General Atlantic to Invest $1-1.5 Bn in India's Consumer Tech Firms in Next 1-2 Yrs

New York-based private equity firm General Atlantic (GA) is looking to invest in consumer technology space in a big way, announced Sandeep Naik, India Managing Director, General Atlantic, in an interaction with CNBC TV18.

Speaking about funds deployment in India, Naik said that GA will be deploying at least $1-1.5 billion in the next year or two, which will GA's largest deployment in India over the next two years "specifically backing innovative digital disruptors that will build the Bharat of tomorrow".

For GA, Consumer technology spans across telecom platforms, grocery delivery, food delivery, digital fitness, tele-health as well as education technology.

Naik said that globally GA has about $10 billion of dry powder right now that company is willing to invest in the next 2 years. Dry powder is a slang term referred to cash reserves kept on hand by a company, venture capital firm or individual to cover future obligations, purchase assets or make acquisitions.

General Atlantic, which provides capital and strategic support for growth companies, has been investing in India since 2002 and has invested up to almost $3 billion to date. The 40-year-old PE firm has invested in more than 25 companies.

GA's portfolio companies include Capital Foods, BYJU, Euangguru, and Unacademy. Last month, GA led the Rs 230 crore funding round of NoBroker.

Established in 1980, General Atlantic is said to have pioneered the concept of growth equity a.k.a Growth capital (also called expansion capital and growth equity)-- a type of private equity investment, usually a minority investment, in relatively mature companies that are looking for capital to expand or restructure operations, enter new markets or finance a significant acquisition without a change of control of the business

Consumer Electronics Startup boAt Raises Rs.6 Crore from Fireside Ventures

Delhi-based consumer electronic startup boAt has raised Rs.6 crore in a round led by early-stage venture capital firm Fireside Ventures. The startup had been bootstrapped by its founders since its launch in 2016 to this date.

This is the first round of equity funding raised by the 2-year-old boAt, which makes electronic products such as speakers and headphones. The startup will use the capital raised primarily towards marketing and product development.

Founded in 2016 by Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta, boAt claims to have over 800,000 users, and claims to sell 4,200 units per day. Aman had earlier worked with audio product giant Harman International as its India sales director, while Sameer also runs gaming hardware company RedGear. Bot Aman and Sameer have had put in seed capital of Rs 30 lakh in boAt, at the time of startup's formation.

“We need to add some more product categories…Currently we are largely doing personal audio, which is centred around the mobile and the mobile ecosystem. But we will be getting into home audio – soundbars, speakers,” Aman Gupta, co-founder and chief executive of boAt.

The CEO said that the company would begin introducing new product categories by the next quarter. boAt, which began as an online brand, selling across multiple e-commerce platforms, such as Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal, has now begun selling through offline channels as well.

The startup sells its products by listing them on e-commerce marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart. Apart from audio products like headphones and speakers, the startup also sells mobile accessories including charging cables and wall chargers.

For Fireside Ventures, boAt is its fourth investment in calendar year 2018. Since its launch, the Fireside Ventures has backed 12 ventures, including, Yoga Bar, Goodness Beverages, Vahdam Teas, Mama Earth and Bombay Shaving Company as some of its portfolio companies.

The early-stage consumer brand-focused investment firm, which was founded in 2017, has recently closed its first fund with a corpus of Rs 340 crore inadvertently exceeding its original target of Rs 300 crore.

Fireside's fund counts PremjiInvest, the personal investment arm of Wipro promoter Azim Premji’s Premji, consumer goods maker Marico’s Mariwala, RP-Sanjiv Goenka and Sunil Munjal’s Hero Enterprise investment office, as its backers. It also has the backing of some of the largest FMCG giants including Unilever Ventures, ITC and Kolkata-based consumer goods firm Emami along with homegrown investment firm WestBridge Capital.

Earlier last month, Fireside Ventures-backed Blink (Previously Witworks), which is a consumer IoT products & smart wearable devices startup, got acquired by Myntra for undisclosed amount. Blink had raised undisclosed amount in seed from from Fireside Ventures, along with other investors.

Last September, Fireside Ventures lead the $1 million funding in Honasa Consumer Pvt Ltd ‘s brand Mamaearth, which offer toxin free consumer products for mothers and babies.

Prior to that, Fireside lead $2.3 million funding of Bombay Shaving Company, a brand known for its men’s consumer care products.

