IDG, Helion invest in Indian e-commerce start ups
IDG Ventures India and Helion Venture Partners have invested in two separate e-commerce start-ups sites last week, adding to the perception of India's online shopping space as an effective proxy for capitalizing on consumer and digital growth.
According to LiveMint, Bangalore-based IDG Ventures invested $4 million in Valyoo Technologies, which sells eyewear, watches and bags on three different e-commerce sites. Valyoo Technologies' Founder and CEO Peyush Bansal said that the raise has given the company the momentum for a larger round of funding early next year. He hopes to raise more than $20 million by February or March.
Meanwhile, Helion Venture Partners backed Purple E-Retail India, the operator of baby and children's products site Hoopos.com. The firm did not disclose the size of its investment, but Helion Managing Director Ashish Gupta indicated that was $3-5 million. Purple E-Retail is expected to manage another fundraise within a year.
Citing PE researcher VCCEdge, LiveMint noted that 46 e-commerce firms have raised $419 million this year, compared with $58 million across 11 deals last year. There are approximately 100 million internet users in India and the figure is expected to reach 300 million by 2014.
Last month, The Carlyle Group and General Atlantic were said to be in talks over a $150-200 million joint investment for a minority stake in Indian online book retailer Flipkart. SAIF Partners India has also been active in the space, investing $4 million in kids and baby care products site, FirstCry.com and backing InkFruit, an online product design and commerce company.
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