Algo Capital Closes Algo VC Fund at $200 Million

Algo Capital, the financial institution focused on accelerating access, adoption and liquidity of the Algo, the native digital currency of the Algorand blockchain, today announced the closing of its Algo VC Fund at $200 million, surpassing the firm’s original goal of $100 million. The fund will invest in category-leading businesses that are building on the Algorand technology platform and seeks to accelerate the use and acceptance of the Algo as a means of payment.

It is backed by a collection of experienced financial and blockchain industry investors across North America, Latin America, Asia and Europe, including Brainchild, NGC Ventures (the venture arm of NEO Global), Arrington XRP Capital, Eterna Capital, GSR, Cognitive Blockchain, Rokk3r Inc, Wibson, 11-11 Ventures, DG Ventures, Winslow Strong, Invermaster and many others.

Founded and led by veteran blockchain investor David Garcia, entrepreneur-turned-VC Arul Murugan, and blockchain technology expert Pablo Yabo, Algo Capital builds modern financial products to power Algorand’s borderless economy. It is a separate independent entity from both the Algorand Foundation and Algorand LLC, which developed a pure proof-of-stake protocol that is the first of its kind capable of supporting billions of users and transactions on blockchain.

As the venture arm of Algo Capital, the Algo VC fund is based on an investment strategy of creating and capturing value across all levels of the Algorand tech stack: the blockchain protocol, the infrastructure and the applications built on Algorand. Besides holding a large stake in Algos, the fund invests in emerging disrupters with proven business models, scalable revenue, and a clear path toward profitability. Initial portfolio companies include:

• Securitize - the leading security token issuance platform


• Idex - the leading decentralized exchange


• BlockDaemon - the leading blockchain infrastructure and middleware orchestration platform


• OTCXN - the leading institutional exchange and cross-custodian settlement platform

Each of the portfolio companies is working closely with Algorand to leverage its platform for speed, security and feature development.

“A key element of the NGC Ventures investment thesis is analyzing the caliber of leadership teams, be it the technical excellence, academic rigor, or business acumen. Led by luminaries across emerging technology, entrepreneurship, and investing practices, Algo Capital has world-class talent at the driving seat, and we look forward to seeing the success of its Algo VC fund,” said Roger Lim, Founding Partner at NGC Ventures.

Toward its goal of accelerating the use and acceptance of the Algo as a means of payment, all commitments to the Algo VC Fund were accepted in Algos rather than U.S. dollars and the Algo is the primary currency for all capital calls. Additionally, a portion of the firm’s capital investments are comprised of Algos, which allows portfolio companies to make use of the digital currency as a means of payment within the Algorand network.

With an eye toward the continued growth of the Algo VC Fund, the Algo Capital team is also exploring joint ventures with several venture studios and accelerators around the globe. These studios each support hundreds of early-stage startups across the world, and through these partnerships, Algo Capital will bring further investment to fledgling blockchain-based businesses in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia.

“Our investment approach specifically targets companies that are creating the next great blockchain applications and infrastructure solutions, and as a result, helping to speed blockchain adoption and bring millions of new users into the Algorand network,” said Arul Murugan, founder and managing partner, Algo Capital. “That’s how Algo Capital contributes to the growth and investment of Algorand’s borderless economy and enables maximum value capture for Algo VC Fund investors.”

Indian Govt To Setup ₹500 Crore VC Fund To Finance EV Startups in the Country

In 2015, government of India launched FAME India scheme, which stands for Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles India, to promote and finance eco-friendly vehicles in the country by incentivising all vehicle segments including 2-wheelers, 3-wheelers and buses.

Now, in a recent development union Cabinet is considering to approve the proposal entailing financial support of Rs 9,381 crore in the second phase of the FAME India scheme (FAME II) spanning 5 years to boost adoption of energy-efficient vehicles in the country.

Under FAME II, the government is also considering establishing of a venture capital (VC) fund of ₹500 crore in order to support startups related to electric vehicles (EV) in India. According to Start Up team of Invest India, currently there are about 136 startups related to electric vehicles in India.

