NEW DELHI: B Capital Group, the mid to growth-stage, technology-focused venture capital firm, has made the final close of its maiden fund at $360 million.
The Singapore and US-based investment firm had announced its first close at about $144 million in May 2016, and its second close at $181 million a year later.
B Capital was founded by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin and Boston Consulting Group senior advisor Raj Ganguly. The duo had earlier worked together at Velos Partners, the private equity and venture capital firm set up by the Facebook co-founder.
The technology-focused firm, which primarily invests $10 million-$20 million, has also been scouting for investments in India.
In December, the US-Asia fund led a $10 million top-up round in Mumbai-based point-of-sale service provider Mswipe Technologies. Last year, it also brought on board Kabir Narang, previously managing director at Eight Roads Ventures, as partner to lead its investments in Asia's third-largest economy.
"India is an incredibly exciting space to invest in... We do take a global first mindset, but India is a key geographical focus area for us," Saverin told ET over the phone. "On a macro basis, the economy is on a massive rise, there's a young growing population with growing income, which is very adaptive to taking on new technologies."
B Capital Group has made over 10 investments till date, and expects to make, cumulatively, between 20 and 25 deals from its maiden investment vehicle.
"While India has a tremendous pool of technology talent, and a lot of venture capital firms have been playing, particularly in the early-stage space, we do view that, in the Series B and C stage, there is an opportunity gap in the market," Narang told ET.
The investment firm, based on the opportunity, could also come in earlier, if the situation demands so, particularly for emerging technologies, such as Blockchain.
"We are looking for key technologies that can truly transform industry...Despite our interest in Series B and C, broadly, we look to build a relationship with the entire ecosystem...In exceptional circumstances, we would be open to deploying in companies that are formally labelled B or not, that have the product-market fit, and are ready to embark on pilots with larger businesses," Saverin said.
B Capital Group will look at primarily four technology-driven sectors - consumer, financial technology, healthcare and transportation and logistics. On Thursday, ET reported that it had participated in $50 million funding round in cloud-based contract management software provider Icertis.
"B Capital's philosophy is to back exceptional founders and management teams, who are building industry, shaping companies, where we can leverage our global network to help accelerate growth," Narang said.
Both, Narang, who leads the firm's global fin-tech and SaaS investments, and Saverin, head the firm's Asian investment strategy.
According to the latter, the decision to focus on India comes at a time when investors can expect more exits, even as the ecosystem continues to mature, making it an opportune time to place bets.
Other leading venture capital firms have also begun to double down on their India exposure, after a lean couple of years. In January, ET reported that marquee venture capital firm Sequoia Capital is preparing to raise up to $1 billion for its sixth India-focused fund.
Separately, Nexus Venture Partners is expected to raise its fifth fund, which is targeting a corpus of $350-$400 million.
The Singapore and US-based investment firm had announced its first close at about $144 million in May 2016, and its second close at $181 million a year later.
B Capital was founded by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin and Boston Consulting Group senior advisor Raj Ganguly. The duo had earlier worked together at Velos Partners, the private equity and venture capital firm set up by the Facebook co-founder.
The technology-focused firm, which primarily invests $10 million-$20 million, has also been scouting for investments in India.
In December, the US-Asia fund led a $10 million top-up round in Mumbai-based point-of-sale service provider Mswipe Technologies. Last year, it also brought on board Kabir Narang, previously managing director at Eight Roads Ventures, as partner to lead its investments in Asia's third-largest economy.
"India is an incredibly exciting space to invest in... We do take a global first mindset, but India is a key geographical focus area for us," Saverin told ET over the phone. "On a macro basis, the economy is on a massive rise, there's a young growing population with growing income, which is very adaptive to taking on new technologies."
B Capital Group has made over 10 investments till date, and expects to make, cumulatively, between 20 and 25 deals from its maiden investment vehicle.
"While India has a tremendous pool of technology talent, and a lot of venture capital firms have been playing, particularly in the early-stage space, we do view that, in the Series B and C stage, there is an opportunity gap in the market," Narang told ET.
The investment firm, based on the opportunity, could also come in earlier, if the situation demands so, particularly for emerging technologies, such as Blockchain.
"We are looking for key technologies that can truly transform industry...Despite our interest in Series B and C, broadly, we look to build a relationship with the entire ecosystem...In exceptional circumstances, we would be open to deploying in companies that are formally labelled B or not, that have the product-market fit, and are ready to embark on pilots with larger businesses," Saverin said.
B Capital Group will look at primarily four technology-driven sectors - consumer, financial technology, healthcare and transportation and logistics. On Thursday, ET reported that it had participated in $50 million funding round in cloud-based contract management software provider Icertis.
"B Capital's philosophy is to back exceptional founders and management teams, who are building industry, shaping companies, where we can leverage our global network to help accelerate growth," Narang said.
Both, Narang, who leads the firm's global fin-tech and SaaS investments, and Saverin, head the firm's Asian investment strategy.
According to the latter, the decision to focus on India comes at a time when investors can expect more exits, even as the ecosystem continues to mature, making it an opportune time to place bets.
Other leading venture capital firms have also begun to double down on their India exposure, after a lean couple of years. In January, ET reported that marquee venture capital firm Sequoia Capital is preparing to raise up to $1 billion for its sixth India-focused fund.
Separately, Nexus Venture Partners is expected to raise its fifth fund, which is targeting a corpus of $350-$400 million.
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