Bertelsmann to invest $500m in India
Bertelsmann India Investments has earmarked USD 500m, provided by its eponymous German parent, for investment in local start-ups. The VC unit’s total deployment since its launch in 2013 is USD 285m.
It is part of the media conglomerate’s group-wide “boost” agenda, which will see it invest EUR 5bn-EUR 7bn (USD 5.3bn-USD 7.4bn) in expansion initiatives by 2025. In India, this will entail the opening of new offices for the VC business in Mumbai and Bangalore; country headquarters are currently outside New Delhi.
Bertelsmann’s existing strategic assets in India include publishing houses Penguin Random House and Fremantle India, as well as customer experience IT specialist Majorel. Last year, the China team at Bertelsmann Asia Investments spun out as BAI Capital.
The enlarged India program will step up investment activity to 6-8 deals a year for the next five years, targeting younger companies, including those at the Series A stage. The initial focus will include technology related to healthcare, the future of work and enterprise operations, financial services, and agriculture. There will be scope for deep tech categories as well, including web3.
“We aim to connect with founders early. Today, mid-stage funding in India and the region has transitioned into the early growth stage with multiple disruptive start-ups building such an ecosystem,” Pankaj Makkar, managing director of Bertelsmann India, said in a statement.
“With a decade of experience, we have witnessed that founders and companies are exhibiting maturity at an early stage. No doubt, the industry landscape is changing, and we are ready to dive in.”
Bertelsmann India has backed 17 companies to date. Standouts include Eruditus Executive Education, fresh meat ordering service Licious, logistics aggregator Shiprocket, online furniture retailer Pepperfry, last-mile farming distributor AgroStar, and finance platform Lendingkart.
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