Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) on Tuesday announced the closure of a USD 220 million fund (about Rs 1,653 crore) in India to back the next generation of innovators in India.
The fund will focus primarily on early-stage investments, consistent with Bessemer's approach of starting with seed and Series-A investments and sticking with companies throughout their growth lifecycle with later-stage investments, a statement said.
Bessemer plans to apply its roadmap-driven investment approach to deploy the new capital over five roadmaps across consumer internet and cloud software, including marketplaces, digital health, social commerce, vertical and global SaaS (software as a service), it added.
“We've always had a global investment approach and India has long been a focus for us. This new capital allows us to go deeper into the market while continuing to support our portfolio with Bessemer's global network and resources. The dedicated fund exemplifies our confidence in the massive growth opportunities within India,” Vishal Gupta, Partner and Managing Director of BVP's Bengaluru office, said.
Bob Goodman, Partner in Bessemer's New York office, said the India startup ecosystem is more vibrant than ever.
"We see a sizable market of India-based companies that will disrupt global markets and look forward to leveraging Bessemer's global platform, deep domain expertise and the insights our team has amassed over the past 50 years to help these founders navigate areas that are critical to building and scaling their business,” Goodman added.
In another development, Edtech platform Adda247 said it has raised around $20 million (about Rs 150 crore) in a funding round led by WestBridge Capital.
The Series B funding round also saw participation from existing investors, including Info Edge, Asha Impact and JM Financials, the company said in a statement.
"The latest infusion of the funds will be utilised to optimise technology & product and conduct senior-level hiring. The edtech company is also foreseeing the acquisition of a few companies with complementary offerings," the statement said.
Founded in 2010, Adda247 offers products like live-video classes, on-demand video courses, mock tests, and books focused on government examinations and claims to have 15 million monthly active users on its platform.
"India at present has more than 500 million learners, which makes the country's educational market enormous and open for diverse requirements. We will be using the latest round of funds to improve the learning outcomes on our platform and give our users a superior learning experience," Adda247 founder and CEO Anil Nagar said.
(With PTI Inputs)
