Bertelsmann India Investments (BII) announced plans to invest around $500 million to new startups in the country along with follow-up investments.
The venture capital arm of German media company Bertelsmann, BII will step up investment to six-eight new investments per year in the country and expand focus to make selective Series A investments.
Bertelsmann India Investments will benefit from Bertelsmann’s Boost program, which is being carried out based on our high investment capacity. It will help Bertelsmann to increase its growth momentum significantly, said Carsten Coesfeld, CEO of Bertelsmann Investments.
Since its launch in 2013, BII has invested in more than 17 companies, some already valued as unicorns.
Bertelsmann India has invested in companies including Eruditus, Licious, Shiprocket, Pepperfry, AgroStar, Lets Transport, Lendingkart, Rupeek, among others. BII has invested a total of about $285 million in startups to date.
“Based on our increased allocation of $500 million, we expect to make six to eight new investments a year, for the next five years. We aim to connect with founders early,” said Pankaj Makkar, Managing Director of BII.
In 2022 and 2023, BII plans to focus on investments in the healthtech, enterprisetech, future of work, fintech, agritech and other sectors. The fund will also be keeping an eye on disruptive technologies like Web3 and deeptech.
BII is part of Bertelsmann Investments, which has so far invested more than $1.06 billion in over 250 innovative companies and funds.
