#Avnish Bajaj

[pebblegalaxy]

The Bazee.com Legal Battle: Intermediary Liability, Online Platforms, and Free Speech

The Bazee.com Controversy: Avnish Bajaj’s Arrest and the Freedom of Online Marketplaces In the early 2000s, the world witnessed the rapid growth of e-commerce and online marketplaces. One such platform, Bazee.com, later known as eBay.in, became a household name in India. However, the company and its CEO, Avnish Bajaj, found themselves embroiled in a highly controversial legal battle that raised…

[inventivaindia]

New Third India Fund of Matrix Partners Raises $300 million

New Third India Fund of Matrix Partners Raises $300 million

Home startups

  Matrix Partners India III, which is the new fund of Matrix Partners India, is understood to have raised $300 million (~ Rs 2,100 crore), according to a ‘Form D’ filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dated August 14. Form D is used to file a notice of an exempt offering of securities with the SEC. It is a brief notice that includes basic information about the…

[nikunjjain0223]

Co-founder Nikunj Jain Of Frankly

Frankly helps connect people with public figures. We asked co-founder Nikunj Jain if Twitter doesn't already do that to an extent? "Yes, but we want to focus on meaningful conversations. Celebrities have profiles on Frankly and people can ask questions and the celebrity has it all in one place to answer," says Nikunj. Based out of Delhi, Frankly has raised $600k from Matrix Partners to further develop the product and take it to more users. Frankly's team strength stands at 15.

Frankly is a place where you ask and they answer in video selfies.

Frankly is supposed to be for conversations that have never taken place. Be it politicians, authors, singers, directors, social activists, actors, sportsmen, IAS officers or even entrepreneurs, Frankly wants to bring them on the platform.

The back story

Nikunj Jain, the co-founder of Frankly used to run InoXapps, a mobile app development company which was partly sold last year. Nikunj exited from the company and started up again with the new idea- Frankly. While with InoXapps, Nikunj tells us that the company had acquired Zumbl which was a Secret like product being built from India.

One of the co-founder of Zumbl, Abhishek Gupta found synergies with Nikunj and the duo then started work on Frankly. Currently available on Android, Frankly has a friendly UI and I found the experience intuitive. Logging in, a user gets to see his or her feed where questions and answers are streamed and a discovery tab which allows a user to search for public figures and ask questions. One also makes their own selfie video profile.

25k registered of Frankly

Frankly is currently in beta with around 25k registered users and Nikunj tells us that this number is growing at about 1500 users per day. Over 85 public figures are on the platform as of now including the likes of Arvind Kejriwal and Yogendra Yadav, in the field of politics, Kunal Bahl, Naveen Tiwari and Avnish Bajaj when it comes to entrepreneurship in India, some popular DJs. "We were in talks with Arvind Kejriwal and he absolutely loved the platform. Many of the politicians are already on the platform. Once this happened, we started getting calls from other parties and you'd soon see them on the platform," says Nikunj.

Frankly has got a good start and once celebrities from Bollywood and Cricket start becoming active on the platform, the growth can skyrocket. Frankly also has a similarity with Quora and might have lessons to learn from there but it has adjusted well to the Indian market with a mobile first and video approach. Talking about the product roadmap, Nikunj adds, "We want to study user behavior closely, and keep polishing the product at the same time and keep onboarding public figures of different backgrounds and languages."

[naavi9]

Closure of Bazee.com case: Sharat Digumati gets relief amidst Intriguing precedents created

Closure of Bazee.com case: Sharat Digumati gets relief amidst Intriguing precedents created

The Bazee.com case which was one of the earliest criminal prosecutions to be launched under Information Technology Act 2000 appears to have finally completed its journey with the quashing of criminal prosecution against Mr Sharat Babu Digumati. This case was filed in 2004 and lingered on in different courts until this current judgement on December 2016 seems to have brought a closure.

For some…

[hareeshphotography]

looking to start an ecommerce business in India? read more to find more tips and uses of starting an ecommerce business in India

[un-enfant-immature]

Flipkart co-founder and other top names join AngelList’s first investment syndicate in India

A little over a year after it introduced Syndicates to the India market, AngelList — the U.S. service that helps connect companies with investors — is rolling out its own fund in the country with the backing of some stellar names.