According to government sources, EV startups are not getting access to required finance, as financial institutions are reluctant to extend credit facilities to them because of their high-risk nature, which is the main reason for government to setup an exclusive VC fund for EV startups.

The principal purpose of the venture capital funding will be for development of zero emission vehicle and its component manufacturing base, making prototype to manufacturing and development of R&D, promoting work on alternative battery chemistries among others.

In an another good news, under proposed FAME II, large EV components such as motor, drive powertrain and controller which are currently not covered under modified special incentive package scheme (MSIPS) of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology have been proposed to be given capital investment subsidy at a rate of 20-25 per cent of capital investment.

However, it is to be noted that unlike phase-1 of FAME India Scheme, the FAME II will be restricted to new energy vehicles used for public transport (passenger vehicles), commercial purposes/vehicles and high-speed two-wheelers, and not for privately owned vehicles, which is a setback not only for India's mission to go fully electric on roads by 2030 but to EV segment startups in the country too, as the chances that the vehicles these startups are manufacturing goes in larger consumer base will be diminished for not subsidizing the e-vehicles for private owners.

Notably, the government has dropped the idea of having an EV policy in place in the country. Earlier in February, transport minister Nitin Gadkari said that India does not need a dedicated EV policy. Instead the government may come out with an action plan.

In February only, the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV), an industry body, has reportedly sought a meeting in this regard with Amitabh Kant, who is spearheading the centre’s EV action plan. Kant is also CEO of NITI Aayog, the policy think tank of govt. of India. SMEV also aproached PMO to get a clarity on EV policy in India, but then nothing substantial took off to date.

In a joint study conducted with the US-based Rocky Mountain Institute, the NITI Aayog last year identified incentives that would boost EV manufacturing in India.

The report, called as Transformative Mobility Solutions for India revealed India's plan for electric cars and charging stations infrastructure.

In January 2017, a draft of India’s 10-year energy blueprint has revealed that the government is expecting as much as 57 percent of the country’s total electricity capacity to come from non-fossil fuel sources by the year 2027 -- a significant increase over the India's Paris agreement targets, which has asked the member countries to reach 40 percent non-fossil fuel electricity by the year 2030.

Via - Times of India | Top Image - WestCorkTimes.com

$15 Bn of Funds Waiting To Be Invested in Startups in India

Is Indian Startup ecosystem really flourishing, or is it just one of those things that looks rosy on the surface but is slowly rotting underneath? Well, if recent data from Startup research firm Venture Intelligence is to be believed, India's startup ecosystem picture might be leaning more towards the latter.

According to the research firm, out of more than $1,900 million that were pumped into India focused private equity and venture funds (PE/VC) this year, nearly $15 billion are still lying as dry powder. Unfortunately, this $15 billion is the highest amount of fresh cash that has been sitting outside doing no good, just waiting to be invested in the third largest Startup ecosystem in the world.

The whole jibber jabber around Indian startups and the promotion that the Modi government has been doing about the sector since taking charge has ensured that there's an uninterrupted flow of capital for funds working for the sector. Interestingly, this cash is now on a desperate lookout for avenues for investment.

In the recent times, several sectors, especially the ones on the consumer side, have been hitting maturing, and with the number of startup shutdowns just increasing by the day, the PE/VC funds have been forced to become careful than ever in their investments. Now their focus is more on quality rather than on quantity.

The question that arises here is, what does it mean to have $15 billion sitting as dry powder?

One this is for certain. This high amount of cash just lying around as dry powder spells a period of worry for fund managers. Most of the private equity funds functioning in India have been operating on a seven to nine year cycle. During the first three years, they are required to deploy more than 60-70 per cent of the amount that they have raised. Then, in the third to fifth year, the fund spends more of the amount raised. In the sixth year, it comes down to managing portfolios.

High amount of cash just sitting out as a dry powder can have multiple consequences. For starters, there is a lower internal rate of return (IRR), which might lead managers under pressure to deploy the capital in investment opportunities that are less than attractive. Whether the situation worsens to that, only time will be able to tell.

