Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

San Francisco-based IDG Ventures founded in 1996 is a global family of venture funds with around $3.6 billion under management. It ventured into the Indian market with the formation of IDG Ventures India.

IDG Ventures India, an early and growth stage investment fund was founded by Sudhir Sethi, along with TCM Sundaram in 2006 with its headquarter in Bengaluru. It now has vast portfolio majorly focused on sectors including consumer media & technology, healthtech, SaaS, and fintech.

Here is a list of top 10 investments by IDG Ventures in India:

  1. Manthan: This SaaS-based intelligent solutions provider for businesses was among the very first investments by the firm in early 2007. Bengaluru-based Manthan was founded by Atul Jalan in 2003. It raised $5 million in series A funding with an investment from IDG Ventures India. The firm has since exited the company in 2014, but Manthan is still a market leader in retail analytics product.
  2. Myntra: India’s leading fashion e-commerce was discovered by IDG Ventures early in 2008 and led a $5 million series A funding round. Myntra has since grown into a leader in its own space. IDG Ventures has exited from Myntra as well.
  3. Lenskart: India’s leading marketplace for eyewear Lenskart, was founded by Atul Chaudhary in 2010 with its headquarter in Faridabad. It had raised $4 million in series A funding with a participation from IDG Ventures. The startup aims to empower Indian with high-quality designer glasses and has been successful in reaching a wide audience as it continues to grow. The firm has made a successful exit from Lenskart as well.
  4. FirstCry: Asia’s largest online shopping store for kids and baby products, FirstCry, was founded by Amitava Saha and Supam Maheshwari in 2010. It landed its first investment from IDG Ventures in 2012 when it led a $14 million series B funding. FirstCry now provides its customers with over 2 lakh baby products from more than thousand trusted Indian and international brands.
  5. NestAway: Bengaluru-based home rental startup NestAway was founded by Amarendra Sahu, Deepak Dhar, Jitendra Jagadev, and Smruti Parida in 2015. IDG Ventures was one of the early investors in the startup, having participated in its seed funding round that raised $1.2 million in 2015. Home rental is a competitive domain as many startups are looking to establish themselves. NestAway has maintained a strong presence while it competes with the likes of Zolo, NoBroker, ZiffyHomes among others.
  6. Tripoto: It is a consumer internet company focused on enhancing travel experiences for its users. New Delhi-based Tripoto was founded by Anirudh Gupta and Michael Pargal Lyngdoh in 2014. IDG Ventures has been an early investor in the startup since leading its seed funding round that raised $500,000 in 2015.
  7. Yatra: An online travel company Yatra, was founded by Dhruv Shringi, Manish Amin, and Sabina Chopra in 2006 with its headquarter in Gurugram. IDG Ventures found this company a little later in its journey, as compared to its other finds. Yatra first secured funds from IDG in 2015 in its series F round raising $23 million. It competes with the Indian giant MakeMyTrip in the online travel domain.
  8. XpressBees: An e-commerce logistics provider XpressBees was founded Amitava Saha and Supam Maheshwari in 2015 with its headquarter in Pune. IDG Ventures saw its potential early on and has been investing in the startup since its seed funding round in 2015 that raised $5 million.
  9. Curefit: Indian health and fitness startup Curefit was founded in 2016 by Aman Rathi, Ankit Nagori, and Mukesh Bansal. It first received investment from the firm in its series B round that raised $25 million in 2017.
  10. PolicyBazaar: IDG Ventures was a late investor in India’s leading insurance aggregator PolicyBazaar. PolicyBazaar has been around for a decade, raising funds from some of the leading investors but IDG discovered this gem in 2017 when it participated in its series E funding round that raised $77 million.

By Varun

Startups | Books | Ideas

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