Dubbed ‘The Collective,’ the syndicate includes money from Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal — Flipkart, of course, sold a majority stake to Walmart for $16 billion last year — and VCs Salil Deshpande of Bain Capital Ventures, Matrix India trio Avnish Bajaj, Tarun Davda and Vikram Vaidyanathan, Navroz Udwadia from Falcon Edge Capital and Rahul Mehta of DST Global. There’s also involvement from funds that include Kalaari Capital, FJ Labs and Beenext.

The Collective will be managed through an investment committee that is Utsav Somani, a partner with AngelList who launched the service in India, former 500 Startups India partner Pankaj Jain and Nipun Mehra, who has worked with Sequoia Capital, Flipkart and payment startup Pine Labs.

The size of the fund is undisclosed, but Somani told TechCrunch it will likely back 60-80 companies over the next 12-18 months. Syndicates interested in engaging The Collective can draw up to $150,000 per deal, according to an AngelList India announcement.

“The fund will exclusively deploy on AngelList India. This is to give more power to the most active GP base we have through our syndicate leads,” Somani explained.

Utsav Somani launched AngelList’s syndicates product in India last year and he will now look after the company’s first managed fund in the country

More generally, he said that the first year of Syndicates in India has seen more than $5 million deployed across more than 50 publicly announced investments, including deals with BharatPe, HalaPlay, Yulu Bikes and Open Bank. Six of those startups have already raised follow-on capital. Somani said AngelList India Syndicates have invested alongside well-known funds that include Sequoia Capital India, Matrix Partners India, Omidyar Network, Blume Ventures and Beenext.

To date, AngelList has helped deploy some $1.09 billion to over 3,100 startups, according to its website. The company claims its portfolio has raised close to $9 billion in follow-on funding. AngelList is primarily focused on the U.S. market, but India is fast becoming a majority priority. Like the U.S., the Indian service is open only to accredited investors so it isn’t a crowdfunding service.

[blogkarinhensel]

How Avnish Bajaj Carried His Legacy of Entrepreneurship into Venture Funding

When an investor has walked the path as an entrepreneur, he is bound to understand and empathize with the founders. Avnish Bajaj co–founded … Provide it by The Funding World for Entrepreneurs

from How Avnish Bajaj Carried His Legacy of Entrepreneurship into Venture Funding

[sheilacwall]

DIVINE – Kohinoor | Official Music Video

Stream Now: https://UMGI.lnk.to/KohinoorDIVINE

Diamond in the rough, the voice of the streets ‘KOHINOOR’ is here! From the gullies to the world, the wordsmith from Mumbai, DIVINE is back with the first single from his much-awaited, upcoming debut album.

#DIVINE #KohinoorAaGaya #GullyGang

Song: Kohinoor Artist: DIVINE Lyrics: DIVINE Composers: iLL Wayno, DIVINE Music Producer: iLL Wayno Mixing & Mastering: Charles Wakeman

Video Credits: Produced by: Gully Gang Entertainment Directed By: Panini Pandey, Joel D’Souza and DIVINE Cinematographer: Pratik Shah Editors: Joel D’souza, Panini Pandey Line Producer: Malcolm Noronha First AD: Kshipra Jain Second AD: Toshali Das Third AD: Nararyan Solanki Cast Asst. Director: Shadab Shaikh Line Producer: Malcom Noronha Production Manager: Gurdeep Singh Chadda, Ryan Quardos Gaffer: Kamlesh Sadrani 1st AC: Siddharth Dutta 2nd AC: Qurran Jaiswal Focus Puller: Rohit Yadav Key Grip: Carlton – Zoo Grips Steady Cam: Harru Bhui BTS: Mohit Mukhi, Chandan Pun Make-up Stylist: Karla De Gray Hair Stylist: Adil Ansari Costume Stylist: Neha Bajaj Costume Stylist Asst: Swati Pandey Location Manager: White Board Head Spot: Kamlesh Mishra Finance: Vanessa Rebello DIT: Avnish Rai Colorist: Jayadev Tiruveaipati

Lyrics: Check

Haa!