Though the fund managers also have an option of returning the money to the investors if at any point they think that there are no good investment opportunities in vicinity after a three-year period.

It is important to note that PE/VC investments in India finally rebounded last month after hitting a 12-month low in July. The month of August saw a total of $440 million in investments, which made it the second highest month after March's $625 million haul.

In 2008, India saw a similar high dry powder, and low funding situation. Considering that ten years later, the sector is still up and running, we can be rest assured that the country can survive this spell, too. Though the country will have to watch its back when it comes to China as recent times have shown that India as a market for funds has been losing its edge to China. According to a statement given by Vijay Anand, CEO of The Startup Centre, an accelerator for tech startups, to Times of India, this might have something to do with the imitation nature of Indian entrepreneurs and the copy-cat trend that they have adopted.

Healthcare Focused VC Firm Healthquad Secures Rs 750 Mn, Eye To Invest In 8-10 Companies

Healthcare focused venture capital fund, Healthquad has achieved its final close with the total commitment of Rs 750 million for investing in thematic and disruptive healthcare business models in India. The Fund is also the first early stage investment vehicle by the leading healthcare private equity investors, Dr. Amit Varma, Abrar Mir and Charles Antione Janssen.

The Fund targets to invest around Rs 4 billion in healthcare companies that have the potential to disrupt the healthcare landscape by dramatically improving the productivity, affordability and accessibility of healthcare through differentiated and innovative solutions.

Commenting on the development, fund’s sponsor Dr Amit Varma said, “Healthcare sector has seen the emergence of over 500 startups in the last two years and venture capital firms have infused around Rs. 25 billion. We are looking to deploy around Rs. 4 billion, along with co-investors and partner funds in healthcare models that are driven by new age disruptive technology and are changing the way healthcare is delivered and accessed in India.”

The Fund’s investment strategy targets five key healthcare sub-sectors including healthcare delivery services, life-sciences, medical devices and technology, healthcare IT and associated healthcare services. It is looking to invest in 8-10 companies. Prior to its final close, the Fund has already made an investment in four companies including the recently announced investment in Regency Healthcare.

“Our first four Healthquad investments have confirmed that business model innovations and health tech innovations will open access to quality healthcare for hundreds of millions of neglected Indians. Our final close will allow us to fund more, fast growing, profitable and highly impactful companies. We look forward to supporting great entrepreneurs for the benefit of patients as well as our LPs,” said Charles Antione Janssen, Fund’s third co-sponsor.

Delhi-based venture capital, Healthquad aims to support high quality entrepreneurial talent driving business models that aim to provide thematic and disruptive solution to access, affordability and quality. With the help of its high quality operating team and network, Healthquad provides a proposition of mentoring to companies to build robust business plan and supporting them in their growth strategy by providing access to its vast network of business contacts in the healthcare sector.

If we talk about the figures, the Indian healthcare sector is valued at over Rs 7 trillion and is growing at a rate of over 15% per annum making it one of the most attractive sectors for investment by the private sector. An imperative part within all this is the new age models that are unshackling the traditional forms of healthcare delivery and products including digitization of services and product innovation and disintermediation of delivery models. All these are being driven by the need to provide access, affordability and quality.

Unicorn India Ventures Makes Its First Close of Rs 40 Crore of Its Rs 100 Crore Fund

Unicorn India Ventures, a SEBI registered AIF-I VC fund, started by Anil Joshi and Bhaskar Majumdar has done its first close of Rs 40 crore of its Rs 100 crore fund. The fund will invest in early stage start-ups in the areas like social media, mobile, analytics, cloud tech and IOT.

Unicorn India Ventures has also appointed Aayush Jain, as a Principal for the fund. Mr. Jain comes with over 8 years of experience in corporate and product strategy, capital raising, business/corporate development and M&As across sectors including technology, media, cloud, digital, consumer and education. Having worked in leading investment banking and consulting companies, Aayush Jain will be heading Unicorn’s Delhi operations.

