Teruhide Sato, founder and former CEO of Japanese e-commerce operator and investor Beenos Inc (formerly Netprice), has set up a new $60 million (approximately Rs 400 crore) venture capital fund targeting investments in early stage companies in India, Southeast Asia, Japan and the US, separate media reports said citing Sato.
The fund christened BEENEXT will focus on internet and mobile and has already invested in half a dozen Indian startups. Names of these startups have not been disclosed but they comprise half of the firms backed by the fund globally, the reports added.
Emails sent to Sato did not elicit a response. Earlier, Beenos has invested in companies including ShopClues, Citrus Pay, KartRocket, BuyHatke and Droom. Beenos itself is believed to have committed $5 million to the fund.
The fund will invest between $100,000 and $9 million.
Recently, another Japanese investment firm Dream Incubator Inc launched a $100 million fund for investments in the country.
In the current calendar year, 18 early-stage India dedicated funds have been launched, targeting to raise $3.4 billion, data provided by VCCEdge, the data research platform of VCCircle, show.
Major firms that are on the road to raise VC funds include Nexus Venture Partners, Jungle Ventures, Orios Venture Partners, Parampara Capital, Kalaari Capital, IDG Ventures and Helion Venture Partners.