India over the years has shown considerable growth in startups and to make the startup a success we need an adequate amount of capital.
Banks and financial institutions show the least interest in funding startups because of the factor that outrageous amount of risks are involved in startups. This is where venture capital firms jump in.
Venture capital means the capital invested in a project often new or expanding business/startup which has a substantial element of risk.
On the other side venture, capital firms are the investment firms that pool money from top individuals and large investment firms and invest in small businesses.
Venture capital firms invest money in business ideas and expect a higher rate of return because of the risk factor involved in such businesses.
Venture capital firms invest for the long term in those businesses which it finds potential enough.
Venture capital firms are repaid by the business in various ways, such as
- Providing them shares in the business
- Using the revenues generated by the business in repaying the loan
- Selling the business to other companies and using the sales proceeds in repaying the loan.
Most Active Venture Capital Firms
ACCEL #VC Firm- 1
Accel formerly known as Accel Partners was founded in 1983 by Arthur Patterson and Jim Swartz.
Accel works with startups being at the initial, early or growth stage. Accel is a privately held company with its head office at California, United States.
Accel, one of the oldest venture capital firms, has been for over three decades in the Indian startup ecosystem. It invests within a range of $500k to $500 million depending on the potential of the startup/business.
As per the latest information, Accel has raised $550 million for its sixth India fund. Accel India manages assets of worth $1.6 billion.
Accel concentrates on the following sectors:-
- Consumer
- Infrastructure
- Media
- Mobile
- Software as a service (SAAS)
- Security
- Customer care services
Accel has made an investment in Cloudera, Dropbox, Facebook, Flipkart, Webflow and slack.
SEQUOIA CAPITAL #VC Firm-2
In 1972, Don Valentine found Sequoia in California. In 2006, Sequoia Capital acquired Westbridge Capital Partners, an Indian venture capital firm which later got renamed to Sequoia Capital India.
Since 1972, Sequoia Capital has invested in over 1000 companies and it has backed companies that now control $1.4 trillion of combined stock market value.
In 2013, CB Insights recognized Sequoia Capital as the number one venture capital firm. In 2018, the firm stood 2nd behind Accel because of its participation in 31 deals.
Sequoia invests in both public and private companies. It invests in companies being at incubation, early startup or growth stage.
It invests within a range of $1 million to $100 million depending on the potential of the startup/business.
In March 2020, Sequoia Capital announced that it is opening a fundraiser for about $7 billion for its latest set of venture capital funds.
Sequoia mainly has its portfolio in:
- Financial Services
- Healthcare
- outsourcing
- Technology
Sequoia Capital has made an investment in Apple, Google, Oracle, GitHub, PayPal, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, Yahoo!, WhatsApp, Byju’s, Truecaller.
The value of investments of the firm ranges from $500 million to $1 billion.
NEXUS VENTURE PARTNERS #VC Firm- 3
Nexus is an India-US venture capital firm. The successful entrepreneur and a pioneer of Indian venture capital Sandeep Singhal started Nexus Venture Partners in 2006, with the motto “By entrepreneurs. For entrepreneurs.”
Nexus has been constantly investing in global technology products and technology-led businesses for India.
Nexus works together as a single team across the US and India and helps the companies scale to new markets and adopt global best practices.
Nexus believes in becoming a part of the company in which it invests rather than taking over the company.
It mostly invests in business that has new ideas and the potential to grow into standalone companies.
The company invests within a range of $500k to $10 million. They also like to take part in follow-on investments at later stages for successfully running companies.
Nexus Venture Partners mainly has its portfolio in:
- Business and consumer services
- Enterprise
- Healthcare
- Artificial Intelligence
- Data Analytics
Nexus as a venture capital firm has made a successful investment in Apollo, Delhivery, Goodera, Infoworks, LogicHub, Olx, Unacademy and Zomato.
BLUME VENTURES #VC Firm- 4
In 2010, Karthik Reddy and Sanjay Nath started Blume Ventures, one of the top venture capital firm of India, with a mission to “reimagine startup finance for India”. It is also referred to as the ‘Founder’s VC’.
The startups funded by Blume Ventures are united by a common theme: to solve uniquely Indian problems, ones that emerge out of the vast complexities.
Blume has been recognised as the No. 1 Active Investor by CB Insights in 2017. Blume Ventures have funded nearly over 60 different startups which had the potential and helped them to establish themselves in the competitive market.
Along with providing funding of over 100 crores for 2.5 years, Blume Ventures also offers complete support and mentoring to the new and budding enterprises.
Blume Ventures mostly invests in the following type of industries:
- Mobile Applications
- Telecommunication equipment
- Outsourcing
- Digital media
- Social media
- Ecommerce
- Enterprise software
Blume Ventures a venture capital firm has made its investment in the leading companies such as Purplle.com, LBB, Railyatri.in, Cashify, Instamojo, Glamrs and Cashkaro.
KALAARI CAPITAL #VC Firm- 5
Next on the list is Kalaari Capital. Founded in 2006 by Vani Kola, Kalaari Capital is a trusted venture capital firm in India.
Kalaari Capital mostly invests in the following industries:
- Ecommerce
- Mobile
- Internet Services
- Digital Media
- Health and Wellness
- Enterprise Software
- Fintechs
HELION VENTURE PARTNERS #VC Firm- 6
Helion Venture Partners is an Indian focused venture capital firm founded by Rahul Chandra, Ashish Gupta, Sanjeev Aggarwal and Kanwaljit Singh in 2006.
The firm focuses on technology startups that are in there early or middle stages.
The company created a fund of $255 million in 2012 and $300 million in 2015.
In 2012, Helion Ventures Partners became “the largest domestic venture capital firm”. The company invests $10 million in companies at an early stage.