Mumbai-based Unicorn India Ventures invests in early stage start-ups working on business ideas spanning sectors like social media, mobile, analytics or cloud technology. The fund will be using 30% of its total raise amount to create a portfolio of 30 companies in 3 years and will back the potential winners by participating in Series A funding too.

Anil Joshi, Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures says, "Unicorn India Ventures has been started with an aim to discover start-ups that are doing groundbreaking work in their field. We want to be a partner in their journey towards growth and use our resources financial and otherwise to help them scale up. We want to bring best-of-breed international experiences to the start-ups."

Unicorn India Ventures has set out to do many firsts with this fund. The fund partners have raised money from new class of investors. These investors have been watching startup boom in India from the side-lines but were not sure about investing. Bhaskar Majumdar, Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures, says, "We have been able to attract funding from both traditional and new investors. Interestingly, the ratio is 50:50 currently but we expect new investors’ ratio to go up in the current year when we on board more investors for our further fundraise." Globally, HNIs and other investors deploy 5 to 8 % of their portfolio in start-ups. In India, this trend is beginning to gather momentum and a new class of investors is increasingly showing interest to invest in start-ups through institutional funds. "We expect HNIs and new investors to deploy at least 5% of their total asset portfolio in start-ups here," he adds.

Post the close, Unicorn will be announcing its investments in start-ups. The fund plans to invest in 10-12 start-ups in a year, thereby creating a portfolio of 30 companies in 3 years. Their modus operandi to evaluate start-ups before investing in them is a unique one too. The partners spend close to 2 -- 3 months with founders of start-ups to understand their business model, team at work and co-founders’ working relationship among other aspects like potential of scale up, global reach of the company etc.

Bhaskar Majumdar, Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures says, "We are quite clear about the kind of start-ups and teams we want to engage with. We prefer to invest in a company which has more than one founder. However, we don’t involve ourselves in the day to day operations of a company as we believe founders should be in the driving seat making all big decisions. We are their sounding board and a guide."

Unicorn India has been structured as a hybrid fund whose first investment will enable start-ups with an seed round in the range of Rs 50 lakh to a crore, which would help companies build businesses and get ready for next round (Series A) where the fund will also participate as a co-investor.

Anil Joshi, Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures says, "We are betting on sectors like fintech, app based business helping enterprise solution, cloud technology but a common thread among any of these start-ups should be that they are solving real life problems of either end users or other businesses."

Unicorn India has also constituted an advisory board which comprise of entrepreneurs and highly experienced professionals who will be mentoring the portfolio companies to grow. DD Ganguly, a Sillicon-Valley based serial entrepreneur, who started two companies and successfully exited them, is one of members on the advisory board. The entrepreneurs will be able to use his experience and expertise to scale up their business and provide a good exit for the investors.

Apart from monetary investment, Unicorn is also committed to mentor and help entrepreneurs build successful ventures. In VC/start-up lingo, a ‘unicorn’ is referred to a Billion Dollar revenue company and that’s what the Joshi-Majumdar duo is on a look out for. The fund will be interested in investing solely in a venture or co-invest with another fund or institution. The deal size is likely to vary from anywhere from INR 50 lacs to INR 500 lacs.

Unicorn India Ventures Makes Its First Close of Rs 40 Crore of Its Rs 100 Crore Fund

Unicorn India Ventures, a SEBI registered AIF-I VC fund, started by Anil Joshi and Bhaskar Majumdar has done its first close of Rs 40 crore of its Rs 100 crore fund. The fund will invest in early stage start-ups in the areas like social media, mobile, analytics, cloud tech and IOT.

Unicorn India Ventures has also appointed Aayush Jain, as a Principal for the fund. Mr. Jain comes with over 8 years of experience in corporate and product strategy, capital raising, business/corporate development and M&As across sectors including technology, media, cloud, digital, consumer and education. Having worked in leading investment banking and consulting companies, Aayush Jain will be heading Unicorn’s Delhi operations.

Mumbai-based Unicorn India Ventures invests in early stage start-ups working on business ideas spanning sectors like social media, mobile, analytics or cloud technology. The fund will be using 30% of its total raise amount to create a portfolio of 30 companies in 3 years and will back the potential winners by participating in Series A funding too.

