New Delhi, April 30 -- Silicon Valley-headquartered venture capital firm Lightspeed Venture Partners, a backer of Indian unicorns such as Zetwerk, Razorpay, Udaan and Acko, has initiated the process to raise its new India- and Southeast Asia-focused fund.
The multi-stage VC firm has registered its fifth fund-Lightspeed India Partners V-with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to its filing with the regulator.
Lightspeed did not respond to an emailed query seeking details on the fund size and the investment strategy.
The development comes nearly four years after the VC firm closed its fourth fund, collecting $500 million (around Rs 4,000 crore at the time) to deploy in early-stage startups in India and Southeast Asia. The fund primarily comes in at the seed and Series A rounds, taking a sector-agnostic approach.
News publication Mint, which is owned by the parent of VCCircle, had first reported about Lightspeed's plan to launch the fifth fund earlier this year, with the size of the new vehicle expected to be similar to the fourth fund.
Globally, the firm manages over $40 billion in assets. In December last year, Lightspeed said it secured commitments worth more than $9 billion for six global funds.
A bunch of marquee VC firms in India have floated or raised new vehicles over the past year. In February, Peak XV Partners, formerly known as Sequoia Capital India and Southeast Asia, said it secured $1.3 billion in commitments across three funds to invest in India and Asia-Pacific. In December, Nexus Venture Partners, which invests in early- and growth-stage startups in India and the US, closed its eight fund at $700 million (Rs 6,290 crore), keeping the size unchanged from the previous vehicle in dollar terms.
Last year, Bessemer Venture Partner collected $350 million for early-stage vehicles while Accel announced its eighth India fund of $650 million. Stellaris Venture Partners closed a $300 million fund in late 2024.
Lightspeed has been operating in India for close to 20 years now. Its first investment was in 2007, when it bet on online education company TutorVista Global Pvt. Ltd. The firm initially took money out of its global funds before doubling down and launching its first India-specific investment vehicle of $135 million in 2015 through its subsidiary Lightspeed India Partners.
In 2018, it added another $175 million with its second India-focused investment vehicle. In 2020, the venture capital firm raised $275 million (Rs 2,052 crore) for its third fund. It collected $500 million for its fourth early-stage fund in India and Southeast Asia in July 2022.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.