Cement se nikla gulaab, aitihasik kitaab Har hal ka jawaab sach hue mere khwaab Wafadaar, khabardaar, hoshiyaar Gully Gang sabse hard parivar Koi masle mein atke fir sab zimmedaar Kha asli mein fatke phir sab tadipaar Gin chun ke hain dost baki saanpo ko kataar Jab tak photo pe na haar tab tak grind kare shine kare Jo karna kar tere mind par hai Chote zara line par re Zabardasti ka josh Chod ye nakli tu beef tu asli mein ghosht, Tu khana mera dost Yahan nakli hai famous kya zamana mera dost Chal maachis yeh hai poora poora jwala mera dost Tu paltu mere gaano ne pala mera dost Lawa lawa Spit game proper Boys from the naka 59 Eastside hum Andheri ke Mere fans Royal Opera se Gaiety pe Julius Bagga aur JD hai Mere college wale dost MC Sher, Moen, Murad – Sab solid mere dost Ration card wale shooter matlab foreign wale dost Matlab ek call pe seedha seedha aanewale dost 3 Ali baba aur challis mere dost Koiley mein heera ka basera, tedi wali soch Suraj chand apne favour mein gedhiyan lagare Asal zindagi mein tough, sirf video mein naa re Great Khali hai rappers sirf video mein ye hard hai Shot seedha sarpe isko desi toh pila re Chakne mein chicken nahi yahan kaerian khilathe Pepsi pe bade hue, jo thailiyon mein aathe Saathvi se saath dost ab bhi mere saath hai Abhi bhi karte punya, abhi bhi karte paap hai Kuch nahi tha Ab chaar din baad sab kuch dekha Mai har jagah book – Bhagwat Gita Suroor wala maal, nahi peeta seesha Mat bhool na chote tune kisse seeekha DIVINE 59 Bhai bhai Hi bye Opposite se ghost karnar me nahi MH tikkat ambat flow Savra changla bro Bangda fry Tikkat ambat ho Coast wale log Boss wale code Bachkaane chhod Raastein mein aaye fatka ke chhod Rap ka Kishore Bhai ka na tod Kiska na load One, Two ka Four Nahi nahi one, two ka Crore Haan!

Kohinoor Kohinoor Kohinoor! Kabhi jhuke na, kabhi rukhe na Gang ab bhi wahi, kabhi toote na

Influencer model wo kabhi na mere saath Bottle seedha sir pe, Safeena mere saath Iss jungle ka tu Mowgli, Akhila meri khaas Ha kamar tod rap tu Shakira jaise naach Yeh hai kalam tod rap Palanng tod rap Teri lambi gaadi ke andar tu kabar khod rap Pariwaar pehle baaki check karle facts Asal gaane spit karke laaya underground mei paisa Paisa sabko mil raha bataya maine kaisa Industry ko laya maine underground mein Industry bana ab ye underground hai Bohot zyaada farak tere mere sound mein Tu hai sound chor, mera apna khud ka sound hai Aasman mein chaati meri Maaji proud hai Dabbey mein tha paisa ab teen bank account hai Haan mehnat ka hai chote yeh toh pehla round hai Haaaa

Kohinoor Kohihoor Kohinoor Kabhi kate na Abhi machega Abhi fatega Abhi suneka

Hard Hard Hard Hard Hard Hard

Bop bop bop

Gully Gang, boy!

Follow DIVINE: Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/viviandivineindia/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Vivianakadivine/ Twitter : https://twitter.com/VivianDivine

Follow Mass Appeal India on: Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/massappealindia/ Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/massappealindia/ Twitter – https://twitter.com/massappealindia

If you are a hip hop artist or rapper, please send your original unreleased song demos to AandRindia@umusic.com source

The post DIVINE – Kohinoor | Official Music Video appeared first on Hip Hop World Music.

from Hip Hop World Music https://hiphopworldmusic.com/divine-kohinoor-official-music-video/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=divine-kohinoor-official-music-video from Hip Hop World Music https://hiphopworldmusic.tumblr.com/post/188629940738

[besthomeworkhelp]

A Legal Case

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI Avnish Bajaj v State (N.C.T.) of Delhi (2005) 3 Comp LJ 364 (Del) The accused is the CEO of Baaze.com, […]

The post A Legal Case was published on Writers Guild Help.