This news was first reported by Live Mint.

Consumer Electronics Startup boAt Raises Rs.6 Crore from Fireside Ventures

Delhi-based consumer electronic startup boAt has raised Rs.6 crore in a round led by early-stage venture capital firm Fireside Ventures. The startup had been bootstrapped by its founders since its launch in 2016 to this date.

This is the first round of equity funding raised by the 2-year-old boAt, which makes electronic products such as speakers and headphones. The startup will use the capital raised primarily towards marketing and product development.

Founded in 2016 by Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta, boAt claims to have over 800,000 users, and claims to sell 4,200 units per day. Aman had earlier worked with audio product giant Harman International as its India sales director, while Sameer also runs gaming hardware company RedGear. Bot Aman and Sameer have had put in seed capital of Rs 30 lakh in boAt, at the time of startup's formation.

“We need to add some more product categories…Currently we are largely doing personal audio, which is centred around the mobile and the mobile ecosystem. But we will be getting into home audio – soundbars, speakers,” Aman Gupta, co-founder and chief executive of boAt.

The CEO said that the company would begin introducing new product categories by the next quarter. boAt, which began as an online brand, selling across multiple e-commerce platforms, such as Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal, has now begun selling through offline channels as well.

The startup sells its products by listing them on e-commerce marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart. Apart from audio products like headphones and speakers, the startup also sells mobile accessories including charging cables and wall chargers.

For Fireside Ventures, boAt is its fourth investment in calendar year 2018. Since its launch, the Fireside Ventures has backed 12 ventures, including, Yoga Bar, Goodness Beverages, Vahdam Teas, Mama Earth and Bombay Shaving Company as some of its portfolio companies.

The early-stage consumer brand-focused investment firm, which was founded in 2017, has recently closed its first fund with a corpus of Rs 340 crore inadvertently exceeding its original target of Rs 300 crore.

Fireside's fund counts PremjiInvest, the personal investment arm of Wipro promoter Azim Premji’s Premji, consumer goods maker Marico’s Mariwala, RP-Sanjiv Goenka and Sunil Munjal’s Hero Enterprise investment office, as its backers. It also has the backing of some of the largest FMCG giants including Unilever Ventures, ITC and Kolkata-based consumer goods firm Emami along with homegrown investment firm WestBridge Capital.

Earlier last month, Fireside Ventures-backed Blink (Previously Witworks), which is a consumer IoT products & smart wearable devices startup, got acquired by Myntra for undisclosed amount. Blink had raised undisclosed amount in seed from from Fireside Ventures, along with other investors.

Last September, Fireside Ventures lead the $1 million funding in Honasa Consumer Pvt Ltd ‘s brand Mamaearth, which offer toxin free consumer products for mothers and babies.

Prior to that, Fireside lead $2.3 million funding of Bombay Shaving Company, a brand known for its men’s consumer care products.

This news was first reported by Live Mint.

IDG Ventures India Plans to Invest in Around 25 Consumer Tech Startups By the End of December

Venture capital firm IDG Ventures India Ltd has launched a programme, Digital Consumer Innovators Program, to find and invest in 15-25 new consumer-facing Internet startups. The VC firm is looking at mobile-first shopping apps, digital media startups, software providers for Internet companies and others and it will invest $500,000 to $1 million in early-stage deals as well as $3-$5 million in Series A deals.

Apart from providing funding, IDG will help the selected startups to hire and flesh out their strategies as well as startups will have access to IDG’s advisory panel that includes Mukesh Bansal, founder and ex-chief executive of online fashion retailer Myntra; former Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata; and Infosys Ltd co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan.

In February, Kalaari Capital also launched a startup accelerator called Kstart, by earmarking $20 million for the programme over the next two years. IDG will raise its third fund of $200 million and plans to invest in about 45 startups from this fund over the next three years. Its portfolio includes Flipkart Ltd, Lenskart, Firstcry and Zivame among others.

A couple of days back, IDG Ventures India has led a $6 million series A investment round in Health and fitness app HealthifyMe, along with participation from Inventus Capital and Blume Ventures. Apart from this, Bangalore-based VC fund IDG Ventures India has also closed $150 million India fund. It expects to raise the entire money for its $200 million third fund called IDG Ventures India Fund III by the end of this year.

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