Anil Joshi, Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures says, "Unicorn India Ventures has been started with an aim to discover start-ups that are doing groundbreaking work in their field. We want to be a partner in their journey towards growth and use our resources financial and otherwise to help them scale up. We want to bring best-of-breed international experiences to the start-ups."

Unicorn India Ventures has set out to do many firsts with this fund. The fund partners have raised money from new class of investors. These investors have been watching startup boom in India from the side-lines but were not sure about investing. Bhaskar Majumdar, Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures, says, "We have been able to attract funding from both traditional and new investors. Interestingly, the ratio is 50:50 currently but we expect new investors’ ratio to go up in the current year when we on board more investors for our further fundraise." Globally, HNIs and other investors deploy 5 to 8 % of their portfolio in start-ups. In India, this trend is beginning to gather momentum and a new class of investors is increasingly showing interest to invest in start-ups through institutional funds. "We expect HNIs and new investors to deploy at least 5% of their total asset portfolio in start-ups here," he adds.

Post the close, Unicorn will be announcing its investments in start-ups. The fund plans to invest in 10-12 start-ups in a year, thereby creating a portfolio of 30 companies in 3 years. Their modus operandi to evaluate start-ups before investing in them is a unique one too. The partners spend close to 2 -- 3 months with founders of start-ups to understand their business model, team at work and co-founders’ working relationship among other aspects like potential of scale up, global reach of the company etc.

Bhaskar Majumdar, Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures says, "We are quite clear about the kind of start-ups and teams we want to engage with. We prefer to invest in a company which has more than one founder. However, we don’t involve ourselves in the day to day operations of a company as we believe founders should be in the driving seat making all big decisions. We are their sounding board and a guide."

Unicorn India has been structured as a hybrid fund whose first investment will enable start-ups with an seed round in the range of Rs 50 lakh to a crore, which would help companies build businesses and get ready for next round (Series A) where the fund will also participate as a co-investor.

Anil Joshi, Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures says, "We are betting on sectors like fintech, app based business helping enterprise solution, cloud technology but a common thread among any of these start-ups should be that they are solving real life problems of either end users or other businesses."

Unicorn India has also constituted an advisory board which comprise of entrepreneurs and highly experienced professionals who will be mentoring the portfolio companies to grow. DD Ganguly, a Sillicon-Valley based serial entrepreneur, who started two companies and successfully exited them, is one of members on the advisory board. The entrepreneurs will be able to use his experience and expertise to scale up their business and provide a good exit for the investors.

Apart from monetary investment, Unicorn is also committed to mentor and help entrepreneurs build successful ventures. In VC/start-up lingo, a ‘unicorn’ is referred to a Billion Dollar revenue company and that’s what the Joshi-Majumdar duo is on a look out for. The fund will be interested in investing solely in a venture or co-invest with another fund or institution. The deal size is likely to vary from anywhere from INR 50 lacs to INR 500 lacs.

VC Firm Aavishkaar To Raise Biggest Funding Focusing Social Sector

Mumbai based venture capital firm Aavishkaar is all set to raise $400 million (Rs 2,500 crore) in 2015, which would be the biggest amount raised by any fund focusing on the social sector or impact investing in India. Notably, Aavishkaar Venture Management Services is India's biggest social entrepreneurship-focused venture capital fund.

Aavishkar would raise two separate funds, a $100 million and a $300 million one within the next 12 months. "We hope to close the first fund by the end of March as we are half way there. We are also raising a separate $300 million fund which would be closed by the end of 2015," said Vineet Rai, CEO and managing director, Aavishkar.

The initial $100-million fund would be an Africa-focused fund while the $300-million fund would focus entrepreneurs and start-ups in India. In the past 12 years, Aavishkar had raised $112 million and invested in the early stage social sector enterprises. However, with its upcoming $300 million India-focused fund, it plans to invest in companies at a later stage. This would also be the first time an Indian VC is investing in Africa.