[inventivaindia]

Our job is to continue to invest in cycles, says Avnish Bajaj on coronavirus impact

In these past few weeks, coronavirus has impacted several lives across the globe. In India, the number of cases has crossed 700, and the country is under a nationwide lockdown for 21 days. While social distancing will play a key role in helping curb further spread of the virus, the impact of COVID-19 can be seen across industries. 

In this episode of #MatrixMoments, Avnish Bajaj, Founder and…

[abhishekrungta]

RT @avnish: All 3Vs of a “bubble” at play in the tech investing world - Volume (number of investments), Value (valuations vs. fundamentals) & Velocity (time to an investment decision and/or mark ups between rounds) “Don’t be caught swimming naked when the tide goes out” - Warren Buffett

All 3Vs of a “bubble” at play in the tech investing world - Volume (number of investments), Value (valuations vs. fundamentals) & Velocity (time to an investment decision and/or mark ups between rounds) “Don’t be caught swimming naked when the tide goes out” - Warren Buffett

— Avnish Bajaj (@avnish) September 14, 2019

via Twitter https://twitter.com/abhishekrungta September 14, 2019 at 04:46PM

[toomanysinks]

Flipkart co-founder and other top names join AngelList’s first investment syndicate in India

A little over a year after it introduced Syndicates to the India market, AngelList — the U.S. service that helps connect companies with investors — is rolling out its own fund in the country with the backing of some stellar names.

Dubbed ‘The Collective,’ the syndicate includes money from Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal — Flipkart, of course, sold a majority stake to Walmart for $16 billion last year — and VCs Salil Deshpande of Bain Capital Ventures, Matrix India trio Avnish Bajaj, Tarun Davda and Vikram Vaidyanathan, Navroz Udwadia from Falcon Edge Capital and Rahul Mehta of DST Global. There’s also involvement from funds that include Kalaari Capital, FJ Labs and Beenext.

The Collective will be managed through an investment committee that is Utsav Somani, a partner with AngelList who launched the service in India, former 500 Startups India partner Pankaj Jain and Nipun Mehra, who has worked with Sequoia Capital, Flipkart and payment startup Pine Labs.

The size of the fund is undisclosed, but Somani told TechCrunch it will likely back 60-80 companies over the next 12-18 months. Syndicates interested in engaging The Collective can draw up to $150,000 per deal, according to an AngelList India announcement.

“The fund will exclusively deploy on AngelList India. This is to give more power to the most active GP base we have through our syndicate leads,” Somani explained.

Utsav Somani launched AngelList’s syndicates product in India last year and he will now look after the company’s first managed fund in the country

More generally, he said that the first year of Syndicates in India has seen more than $5 million deployed across more than 50 publicly announced investments, including deals with BharatPe, HalaPlay, Yulu Bikes and Open Bank. Six of those startups have already raised follow-on capital. Somani said AngelList India Syndicates have invested alongside well-known funds that include Sequoia Capital India, Matrix Partners India, Omidyar Network, Blume Ventures and Beenext.

To date, AngelList has helped deploy some $1.09 billion to over 3,100 startups, according to its website. The company claims its portfolio has raised close to $9 billion in follow-on funding. AngelList is primarily focused on the U.S. market, but India is fast becoming a majority priority. Like the U.S., the Indian service is open only to accredited investors so it isn’t a crowdfunding service.

source https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/01/angellist-list-india-investment-syndicate/

[fmservers]

Flipkart co-founder and other top names join AngelList’s first investment syndicate in India

A little over a year after it introduced Syndicates to the India market, AngelList — the U.S. service that helps connect companies with investors — is rolling out its own fund in the country with the backing of some stellar names.

