Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm, General Catalyst will acquire India-focused early-stage investor Venture Highway, with plans to invest $500 million-$1 billion in India, as it looks to deepen its presence here.
The new entity, will be called General Catalyst India, and will focus on early- and growth-stage investments, in the country.
“The combined capabilities of the two firms, will allow us to be much more hands-on, and effective going forward in India. I am especially excited, about bringing our co-creation capabilities to India,” said Hemant Taneja, chief executive of General Catalyst.
Founded by former WhatsApp business head Neeraj Arora, the Venture Highway unicorns, such as Meesho, and Moglix in its portfolio. The VC had raised $78.6 million, for its second fund in 2020.
Along with Arora, Priya Mohan, Venture Highway’s general partner, will lead the India efforts for General Catalyst.
General Catalyst, which has backed startups such as graphic design platform Canva, travel marketplace Airbnb, and fintech Stripe, manages assets worth over $25 billion globally. In India, it has backed more than a dozen startups, including fintech firm, CRED, and used-car marketplace Spinny.
India’s economic, political, and strategic agency in the world is growing, supported by both macro, and micro tailwinds, said General Catalyst, in a blogpost on its website.
“The country’s diverse culture, consumer psychology, and deep structural idiosyncrasies, need a level of understanding, that numbers often do not do justice to,” the firm said.
In India, VCs such as Accel, and Nexus Venture Partners, have raised upwards of $500 million each, to invest in India.