RTP Global, a global venture capital firm, on Wednesday said it has launched a new fund with a corpus of $1 billion to invest in startups across North America, Europe, India, and Southeast Asia.
The firm said it will deploy funds across sectors including AI/ML, enterprise software, fintech, e-commerce, and edtech. Out of the $1 billion, $660 million will be used to fund RTP Global’s early-stage investment strategy and $340 million to provide follow-up capital to its existing portfolio companies. The $1-billion fund represents an increase of more than 50% over RTP Global’s previous fund – RTP III – which closed in 2020 at $650 million.
Some of the firm’s portfolio companies in India and Southeast Asia include agritech startup DeHaat; Cred, a rewards-based credit card payment app; healthtech startup Practo; edtech firm Classplus; and food delivery firm Rebel Foods. To date, RTP Global claims to have invested in over 110 startups with one in 10 becoming multi-billion-dollar businesses.
Galina Chifina, investment partner at RTP Global in Asia, said, “India and Southeast Asia are vibrant with entrepreneurial opportunities, and we are actively exploring innovative ideas and potential partnerships that align with our vision, specifically focusing on seed and Series A investments.”
RTP Global was formerly known as ru-Net and was a Russian Internet-focused early-stage investment and venture capital firm. However, in 2019, the firm rebranded itself to RTP Global to highlight its transformation into a globally-focused VC firm. Its website now says it does not invest in Russia. It has presence in New York, Bangalore, Dubai, London, and Paris.
Some of RTP Global’s investments also went on to do IPOs, such as cloud monitoring service Datadog, which had an IPO in 2019; food delivery major Delivery Hero (IPO in 2017); enterprise cloud communications solutions provider RingCentral (IPO in 2013); and Russian search giant Yandex whose IPO was in 2011.
RTP Global’s fund announcement also comes as many small and large VC firms such as Chiratae, Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed, Elevation Capital, Accel, and Matrix have raised India-dedicated funds in the past year, highlighting global investors’ increasing bet on the country’s startup ecosystem.
On Tuesday, homegrown venture fund Arkam Ventures launched its second fund with a target of $180 million to invest in 20 startups in Series A to B stages. Last month, 3one4 Capital raised $200 million for its fourth fund to back startups in sectors including consumer Internet, SaaS, and fintech.
Previously, Myntra and Lenskart backer Chiratae Ventures hit the final close of its ‘Growth Fund I’ at $122 million. In February, Iron Pillar, a venture growth investor that backs technology companies in India, was reported to have raised at least $128.83 million for its second fund so far.