2024-11-13 06:00:17 :
BENGALURU: Former Orios Venture Partners managing partners Anup Jain and Rajeev Suri have launched a $75 million fund to back early-stage and early-stage companies in fintech, climate and sustainability and consumer-driven B2C startups through its new investment vehicle Late-stage startups – Blue Green Ventures.
“The fund size can be increased up to $100 million including the green shoe option,” Jain said in an interview. Mint. The new fund is backed by global CEOs and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies and Indian start-up entrepreneurs, he added, without naming names. Nearly four-fifths of the fund’s commitments come from domestic investors.
BlueGreen Ventures will focus on early-stage companies from Seed to Series A rounds, with average check sizes of $70-120 million, the goal is to lead in every round. In its consumer-driven B2C business, it will focus on startups addressing the post-COVID-19 consumption shift, including niche industries such as pet care and edtech companies working on upskilling and reskilling.
While about 60% of the fund will be earmarked for early-stage startups, the remainder will be used to support mature companies that will go public through secondary transactions within four to five years. Average check size may range from $200 million to 300 million rupees.
“There are probably about 18 to 20 companies in the early stage and five to seven mature companies,” Jain said, adding that there was also significant interest in follow-on financing in the first category.
Practical methods
The fund’s dual strategy horizon of nine years will allow it to leverage the maturity of some of the startups in today’s ecosystem to balance risk and mitigate liquidity challenges. Overall, BlueGreen Ventures will serve as a carrier-led institutional firm that works closely with and invests in founders.
“We will take an active, hands-on approach, which also means we will be limited by the number of companies we can hold in the portfolio at any one time. There will also be considerations to be made about the stage we want to be in and the help we will be able to provide Other factors, because we want to be able to help the people we support without them having to dilute it too much,” founder Suri said, explaining why they didn’t opt for a larger fund.
Suri has been part of the Indian startup ecosystem for over a decade and has held many roles, including founding a technology startup. He most recently served as Managing Partner at Orios Venture Partners, where he oversaw investments in the fintech wealth, insurtech and gaming sectors. His portfolio companies include Zupee, Wright, Density, Bimaplan and Wishup.
Jain has worked for major companies such as Procter & Gamble, Whirlpool Corporation, Yum Brands, and Bata. Last year, he resigned as managing partner of Orios to guide early- and later-stage companies. Startups he has invested in include Hypd, Varaha, BatterySmart, Nxtwave, Vedantu, CarDekho and Mobikwik. One of his portfolio companies, Ixigo, went public in June.
Recently, some fund managers have quit their jobs to start their own businesses, hoping to capitalize on the niche opportunities created by the proliferation of startups. According to media reports, examples include Sameer Brij Verma of Nexus, Piyush Gupta of Peak XV, Vaibhav Agrawal of Lightspeed and Atul Gupta of Premji Invest.
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