Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital Group launches $415m fund, enters China

Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital Group announced the close of a US$415-million fund on a new investment category within the firm.

However, the company didn’t specify if this would be the first or final close of the fund.

The B Capital Group team/ Photo credit: B Capital Group

The new category Elevate will provide follow-on capital to high-performing later-stage companies in B Capital’s portfolio. With the new fund, the VC firm claims its total assets under management will reach US$1.9 billion.

Through the new fund, the company aims to support firms across their life cycles, from the early stages to an initial public offering. It has invested in over 60 early- and growth-stage companies since it started in 2015.

B Capital also announced it will formally launch in China and expand in India and Indonesia.

It has named former SoftBank exec Daisy Cai as general partner, who will lead a team that would invest in early- and growth-stage Chinese tech companies.

“Of the 10 largest companies in China, only Huawei truly provides enterprise-scale technology solutions,” said B Capital co-founder Raj Ganguly in a statement. “We believe now is the right time to enter China because the next marquee name in enterprise technology is being developed right now.”

See also: How China has been clamping down on big tech empires

The VC firm also mentioned that it is eyeing a number of companies that have the potential to be “the next Salesforce or Oracle in China.” It will leverage its partnership with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to provide Chinese founders with access to BCG’s corporate network and resources.