Dubbed ‘The Collective,’ the syndicate includes money from Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal — Flipkart, of course, sold a majority stake to Walmart for $16 billion last year — and VCs Salil Deshpande of Bain Capital Ventures, Matrix India trio Avnish Bajaj, Tarun Davda and Vikram Vaidyanathan, Navroz Udwadia from Falcon Edge Capital and Rahul Mehta of DST Global. There’s also involvement from funds that include Kalaari Capital, FJ Labs and Beenext.

The Collective will be managed through an investment committee that is Utsav Somani, a partner with AngelList who launched the service in India, former 500 Startups India partner Pankaj Jain and Nipun Mehra, who has worked with Sequoia Capital, Flipkart and payment startup Pine Labs.

The size of the fund is undisclosed, but Somani told TechCrunch it will likely back 60-80 companies over the next 12-18 months. Syndicates interested in engaging The Collective can draw up to $150,000 per deal, according to an AngelList India announcement.

“The fund will exclusively deploy on AngelList India. This is to give more power to the most active GP base we have through our syndicate leads,” Somani explained.

Utsav Somani launched AngelList’s syndicates product in India last year and he will now look after the company’s first managed fund in the country

More generally, he said that the first year of Syndicates in India has seen more than $5 million deployed across more than 50 publicly announced investments, including deals with BharatPe, HalaPlay, Yulu Bikes and Open Bank. Six of those startups have already raised follow-on capital. Somani said AngelList India Syndicates have invested alongside well-known funds that include Sequoia Capital India, Matrix Partners India, Omidyar Network, Blume Ventures and Beenext.

To date, AngelList has helped deploy some $1.09 billion to over 3,100 startups, according to its website. The company claims its portfolio has raised close to $9 billion in follow-on funding. AngelList is primarily focused on the U.S. market, but India is fast becoming a majority priority. Like the U.S., the Indian service is open only to accredited investors so it isn’t a crowdfunding service.

Via Jon Russell https://techcrunch.com

[un-enfant-immature]

Matrix India announces new $300M fund

Matrix India, one of India’s highest-profile tech VCs, is loading up for new deals after it announced a new $300 million fund for early stage investments.

This is the third fund for the Indian firm, which is associated with U.S-based Matrix Partners. Matrix India has backed over 60 startups to date, including Uber rival Ola, ambitious medical platform Practo, popular news aggregator DailyHunt and classifieds company Quikr. The plan is to continue on that road with the new fund, which was announced today but officially closed its commitments in December, according to an SEC filing in the U.S.

Matrix India has been fairly consistent with its capital. Its debut fund was an initial $150 million that was later increased $300 million, while the follow-up in 2011 came in at $300 million before being increased by $100 million following the departure of co-founding partner Rishi Navani.

No extensions are planned for round three, Avnish Bajaj — the firm’s founder and MD in India — told TechCrunch in an interview.

Bajaj said he doesn’t have concrete plans for how the capital will be spent, but he envisages 12-14 deals per year “with more bias given to seed” over Series A and B deals.

“We will continue to do early stage,” Tarun Davda, the second of Matrix India’s three MDs — explained. “We are traditional venture capital with more focus on consumer brands.”

But that’s a very founder-led approach for Matrix, which is entirely dependent on finding startups teams it can gel with and believe in.

“We get smart enough about a trend to found out whose smarter than us and pursuing it,” Bajaj explained. But “if we find a market we like but not excited by founding team, we’ll pass.”

If on board, however, Matrix helps out on a range of areas, including hiring — it has a four-person recruitment team in house — as well as in marketing and finance, if required. Bajaj said it tries to connect portfolio founders were it sees benefits, but he freely admits that many in India’s startup ecosystem are already connected and know each other so often don’t require assistance.

Matrix India managing directors [left to right] Vikram Vaidyanathan, Avnish Bajaj (also founder) and Tarun Davda

Opportunity in India

Looking at the market now, the firm’s three managing partners see cause for optimism following 2018, a year in which Indian startup founding rebounded and the country saw a range of exits, chiefly Walmart’s massive takeover of Flipkart.

Davda said that, in particular, the growth of 4G in India — which has been driven by the developer of ‘challenger telco’ Reliance Jio — has been a “game changer” for a number of the firm’s portfolio who have seen the total addressable market for their services widen massively, while average user engagements have increased, too.

