CDC commits US$10 million to leading Indian VC Chiratae Ventures

CDC Group, the UK’s publicly owned impact investor, has committed US$10 million to Chiratae Ventures’ Fund IV to support the growth of highly scalable, tech-enabled companies in India. 

Chiratae Ventures India Advisors has established itself as India’s leading homegrown technology venture capital funds advisory firm since it was founded in 2006, having advised four funds in their investments in over 85 start-ups and delivered over 35 exit transactions. The firm targets companies whose technologically disruptive solutions and scale-up potential can reach large parts of the Indian population, helping to increase economic opportunities and market participation for the next 400 million Indian consumers, employees, and suppliers.

Chiratae’s investments will create large-scale employment for underserved groups and increase the availability, affordability and accessibility of goods and services. Funds advised by Chiratae have backed market-leading companies in India, including Flipkart, Cure.Fit, FirstCry, Bounce,  Myntra(acquired by Flipkart), Lenskart, ForusHealth, Uniphore, PlaySimple, HealthifyMe, Agrostar, Cropin, Manthan, NewGen (NSE: NEWGEN) and PolicyBazaar, and will focus primarily on early stage investments but have the flexibility to invest at seed and expansion stages, backing companies in Deep-tech, consumer media and tech, software, fintech and health tech.

CDC’s commitment falls under its South Asia Venture Scale-up programme, which aims to invest in early-stage companies that leverage technology and innovative business models to achieve transformational impact at scale. Our strategy is aligned to partnering with funds and their investees that harness technology to deliver a high number of goods and services at reduced costs for regional populations that lack access and are often excluded from the market. 

Sudhir Sethi, Founder and Chairman, Chiratae Ventures, noted: “CDC’s commitment to Chiratae Ventures’ Fund IV is a show of confidence in India’s innovative ecosystem as well as the Chiratae team and track record of superior returns and exits year after year. We look forward to working closely with our new partner to invest in technology differentiated companies solving for challenges faced by India using technology as a disruptor, enabling them to scale in India and go global.”

Srini Nagarajan, Managing Director and Head of Asia, said: “I am delighted to announce CDC’s first commitment to Chiratae, one of India’s top venture capital firms. This investment will help generate tangible impact at scale by capitalising on the country’s world-class entrepreneurial potential.Committing to Chiratae is part of our strategy to back tech-enabled businesses that have the potential to address development challenges in sectors such as food & agriculture, healthcare and education to reduce costs, improve market access and economic participation. We look forward to this partnership with Chiratae.”