Venture capital and growth equity investment firm SAIF Advisors Pvt. Ltd has raised $350 million (Rs 2,247 crore) for a new fund to invest in Indian tech start-ups as well as brick-and-mortar companies. With the new funding, the firm’s total assets under management (AUM) has clocked the $1 Billion mark.
According to managing director, Deepak Gaur, ” SAIF will invest 15-20% of the new fund in public companies, with the rest going to early-stage and late-stage Internet investments as well as companies outside the technology space.
SAIF Partner will continue to make seed, Series A, and growth-stage investments. It expects to invest around 20% of the fund in listed firms. SAIF Partners has built an active public equities portfolio, which includes chemicals company Atul Ltd, luxury watch retailer and components maker KDDL Ltd and automotive lighting and signaling equipment maker Fiem Industries Ltd.
The venture capital will continue to investments in education, healthcare, SaaS (software as a service), consumer brands and content. Another sector of interest for the new fund is financial services, said managing director Alok Goel.
Over the past two years,the venture firm has seen changes in management. Two key executives, Mukul Singhal and Rohit Jain, left the firm last year to set up their own fund called Pravega Ventures.
SAIF Partners was founded in 2001 and currently manages over $4 billion in the capital. With over 100 investments since its inception. SAIF partners Partners is a leading private equity firm that provides growth capital to companies in Asia. It has become one of the largest and most active funds in the region. SAIF is a long-term investor with local teams in Hong Kong, China, and India.
SAIF first started investing in India in 2002 out of a larger Asia fund. In 2011, it raised its first India-specific fund of $350 million and raised another one of $350 million in early 2015. It will start deploying the latest fund next year. Read more about Indian Startup Ecosystem.