Matrix India sees the growth in internet access (and quality of access) coupled with India’s growing middle class as key development drivers for internet companies and startups in the country generally.

“The scale of companies likely to be significantly larger,” Davda said, adding that the pace of growth is increasing, too.

All of these could mean that IPO exits may be on the horizon for India startups, potentially within the next 2-3 years, Bajaj said, but already exit opportunities are appearing and they don’t all need to involve a Walmart buying a Flipkart — the $16 billion, while generating huge returns, isn’t particularly repeatable for a market.

Bajaj points to acquisitive Indian category leaders — including the likes of Ola, Paytm and others — who have reached sufficient size and have looked to other India startups to build up their businesses or expand into verticals via deals.

“That’s the real story, you are starting to see liquidity into the exits markets [as domestic] companies are reaching a certain scale,” he said. “Three years from now, we’ll see 2018 as a point of time when things changed.”

A large part of that may also be the type of founders and the nature of startups in Indian in 2019.

“Today, we are seeing guys who have been part of startup ecosystem for a while, who worked at big unicorns and got excited about problems they are seeing there, start new companies,” said Mumbai-based Vikram Vaidyanathan, the firm’s third MD. “They can hit the ground running at a much faster pace.”

Startups Weekly: VCs celebrate the new year the only way they know how

[cryptswahili]

Blockchain This Week: A VC Weighs In On Blockchain, Indian Banks Unite And More

Just about every tech executive is now considering blockchain technology and its use in their industry. Blockchain’s ability to enable secure and efficient transactions has caught the attention of both multi-national corporations and governments.

However, with blockchain, proof-of-concepts have been developed in almost every industry and increased performance and transparency. But somehow we are still to see rapid adoption of the  technology by enterprises. So what gives?

Weighing in on the slow uptake of blockchain, Matrix Partners India MD, Avnish Bajaj, opined  that while there are elements of the technology that he truly believes in, but in India its a “solution looking for a problem.”

A self-confessed ‘products person’, Bajaj said  at a discussion held at the Common Room, Delhi, that “Its (blockchain) is a platform that needs to be sold in the enterprise way. That is a very long sale cycle. I think it will play out over a long period of time.”

(Matrix Partners has an investment in a Mumbai-based blockchain company called Elemential.)

This could be one of the underlying reasons for blockchain’s slow integration into mainstream businesses. In fact according to a December, 2018 forecast by the consultancy company Capgemini, the technology will only be suitable for mass application by 2025, especially in the area of digital supply chains.

With that here are the latest developments in the blockchain world this week:

11 Big Indian Banks To Launch Blockchain-Linked Funding Network

A group of 11 big banks will reportedly launch India’s first blockchain linked funding for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), a move which may bring about a drastic change to lending practices.

A consortium called the Blockchain Infrastructure Company (BIC) is mediating this discussion between the participating banks, which include ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, RBL Bank, an ET report said.

Through this network, banks will be able to access public credit data and assess risk. It will also make the lending process transparent.

Fujitsu Tests Blockchain Solution To For Electricity-Sharing System

Japanese IT major, Fujitsu, has partnered with a power distribution company ENERES to use blockchain to make a power sharing system, through a process known as Demand Response (DR).

DR is a scheme in which electric utilities and consumers of electricity cooperate to control the amount of electricity used during periods of expected peak demand. Using a blockchain-based solution has demonstrably improved efficiencies, Fujitsu said in a press release.

Italian Postal Service Joins Hyperledger Blockchain Community

The Italian postal service provider, Poste Italiane, has joined the Hyperledger blockchain community.

Poste Italiane said in a press release that the decision to join Hyperledger is because  blockchain technology is “an effective response to the problems of security, transparency, interoperability and privacy.”

American courier delivery services giant FedEx joined hyperledger in September 2018.

Banking Service Swift Ties-up With R3

Swift, the financial messaging service for the world’s biggest banks, is partnering with blockchain start-up R3.

“We are announcing later today a proof-of-concept with the R3 blockchain on trade where you can initiate a payment on the trade platform and then it goes into GPI,” Gottfried Leibbrandt, Swift’s chief executive, said at a CNBC-moderated panel session at the Paris Fintech Forum on Wednesday.

