State entity ADQ, formerly known as Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company, one of the region's largest holding companies, on Wednesday said it has launched a 1.1 billion UAE dirham (Rs 2,247 crore or $297 million at current exchange rate) fund to invest in early-stage businesses in India and Southeast Asia.
The fund -- Alpha Wave Incubation Fund -- will be managed by New York-based global alternative asset manager Falcon Edge Capital, said ADQ in a statement.
Alpha Wave Incubation Fund will help companies it invests in to set up global or regional headquarters in Masdar City – Abu Dhabi’s smart city and cleantech hub.
H E Mohammed Hassan Alsuwaidi, chief executive at ADQ, said that the fund will look to invest in companies pioneering cutting-edge technologies.
Mayank Singhal, head of venture capital and technology at ADQ, said that the companies the fund invests in will also benefit from access to ADQ’s leading companies in sectors such as healthcare, food and agri-business, utilities and fintech.
ADQ was established in 2018.
Falcon Edge Capital, founded in 2012 by Richard Gerson, Navroz D Udwadia, and Ryan Khoury, manages more than $2 billion in assets globally. Companies in its portfolio include Ola, Dailyhunt, Stanza Living and KhataBook.
Falcon Edge India-LP fund is the debut India-focused fund of Falcon Edge. In January, VCCircle exclusively reported that the fund had marked its final close. The firm has already deployed $100 million via its India Disruption Partners entity.