Helion primarily focuses on technology companies, but it has also funded companies in the
- Environmental technology
- Education
- Financial services
- Health care sectors
This venture capital firm has invested money in ventures such as BigBasket, BlueStacks, babyoye.com, IndiaHomes.com, MySmartPrice, redBus.in, ShopClues.com and toppr.
CHIRATAE VENTURES #VC Firm- 7
Chiratae Ventures India Advisors (Formerly IDG Ventures India Advisors) founded in 2006, is a leading India-focused technology venture capital fund.
Chiratae Ventures has its head office at Bangalore, with Sudhir Sethi being its founder and chairman.
It is a privately held company, mainly investing in early-stage companies and technological ventures.
The funds advised by Chiratae Ventures India Advisors collectively have over $700 million under management.
The company invests within a range of $1 million to $10 million and has a worth of $4 billion.
This venture capital firm invests in
- Technology-based consumer service
- Software products
- Mobile
- Engineering-Medical devices
Chiratae Ventures has made an investment in the leading startups such as Fristcry, Zivame, Yatra, Myntra, Lenskart and Nestaway.
SAIF PARTNERS #VC Firm- 8
SAIF Partners was started as Softbank Asia Infrastructure Fund in 2001 with a $400 million fund from Cisco and Softbank the only partners.
It has its headquarters at both India and China. SAIF Partners in their journey have invested in startups ranging from seed capital to high growth capital.
SAIF Partners, one of the leading venture capital firm, was amongst the most active last year with its overall participation in 14 deals.
It has around $400 Crores worth of assets under its management and it raised a fund of $350 million for Indian Investments. Its investments in early-stage companies range from $5 million to $35 million.
The sectors in which this venture capital firm invests in are:
- Consumer
- Education
- Finance
- Healthcare
- Internet
- IT Services
- Logistics
- Software as a service (SAAS)
SAIF Partners has made an investment in the leading startups such as Bookmyshow, ClearTax, Coverfox, Ixigo, Justdial.com, Makemytrip, Paytm, Swiggy and UrbanClap.
INTEL CAPITAL INDIA #VC Firm- 9
Intel Capital is a division of Intel Corporation is set up to manage corporate venture capital and global investment.
Founded in 1991 by Les Vadasz and Avram Miller, Intel was originally called Corporate Business Development (CBD). It has its head office located at Santa Clara, California.
During the earlier times, Intel mainly invested in American companies, and in 1998, 95% of investment was in the USA, but later on, investment in non-US companies increased, and by 2012 international investments accounted for about 57%.
Intel Capital has invested more than $12.5 billion in over 1,550 companies.
Intel Capital as a venture capital firm invests within a range from $1 million to $100 million depending on the potential of the venture.
Intel Capital makes equity investments in a range of technology startups such as:
- Artificial Intelligence
- Datacenter, cloud and analytics
- Software and security
- Communications
- Robotics
- Semiconductors
Intel Capital has invested in leading companies such as Cloudify, FundersClub, Integrant Technologies, KingSoft, Rediff.com, Smart Technologies and Snapdeal.
VENTUREAST #VC Firm- 10
Founded in 1997, VenturEast is one of India’s longest-standing venture capital fund managers, managing over $400 million of assets under management.
Sarath Naru is the founder and managing partner of ventureast.
Ventureast invests in the following sectors:
- Technology
- Healthcare
- Life Sciences
- Food and agriculture
- Consumer-driven and retail
- Financial services
Some leading startups funded by Ventureast are Portea, BoonBox, Diabetomics, OneBreath and eYANTRA.
MATRIX PARTNERS #VC Firm- 11
Founded in 1977, by Paul Ferri Matrix Partners is a US-based privately held investment firm focusing on venture capital investments.
In the 1980s, Matrix Partners took part actively in the development of the venture capital industry.
The firm has its headquarters in Palo Alto, California. In 2006, Matrix Partners in India was established.
This venture capital firm has invested in over 65+ IPOs, has made 110+ profitable acquisitions, and has over $4billion worth assets under management.
In January 2019, the company announced a fresh round of investments at the total value of $300 million.
- Software
- Communications
- Semiconductors
- Data storage
- Internet
- Wireless sector
Some leading startups funded by Matrix Partners are Chumbak, Dailyhunt, Apple Inc., SanDisk, FIITJEE, LimeRoad.com, Ola and Quikr.
BESSEMER VENTURE PARTNERS #VC Firm- 12
Bessemer Venture Partners also known as Bessemer is a privately held American venture capital firm. In 1911, Henry Phipps established Bessemer Securities.
In 1974, Bessemer Securities expanded and the venture capital firm, Bessemer Venture Partners, was created. In 2003, Bessemer expanded its operations to India.
Bessemer Venture Partners network of experts and advisors help founders navigate areas critical to building and scaling their business.
Bessemer Venture Partners invests in private technology companies whether they being at the seed stage, early stage, or growth stage.
As of 2019, the firm had invested in over 120 IPOs. The firm has over $5 billion under management.
In 2018, this venture capital firm has raised a fund of $1.85 billion.
Bessemer mainly invests in the following sectors:
- Consumer
- Enterprise
- Frontier
- Healthcare
Bessemer has invested in many companies from around the world, such as Twilio, Pinterest, Yelp, Brighthealth, Wix.com, Skype, Snapdeal and Motilal Oswal.
CONCLUSION
Funding for new businesses is copious in the current economy. New record measures of the venture are being made and by an assorted scope of financial specialists and investors.
Realizing who these valuable investors are may help abbreviate the time it takes to get invested while giving more effectiveness all the while.
If you think your team is well established and worthy enough to cope up with future investment incomings, you should surely go for the round.
