fund, rebrands as Elevation Capital
SAIF Partners India has closed its fourth fund at $400 million within a few weeks of launch and rebranded as Elevation Capital.
SAIF India spun out from Hong Kong-based SAIF Partners in 2011. SAIF Partners' fourth fund – along with many of its LPs – backed the first SAIF India vehicle, which closed that year at $350 million. Funds II and III closed in 2015 and 2017, each at $350 million.
The latest fund – initially stylized as Fund VII – is expected to follow a similar remit to past vintages, investing from in seed to growth stages in IT, financial services, consumer products and services, and mobile. Historically, SAIF India has targeted both public and private companies.
“Elevation reflects our investment ethos and re-emphasizes our commitment to the founders who help redefine our future,” Ravi Adusumalli, a managing partner at the firm, said regarding the rebrand, in a statement.
“For our existing partners, it is a commitment of continued collaboration on our path-breaking journeys together. For our new partners, it is a promise to do all we can to achieve great heights together from day one”.
Elevation is led by five managing directors in addition to Adusumalli, including Deepak Gaur, Mayank Khanduja, Mridul Arora, Mukul Arora and Vivek Mathur. The firm, which currently claims $2 billion in assets under management, has made more than 100 investments since its inception in 2002.
Standpoint portfolio companies include Paytm, a mobile payments provider that raised $1 billion last year at a valuation of $16 billion, grocery delivery platform Swiggy, which is valued at $1.6 billion, and education platform Unacademy, which is valued at $1.4 billion.
VC fundraising has maintained traction in India despite COVID-19 limiting due diligence capabilities. This has been attributed in part to established entrepreneurs and other industry figures launching new vehicles as a growing number of high net worth individuals turns to the asset class as a means of wealth preservation.
Recent activity includes Lightspeed Venture Partners closing its third India fund at $275 million and Chiratae Ventures, formerly IDG Ventures India, raises $10 million for its fourth fund, which is targeting $275-300 million.
Meanwhile, there have been first closes for 3one4 Capital, which is targeting $100 million with its third flagship fund, and Mela Ventures, a VC set up this year by the founders of local IT start-up Mindtree that is targeting about $27 million for its debut.
In July, Sequoia Capital closed its latest set of funds for India and Southeast Asia with a combined $1.3 billion in commitments.
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