Bessemer Eyes Healthtech And Fintech Startups, To Invest $50 Mn In India In 2018

SUMMARY

Bessemer Will Initially Invest $5 Mn And Will Gradually Raise The Investment To $40-$50 Mn

Silicon Valley-based VC Bessemer Venture Partners is planning to invest $40- $50 Mn in 2018 while broadening its existing portfolio of startups in India. Reportedly, the company is looking at the growing opportunities in segments such as healthtech, fintech as well as consumer internet segment.

Vishal Gupta, MD of Bessemer Venture Partners, India, said in a media statement, “We are more selective than spray and pray. Investing pace in India is business as usual. In the last 18 months, we have backed five new startups. Our investment strategy is making a few but concentrated bets.”

Bessemer has been actively investing in India for more than 10 years and has invested nearly $700 Mn in 47 startups so far. Initially, it had started with backing up early-stage startups, but over past five to six years, the investment strategy of Bessemer is focussed mostly on technology startups.

Initially, the VC is expected to invest $5 Mn and then gradually increase it to $40-50 Mn across rounds. It has been following the same stance for quite a few investments in the country.

For instance, it has been investing in various rounds of its existing portfolio of Livspace, Wydr, a mobile-based B2B marketplace; pharma platform PharmEasy; mobile services marketplace, UrbanClap; Matrimony.com, BigBasket, among others.

Bessemer has also recently invested into startups like Swiggy, Perfios, DocsApp, and Innoviti.

As reported earlier, Bessemer Ventures raised $1.5 Bn (INR 10,000 Cr) for its IX Investment Fund in February 2015. At that time, it was expected that a tenth part of the total amount raised around $192 Mn (INR 1,250 Cr) would be invested in Indian startups.

India is gradually becoming a preferred destination for foreign VC funds to explore investment opportunities. According to Inc42 Datalabs 2017 report, 34 new tech startup funds (including both local and international) were launched in India last year, securing over $2.3 Bn funds.

With the latest expectation of Bessemer Venture Partners’ investment in India, the startups which make it to the company’s portfolio will be worth looking at.

[The development was reported by ET.]