Nexus Venture Partners Raises $700 Million for India and US Startups

Nexus Venture Partners, a venture capital firm that has previously backed successful startups like Unacademy, Postman, and Delhivery, has announced the closure of a $700 million fund – Nexus Ventures VII. The firm plans to invest in startups based in India and the US, with a focus on sectors like artificial intelligence, software-as-a-service, fintech, and commerce.

The company has said that the pandemic has accelerated digital adoption worldwide and enabled startups to flourish with remote workforces. The recent breakthroughs in AI have also allowed technologies to disrupt every sector faster than ever before. The firm believes that India, with one of the largest developer bases in the world, is emerging as a key innovation and talent hub for global companies driving AI and software revolution.

Nexus Venture Partners has previously backed close to 200 startups in India and the US, with over 100 startups in India alone. The firm has six publicly-listed companies on its portfolio, including Zomato, Delhivery, and MapmyIndia. The new fund comes at a time when many VC firms have raised large India-dedicated funds, even as funding to the country’s startup ecosystem has fallen significantly recently. 

Nexus Venture Partners’ $700 million is also the second-largest fund raised by an Indian VC firm after Sequoia Capital India raised $2.85 billion to invest in India and Southeast Asian startups in mid-2022.