Norwest Closes 17th Fund At $3 Bn, India Continues To Be A Focus Market

Venture capital (VC) fund Norwest Venture Partners on Thursday (April 25) announced the close of its 17th fund at $3 Bn. 

Called NVP 17, the multi-stage fund will invest in startups across sectors such as enterprise tech, consumer and healthcare in three focus markets – India, Israel, and the US.

“The new fund enables the Norwest team to continue partnering with visionary entrepreneurs and teams building the next generation of enduring companies,” the investment firm said in a statement.

Commenting on the development, Norwest senior managing partner Jeff Crowe said, “For more than six decades, we have been fortunate to partner with an incredible set of companies… Our diversified investment strategy, long-term commitment and collaborative approach allows us to adapt to a wide range of market conditions and support founders and CEOs at every stage of their journey”.

Along with the announcement of the close of the fund, the investment firm said it recently elevated Nikhil Kookada and Ankit Prasad as principals at its India arm.

The 17th fund follows the Norwest Venture Partners XVI which was raised in 2021 with a total size of $3 Bn. Its 15th fund had a corpus of $2 Bn and was closed in November 2019. 

Since raising the 16th fund, Norwest claims to have made 69 new investments and “worked closely with 36 portfolio companies to help them achieve liquidity events”. 

In the statement, the VC firm also said that Crowe and Jon Kossow will continue to lead the firm as managing general partners while Promod Haque will be elevated to the role of general partner.

Founded in 1961, Norwest claims to have invested in more than 700 companies till date and manages more than $15.5 Bn in capital. 

In India, the VC major has backed 43 companies since entering the country in 2009. Its current India portfolio includes Amagi Media Labs, Mensa Brands, Swiggy, Xpressbees Logistics, OfBusiness, Oxyzo, and Quikr. 

Norwest generally invests in early-stage to late-stage startups across sectors such as fintech, SaaS, manufacturing, consumer technology, among others. The VC firm typically invests in the range of $10 Mn to $30 Mn in early-stage to mid-stage companies, while the ticket size ranges from $20 Mn to $100 Mn for late-stage companies. 

With the announcement, Norwest has become the latest VC firm to launch a fund for Indian startups. The strategic push to invest in Indian new-age tech companies is largely led by the growing digital adoption and rising disposable income in the country. The growing tech ecosystem in the country also presents a lucrative opportunity for global investors to cash in on the startup mania. 

In 2023, as many as 64 new funds were launched in the country with a cumulative size of $5.6 Bn, while another 126 funds, with a corpus of $18 Bn, were raised in 2022. 

Earlier in the day, private equity firm Kedaara Capital marked the final close of its fourth fund at $1.73 Bn, its largest fund till date. In April, Mumbai-based VC firm Cornerstone Ventures also announced its second fund with a target corpus of $200 Mn.

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