With analytics and Big Data heating up in India with numerous start-ups coming up, we are bound to see aggressive investment activity in this area.
Here let us look at the most active funds that have invested in Indian analytics firms in the past.
Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital is the biggest investor in Indian Analytics firms. Its current portfolio consists of analytics bigwigs like iCreate, Mu-Sigma and SCIO Health Analytics. Also, have investment in firms with analytics as a service line including, GlobalLogic, Capillary and eClerx.
Sequoia India has been investing from three funds with a total corpus of $1.4 billion. The company typically invests around $1-20 million based on the stages of investment and sector.[i] It takes a long-term view on investments and plays the role of an active, value-added partner to entrepreneurs, business families and management teams.
In June 2011, Mu Sigma raised a $25 million third round from Sequoia Capital.[ii] In Dec 2012, Bangalore-based business analytics firm iCreate Software India Pvt. Ltd has raised Rs.50 crore in a second round of funding led by Sequoia Capital India Advisors.[iii]
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IDG Ventures Partners
IDG Ventures India is a leading India-focused technology venture capital fund. The fund is part of IDG Ventures, a global network of technology venture funds with more than US$6 billion under management, over 200 investee companies and 10 offices across Asia and North America.
IDG typically look to invest between $1 Mn to $10 Mn at early and expansion stages in technology and technology enabled ventures. In dec 2013, News and data analytics platform Heckyl Technologies raised over $3.5 million in Series B investment led by IDG Ventures India. Seedfund Advisors had previously invested $1 million in the firm.[iv]
IDG India also have investments in iCreate, Unbxd and Manthan.
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Northwest Venture Partners
Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) is a global, multi-stage investment firm that manages more than $3.7 billion in capital and has funded more than 500 companies since inception. NVP India is an advisor to NVP’s Mauritius subsidiary. For growth equity opportunities in India, NVP typically invests between $15 million and $35 million and up to $75 million in each transaction. For early and mid-stage companies in India, NVP tends to invest between $2 million and $15 million in companies with strong growth potential, proven business models and some revenue traction. [v]
In Feb 2012, Manthan Systems raised $15 million from Norwest Venture, its third round of funding. With this round of funding the total capital raised by Manthan, added up to $50 million. Earlier investors included IDG Ventures and FIL Capital Advisors, Fidelity India’s’ private equity arm.[vi] Other analytics related investment includes Capillary Technologies.
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TA Associates
TA Associates has invested in more than 425 companies around the world and has raised $18 billion in capital. Its average ticket size in India ranges between $45 million and $125 million. The Boston-headquartered private equity firm has been operating in a mid-market deal-making space in India. It leads buyouts and minority recapitalisations of profitable growth companies in the technology, financial services, business services, healthcare and consumer industries.
In June last year, Fractal Analytics raised $25 million (Rs 150 crore) in funding from TA Associates. The funding will primarily be used to fuel global expansion of the firm’s big data services and product development, and to increase the size of its sales team.[vii]
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Fidelity Growth Partners India
Fidelity Growth Partners India is the private equity arm of Fidelity focused on investing in India. In August 2012, Fidelity Growth Partners India committed to a $20 million investment in Absolutdata, a leading provider of data analytics services to global organizations.
Its other analytics investment includes Manthan Systems.
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The Hive
The Hive India, an early stage investor firm and affiliate of California-based The Hive, is anchored by the Patni family who are pioneers in the field of information technology in India. In Nov last year, Hive made its first investment in a Bangalore-based startup Flutura, which provides analytics to oil and gas majors.
The Hive is joining forces with entrepreneurs and start-ups that are seeking capital, qualified guidance and high-level mentorship. The goal is to function as equity partners rather than financial investors and participate significantly in the evolution of the enterprise.
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Interwest Partners
This month, DataRPM, a Big Data analytics startup selling business intelligence software, has secured $5.1 million in a Series A round of funding from US-based investor InterWest Partners with participation of existing investor CIT Gap Funds.[viii]
With more than 200 years of operating and investing experience, InterWest has raised $2.8 billion, completed 77 IPOs, and participated in 75 upside acquisitions.
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Seedfund Advisors
Investment in Heckyl Technologies
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General Atlantic
Among the leading private investment firm in the world, General Atlantic has investment in Mu-Sigma.
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Crystal Financial
Transaction in Global Analytics
