CRED, Spinny Backer General Catalyst Eyes India’s Venture Highway Buyout

US-based venture capital fund General Catalyst, which counts Indian unicorns CRED and Spinny in its portfolio, is reportedly in initial discussions to acquire India’s seed-focussed venture capital firm Venture Highway.

Besides, General Catalyst may also weigh options for other Indian VC firms, if the Venture Highway deal does not fructify, Moneycontrol reported.

The VC fund is looking to further strengthen its presence in the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem.

The move to acquire a country-specific VC firm is not new for General Catalyst and its investing playbook. In October last year, it incorporated Berlin-based VC firm La Famiglia, expanding its presence in Europe. However, the focus on India has intensified in recent months, with General Catalyst expressing its commitment to invest $100 million in Indian startups during a media interview last year.

In line with this, it led a $2.75 Mn (around INR 21 Cr) round in Hyderabad-based Jeh Aerospace.

Globally, General Catalyst has backed Snap, Airbnb, Stripe, Venmo and several other new-age companies.

These developments follow the resignation of Samir Sood, cofounder of Venture Highway, from his position as a partner at the VC firm several months ago. The firm, which was founded in 2015 by Sood and former WhatsApp chief business officer Neeraj Arora, counts unicorns such as Meesho, CRED and Moglix, among others in its portfolio.

To be sure, this will not be a traditional exit as is the case with other companies, according to Moneycontrol’s report. If the talks go through, Venture Highway will operate as an investing arm of General Catalyst in India and continue to look at early-stage deals in India. 

Venture Highway, typically, commits an average ticket size of up to $3 Mn.