Byju’s, Oyo Backer Raises $275-Million India-Focused Fund

Lightspeed Venture Partners raised a $275-million fund, its third, as the early backer of Indian unicorns such as Oyo, Byju’s and Udaan looks to ramp up its investment in the country.

Lightspeed India Partners III is the firm’s biggest bet for the domestic market, according to a statement. In the last two funds, the venture capital firm had raised a cumulative $310 million. It had closed its first fund in India in 2015.

This comes just a month after global peer Sequoia Capital India raised $1.35 billion to deploy in India and Southeast Asia.

Lightspeed, however, has invested more than $750 million in the country via its domestic and global investment arms, and will exceed $1 billion in asset under management with the latest fund. The company, according to information available on its website, has a portfolio of 24 companies.

“With the Indian digital opportunity accelerating, many more sectors in B2B (business-to-business) and B2C (business-to-consumer) are emerging where technology is enabling new businesses and model,” Lightspeed said in the statement. The venture fund, it said, remains committed to partnering “bold entrepreneurs” building exceptional companies of tomorrow.

The Silicon Valley-based fund, which has also backed startups such as ShareChat, Yellow Messenger and OKCredit, among others, saw two high-profile exits last year. It registered exits of nearly $900 million after it partly exited Oyo and edtech startup Byju’s. Udaan, an e-commerce startup, is its another major bet, valued at $2.7 billion.

Lightspeed typically participates in the early stage, seed or Series A startups by infusing $1-3 million. It has been investing in India since 2007. It does, however, enjoy the advantage of writing bigger cheques through its global fund. Last year, Lightspeed closed a $4-billion global fund, saying it intends to invest in breakout companies across the market it operates in.