Indian VC firm smashes it, raises US$450 million

India-based Nexus Venture Partners, which backs startups like OLX, Snapdeal, and ShopClues, has raised US$450 million for its fourth fund, it announced today. This brings its total assets to US$1 billion.

Bangalore-based Nexus is known to back seed and early stage companies. The new cash will focus on technology- and data-led businesses in consumer retail, financial services, healthcare, education, and enterprise technologies, the VC firm said in a statement.

This should bring relief to India’s startup ecosystem which has lately been subjected to doomsday predictions of funds drying up.

Most of the capital for Nexus’ fourth fund came from long-term investors. “We are thankful to our investors that continue to back us and believe in our investment philosophy,” said co-founder and managing director Naren Gupta.

Blockbuster billion bucks

Nexus is now the first Indian venture capital firm to cross US$1 billion in assets. Kalaari Capital and Helion Venture Partners are among the other major homegrown VCs in the country.

Since it began in 2006, Nexus has invested in over 60 companies. These include Craftsvilla, OLX, ShopClues, Snapdeal, and Stayzilla. The fund also boasts investments in Delhivery, Netmagic, Druva, and Gluster.

Nexus Venture Partners has three earlier funds – Fund I (US$100 million) was announced in 2007, Fund II (US$220 million) in mid-2008, and Fund III ($270 million) at the end of 2012.

Nexus has offices in India and Silicon Valley. Its investors include endowments, foundations, and financial institutions across North America, Europe, and Asia.

Software industry body Nasscom predicts that 2015 will see a doubling of the previous year’s funding level for startups since 2010 – from US$2.2 billion to US$4.9 billion. Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global, and Accel Partners are some of the biggest India-focused funds.