Lightspeed seeks $250M for new India fund focused on early AI startups

In short: Lightspeed is aiming to raise $250 million for a new fund to invest in early-stage AI startups in India and Southeast Asia.

What happened

Lightspeed, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm (an investor that funds young companies), is raising a new India-focused fund called Lightspeed India Partners V. The target size is $250 million.

According to a letter to investors seen by TechCrunch, the fund has already secured commitments for about 80% of that target. Lightspeed plans to start investing from the new fund within two months. Until then, it will keep making its last investments from its current fund.

This new fund is smaller than Lightspeed’s previous India and Southeast Asia fund, which raised $500 million in 2022. The letter says Lightspeed is designing the new fund around a shorter investing window of about two and a half years. It also says the smaller size is meant to match the firm’s current pace of investing and to help it raise its next fund sooner.

Lightspeed is also changing its timing. For the first time, it plans to align the fundraising schedule for its India funds with its global funds, meaning it will try to raise them on the same rhythm (like syncing calendars across teams).

Why it matters

More money aimed at early-stage AI companies can shape what gets built in India, from customer service tools to software for businesses. It also signals that big investors still see room for growth in AI in India, even though the country has attracted less AI funding than the US and China.

Source: TechCrunch AI