Founded in 2014, R3 leads a consortium of major financial institutions and is aimed at bridging the gap between blockchain technology and the banking industry.

The post Blockchain This Week: A VC Weighs In On Blockchain, Indian Banks Unite And More appeared first on Inc42 Media.

[Telegram Channel | Original Article ]

[williamsjoan]

Matrix India announces new $300M fund

Matrix India, one of India’s highest-profile tech VCs, is loading up for new deals after it announced a new $300 million fund for early stage investments.

This is the third fund for the Indian firm, which is associated with U.S-based Matrix Partners. Matrix India has backed over 60 startups to date, including Uber rival Ola, ambitious medical platform Practo, popular news aggregator DailyHunt and classifieds company Quikr. The plan is to continue on that road with the new fund, which was announced today but officially closed its commitments in December, according to an SEC filing in the U.S.

Matrix India has been fairly consistent with its capital. Its debut fund was an initial $150 million that was later increased $300 million, while the follow-up in 2011 came in at $300 million before being increased by $100 million following the departure of co-founding partner Rishi Navani.

No extensions are planned for round three, Avnish Bajaj — the firm’s founder and MD in India — told TechCrunch in an interview.

Bajaj said he doesn’t have concrete plans for how the capital will be spent, but he envisages 12-14 deals per year “with more bias given to seed” over Series A and B deals.

“We will continue to do early stage,” Tarun Davda, the second of Matrix India’s three MDs — explained. “We are traditional venture capital with more focus on consumer brands.”

But that’s a very founder-led approach for Matrix, which is entirely dependent on finding startups teams it can gel with and believe in.

“We get smart enough about a trend to found out whose smarter than us and pursuing it,” Bajaj explained. But “if we find a market we like but not excited by founding team, we’ll pass.”

If on board, however, Matrix helps out on a range of areas, including hiring — it has a four-person recruitment team in house — as well as in marketing and finance, if required. Bajaj said it tries to connect portfolio founders were it sees benefits, but he freely admits that many in India’s startup ecosystem are already connected and know each other so often don’t require assistance.

Matrix India managing directors [left to right] Vikram Vaidyanathan, Avnish Bajaj (also founder) and Tarun Davda

Opportunity in India

Looking at the market now, the firm’s three managing partners see cause for optimism following 2018, a year in which Indian startup founding rebounded and the country saw a range of exits, chiefly Walmart’s massive takeover of Flipkart.

Davda said that, in particular, the growth of 4G in India — which has been driven by the developer of ‘challenger telco’ Reliance Jio — has been a “game changer” for a number of the firm’s portfolio who have seen the total addressable market for their services widen massively, while average user engagements have increased, too.

Matrix India sees the growth in internet access (and quality of access) coupled with India’s growing middle class as key development drivers for internet companies and startups in the country generally.

“The scale of companies likely to be significantly larger,” Davda said, adding that the pace of growth is increasing, too.

All of these could mean that IPO exits may be on the horizon for India startups, potentially within the next 2-3 years, Bajaj said, but already exit opportunities are appearing and they don’t all need to involve a Walmart buying a Flipkart — the $16 billion, while generating huge returns, isn’t particularly repeatable for a market.

Bajaj points to acquisitive Indian category leaders — including the likes of Ola, Paytm and others — who have reached sufficient size and have looked to other India startups to build up their businesses or expand into verticals via deals.

“That’s the real story, you are starting to see liquidity into the exits markets [as domestic] companies are reaching a certain scale,” he said. “Three years from now, we’ll see 2018 as a point of time when things changed.”

A large part of that may also be the type of founders and the nature of startups in Indian in 2019.

“Today, we are seeing guys who have been part of startup ecosystem for a while, who worked at big unicorns and got excited about problems they are seeing there, start new companies,” said Mumbai-based Vikram Vaidyanathan, the firm’s third MD. “They can hit the ground running at a much faster pace.”

Startups Weekly: VCs celebrate the new year the only way they know how

Matrix India announces new $300M fund published first on https://timloewe.tumblr.com/