Aaavishkaar was founded in 2001, with a vision to catalyze development in India's undeserved regions and a 10-year goal to invest in 300 start-up companies and raise US$1 billion over the next ten years. So in the past decade, Aavishkar had made 48 investments across eight sectors with 100% seed stage investments and have achieved 11 Full and 4 partial exits and with 90 per cent of the companies having rural and semi-urban markets as their focus.

Over the last decade, Aavishkaar has established a successful track record with over US$ 155 million under management and a diverse portfolio of high-impact businesses at various levels of growth. This spans a range of sectors, namely agriculture, dairy, education, energy, handicrafts, health, water and sanitation, technology for development, micro-finance and financial inclusion.

VC Funds To Invest Over $1.6 Billion In Internet of Things In 2014

According to Cisco, a networking solutions giant, more and more Venture Capital firms are expected to invest in Internet of things (IoT) technologies this year. The expected investment can be more than $ 1.6 billion. The IoT market has been successful in improving the quality of people’s lives connecting more and more devices to the Internet.

The US based firm added that more than 13.69 billion devices have been connected through Internet so far. “10.69 billion Things were connected till Oct 2013, which has gone up to 13.69 billion in October 2014”, said Wim Elfrink, Chief Globalization officer, Cisco at the Internet of Things World Forum. The figure is expected to reach 50 billion by 2020.

According to the present figures, 37 percent of IoT consumers are industrial consumers and this figure is expected to cross the 50 percent mark in the next three years.

Elfrink also added that the IoT investment is expected to exceed $ 1.6 billion mark this year.

The Internet of things space is booming like never before as more and more devices are getting through the internet. This has in return led to the consumers expecting for more intelligence from these connected devices, infrastructure and equipment.

More and more startups are coming up to cash upon the booming market of IoT. This has led to the number of startups increase from just 13 last year to a whopping 189 this year. The IoT has provided jobs to about 300,000 people so far.

Cisco, a networking solutions giant, has about 250 happy public customers with thousands of connected devices deployed round the globe. According to Elfrink, more and more connectivity has led to an increase in the concern about education and security.

Education is an important area of action for IoT. According to Jeanne BeliveauDunn, VP and General Manager, Cisco, there is an urgent need to re-skill and overhaul the education system of people involved in networking.

The US networking giant also announced the expansion of its fog computing strategy along with the second phase of its IOx platform for industrial scale Internet of things deployment at the Internet of Things World Forum.

VC Funds To Invest Over $1.6 Billion In Internet of Things In 2014

According to Cisco, a networking solutions giant, more and more Venture Capital firms are expected to invest in Internet of things (IoT) technologies this year. The expected investment can be more than $ 1.6 billion. The IoT market has been successful in improving the quality of people’s lives connecting more and more devices to the Internet.

The US based firm added that more than 13.69 billion devices have been connected through Internet so far. “10.69 billion Things were connected till Oct 2013, which has gone up to 13.69 billion in October 2014”, said Wim Elfrink, Chief Globalization officer, Cisco at the Internet of Things World Forum. The figure is expected to reach 50 billion by 2020.

According to the present figures, 37 percent of IoT consumers are industrial consumers and this figure is expected to cross the 50 percent mark in the next three years.

Elfrink also added that the IoT investment is expected to exceed $ 1.6 billion mark this year.

The Internet of things space is booming like never before as more and more devices are getting through the internet. This has in return led to the consumers expecting for more intelligence from these connected devices, infrastructure and equipment.

More and more startups are coming up to cash upon the booming market of IoT. This has led to the number of startups increase from just 13 last year to a whopping 189 this year. The IoT has provided jobs to about 300,000 people so far.

Cisco, a networking solutions giant, has about 250 happy public customers with thousands of connected devices deployed round the globe. According to Elfrink, more and more connectivity has led to an increase in the concern about education and security.

Education is an important area of action for IoT. According to Jeanne BeliveauDunn, VP and General Manager, Cisco, there is an urgent need to re-skill and overhaul the education system of people involved in networking.

The US networking giant also announced the expansion of its fog computing strategy along with the second phase of its IOx platform for industrial scale Internet of things deployment at the Internet of Things World Forum.