SUMMARY
The fund received commitments from private and public pensions funds, family offices, HNIs, and sovereign wealth funds
While a major chunk of the new fund will be deployed for follow-on investments in B Capital’s existing portfolio, a portion will also go towards investing in new startups
The firm counts big Indian startups like BYJU’S, Meesho PharmEasy, Fi.Money, MSwipe, and Bizongo among its portfolio companies
Facebook cofounder Eduardo Saverin-led venture capital (VC) firm B Capital on Tuesday (March 19) announced the close of its ‘Opportunities Fund II’ at $750 Mn.
As per the firm, the fund received commitments from both existing and new investors, including private and public pensions funds, family offices, high-net-worth individuals (HNIs), and sovereign wealth funds.
A major chunk of the new fund will be deployed for follow-on investments in B Capital’s existing portfolio of “high-performing” companies. A part of the proceeds will also go towards investing in new startups.
The firm counts big Indian startups like BYJU’S, Meesho PharmEasy, Fi.Money, MSwipe, and Bizongo among its portfolio companies.
Primarily focussed on North America and Asia, the new opportunities fund will back ventures across sectors such as technology, healthcare, and climate tech.
“Our strategy is to back great founders early and to support them throughout their entrepreneurial journey. We are grateful for our investors, who enable us to continue to support our companies during a time when capital remains scarce,” said B Capital cofounder and co-CEO Raj Ganguly.
Chiming in, cofounder and co-CEO Saverin said, “In this challenging environment for many private tech companies, we are pleased to have nearly doubled the capital we have available to back the best founders in the B Capital portfolio and other entrepreneurs we have closely followed.”
The size of the second fund is nearly double the size of Opportunities Fund I, the company said in a statement.
Founded in 2015 by Ganguly, Saverin, Howard Morgan and Sheila Patel, B Capital invests in seed to late stage startups. The VC firm claims to have more than $6 Bn in assets under management (AUM) across multiple funds.
The latest announcement comes a year after the US-based investment firm closed its third venture growth fund and allied companion funds, Growth Fund III, at $2.1 Bn in January 2023.
The development also comes at a time when the Indian startup ecosystem has been reeling under the impact of a capital drought. However, this has not stopped VCs and private equity firms from accumulating dry powder.
According to Inc42 data, investors launched 64 India-focussed funds worth more than $5.6 Bn in 2023 while 126 funds worth over $18 Bn alone were unveiled in 2022.
