Nexus raises $434m for two India VC funds
Nexus Venture Partners has closed its fourth India venture capital fund at $304 million and raised a further $130 million for a top-up fund focusing on later-stage investments in existing portfolio companies.
The fund closed at the end of April, with commitments to the two vehicles coming from the same group of LPs, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Nexus' third fund closed at $270 million in 2012, around $50 million larger than its predecessor. This was followed by a first top-up fund - known as an "opportunity fund" - in 2014. Part of the $110 million corpus was used to participate in a $133.8 million Series D round of funding for Indian online marketplace Snapdeal.
Nexus was founded in 2006 by Naren Gupta, who is based in Silicon Valley, and Sandeep Singhal and Suvir Sujan, who head up local operations from Mumbai. The firm focuses on early-stage Indian companies across the technology, internet, media, consumer and business services industries.
It makes 6-8 new investments each year, committing up to $10 million in what is usually a company's first institutional round of funding. There is also a seed program that invests up to $500,000 in start-ups.
Nexus was one of the first investors in Snapdeal and it has gone on to see the company raise more than $1 billion, including $627 million from SoftBank Group. Last year SoftBank led a $90 million round for another Nexus portfolio company, Housing.com, while Tiger Global led a $100 million commitment to ShopClues in January.
In the past week, Nexus participated in an $85 million Series C round for another existing portfolio company, e-commerce logistics service provider Delhivery, which raised $85 million. Other recent investments include follow-ons for hotel marketplace OyoRooms and eye clinic chain Eye-Q Vision.
In March Accel Partners raised $305 million for its fourth India fund, while Sequoia Capital closed its fourth country-focused vehicle - which also looks at opportunities in Southeast Asia - at $530 million last year. Helion Venture Partners is understood to be seeking around $300 million for its fourth India fund, while several other VC firms are also in the market.
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