Lightspeed raises $500m for India, Southeast Asia
Lightspeed India Partners, which also targets Southeast Asia, has closed its fourth early-stage VC fund with USD 500m in commitments.
Lightspeed’s third vintage for the region closed on USD 275m in 2020 with support from the likes of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund. Fund II raised USD 175m in 2018, while Fund I reached USD 135m in 2015.
It marks growing investor confidence in the thesis behind targeting India and Southeast Asia as a combined VC opportunity set. Global franchises that have pursued this strategy include Accel and Sequoia Capital, although the latter has recently split the mandate into two funds. As recently as May, Singapore’s Jungle Ventures closed its fourth fund for this strategy with USD 600m.
Lightspeed has been investing in India since 2007, initially through funds raised by its global parent. A Bengaluru base was opened in 2018 to support the New Delhi headquarters. This precipitated formalisation of a Southeast Asia presence and the launching of an office in Singapore. The team currently includes 28 professionals across Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, and Singapore.
Standout investments include industry leaders the likes of Oyo, Byju’s, Grab, Razorpay, Udaan, and Sharechat. “[W]e continue to witness the broadening and deepening of the opportunity in the region, led by world-class founders and an ever-expanding scope for technology to reshape the economy in India and Southeast Asia,” Lightspeed said in a statement.
Fund IV comes as part of a USD 7bn global fundraising process for Lightspeed. The Silicon Valley-headquartered firm raised USD 1.98bn for its 14th global flagship fund, USD 2.4bn for its second Opportunity Fund, and USD 2.3bn for its fifth Select Fund. The latter two target later-stage companies, including in India and Southeast Asia.
Lightspeed China Partners, which became independent in 2011, raised USD 920m for its latest US dollar-denominated early-stage fund last year, bringing its assets under management to USD 3bn. The prior vintage raised USD 560m in early 2019. Lightspeed’s Opportunity funds are also active in China at the growth stages.
Concurrent with the latest fundraising, Lightspeed has unveiled a dedicated blockchain infrastructure team and strategy called Lightspeed Faction. The firm claims to have been active in this space for nine years. Recent activity includes participation in a USD 113m Series B round for Pintu, an Indonesian crypto wallet and trading platform.
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