New Delhi: WaterBridge Ventures, which has invested in Unacademy, Atlan, Magicpin, Bijnis and CityMall, has marked the ultimate shut of its second fund at $150 million ( ₹1,112 crore), mentioned Manish Kheterpal, managing associate on the early-stage enterprise capital agency.
The second fund seeks to take a position $500,000 to $3 million every in 25 startups throughout seed and Sequence A rounds. It’ll additionally reserve capital for follow-on investments in best-performing firms. The fund has made 10 bets already, Kheterpal mentioned. WaterBridge has greater than $250 million in property underneath administration, he added.
The second fund’s corpus is larger than the preliminary goal of $100 million and is bigger than its first fund, which closed at $30 million in early 2018.
Excessive investor curiosity within the Indian startup ecosystem has led to the creation of 37 unicorns this yr in contrast with simply 11 in 2020. Enterprise capital companies reminiscent of A91 Companions and Stellaris Enterprise Companions have elevated their fund targets in latest instances.
A91 Companions, floated by former Sequoia Capital executives, has marked the ultimate shut of its second fund at $550 million.
WaterBridge’s second fund is equally cut up between world and home restricted companions (LPs). LPs within the fund embody institutional buyers, household places of work from Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, the Center East, the US and India, Kheterpal mentioned. The second fund has LPs reminiscent of Sidbi’s fund of funds, an Asian fund of funds and a sovereign household workplace from the Center East.
LPs within the fund additionally embody CXOs of tech firms like BigBasket, EXL, IndiaMART, RateGain and Teleperformance, apart from senior companions of KKR, GIC, TCV, Windfall and Vitruvian Companions.
Kheterpal mentioned 75% of the primary fund LPs invested within the second fund as effectively.
WaterBridge was based by Kheterpal and his former colleague from Actis personal fairness, Ashish Jain, in 2016.
Anjali Sosale, one of many few girls in a management position within the enterprise capital trade, joined WaterBridge as a associate in 2020, when the second fund was being launched.
Jain mentioned WaterBridge has developed a top-down sector thesis-driven method that has allowed it to make early bets in future class leaders.
The VC agency has invested in world themes with investments in SaaS enterprise Atlan, and Canadian digital pharmacy PocketPills, which has an Indian product growth staff, Jain added.
WaterBridge can also be targeted on Bharat or small-town India with investments in Chalo, a bus mobility enterprise working in tier-2 and three cities, and rural healthcare targeted startup Medcords, Jain mentioned.
Supply: Live Mint