Nexus Venture Partners, which has backed Unacademy and Delhivery, announced the close of its $700 million venture capital fund Nexus Ventures VII to invest in India and the US.

The firm will use this capital to back companies in the field of AI, SaaS, fintech and commerce. While the firm did not disclose the names of its limited partners (LPs), it said that the majority of LPs in Nexus VII have been with the firm since the early days.

“With one of the largest developer bases in the world, India is emerging as a key innovation and talent hub for global companies driving AI and software revolution. India is also amongst the fastest-growing economies on the planet, with accelerating digital consumption powered by best-in-class mobile data networks and advanced payments infrastructure,” the firm said in a blog post.

Further, it added that there has been no better time for technological innovation.

Also read
India received $4.80 billion in investments from private equity firms across 247 deals in the last quarter of 2022 compared to $10 billion across 390 transactions during the same period a year earlier.

India grabs higher share of PE investments in Asia as China declines

“The pandemic has accelerated digital adoption worldwide across enterprises and consumers. Remote workforces have enabled start-ups to flourish by leveraging talent independent of geography. The recent breakthroughs in artificial intelligence are enabling technologies to disrupt every sector faster than ever before,” the firm said.

Right timing

This development comes at a time when start-ups across the globe are battling a harsh funding winter. According to Venture Intelligence, private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) investments have dropped by 63 per cent year-on-year in January 2023.

Founded in 2006, Nexus was one of the first India-US venture funds investing in enterprise technology and consumer internet companies. Nexus is typically the first institutional investor in the start-up, coming in at seed and Series A rounds. Some of its prominent portfolio companies include Unacademy, Delhivery, Zepto, Postman, and Druva. The firm has also seen multiple exits including MapMyIndia, Zomato, Olx, WhiteHat Jr, and Unicommerce, among others.

Related Topics