Lightspeed Venture Partners, which backs Indian startups such as Oyo and Byju's, said it has raised over $4 billion (Rs 30,571.60 crore) across three funds to invest in early and growth-stage startups globally.
Lightspeed remains focussed on investing in entrepreneurs even in these difficult times as the world fights the coronavirus pandemic crisis, the US-based venture capital firm said in a statement.
Of the three funds, Lightspeed Venture Partners XIII, LP has raised $890 million which is higher than the $750 million it raised in its twelfth outing in 2018. This fund will invest in startups from seed to Series A and Series B stages.
The venture capital firm's Lightspeed Venture Partners Select IV, LP fund has raised $1.83 billion. The select fund will invest in existing portfolio companies and identify new investments across its global platform.
“Select IV further cements Lightspeed’s ability to back outperforming companies and to grow Lightspeed’s exposure to outlier portfolio companies as they scale,” the statement said.
Lightspeed's previous select fund Lightspeed Venture Partners Select III, LP had raised $1.05 billion in 2018.
The venture capital firm also launched a new vehicle -- Lightspeed Opportunity Fund, LP -- of $1.5 billion size to back breakout companies from across the globe.
Lightspeed has worked with some of the most experienced partners and affiliates in China, India and Israel, and recently expanded into Europe and Southeast Asia, it added.
Lightspeed India investments
It’s been a dozen years since Lightspeed first started investing in India, with online education company TutorVista Global Pvt. Ltd becoming its first local portfolio firm. The Silicon Valley-headquartered investor initially took money out of its global funds before doubling down and launching country-specific investment vehicles.
The venture capital firm launched its first India-dedicated fund of $135 million in 2015. In 2018, it added another $175 million with its second India-focussed investment vehicle.
Typically an early-stage investor, Lightspeed continues to make late-stage investments from its global fund.
Earlier this week, Lightspeed Venture Partners US along with Falcon Edge led a Series A funding of $15 million in Setu, a fintech application programming interface (API) infrastructure startup.
Lightspeed Venture Partners and its India arm also led a $20 million Series B funding round in conversational artificial intelligence platform Yellow Messenger this week.
Lightspeed's other recent bets include e-sports streaming and community platform Rheo and smart dialing app QTalk.
In terms of exits, Lightspeed made a multi-bagger from its partial exit from Oyo.
It has made eight other exits so far, according to VCCEdge, the research arm of Mosaic Digital. They include stake sales in education firm TutorVista, Indian Energy Exchange—the country’s first exchange for trading in electricity and renewable energy certificates—and digital payments company ItzCash.
