Kalaari Announces Closing of its $150M Fund; Vani Kola, Kumar Shiralagi and Rajesh Raju On Advisory Board

Friday September 28, 2012 , 3 min Read

Kalaari Capital today announced closing of its $150 M fund, Kalaari Capital Partners II, LLC. Kalaari Capital Partners II is a venture capital fund with its advisory team based in Bangalore investing in early-stage, technology-oriented companies in India. The India advisory team consists of **Vani Kola and Kumar Shiralagi**, the continuing Managing Directors from IndoUS Advisors (IUVP), and **Rajesh Raju**. The team, with deep roots in India and a pedigree of Silicon Valley success, is passionate about investing in entrepreneurs who are poised to be tomorrow’s global leaders. The advisory team has advised investments in over 35 companies since 2006 and continues to seek companies that are capturing new markets, providing innovative solutions and creating new wealth for India and beyond.

Since 2006, Kumar Shiralagi, Vani Kola and Rajesh Raju have been involved with many marquee companies such as Snapdeal, VIA, Attero, Microqual, Myntra, Medplus, Vsoft, and Apalya among others. Many of these companies have achieved significant scale in the period after investment and are set for successful exits in the coming years. Speaking about the interest from LPs in the Indian venture capital space, Vani Kola, Managing Director said, “The successful closure of the fund despite the current economic environment is a testament to the quality of our portfolio to date as well as the continuing conviction of LPs in our team”. Commenting on Kalaari’s investment strategy, Kumar Shiralagi, Managing Director said, “We continue to strongly believe in the potential of early stage investing in India and will remain focused on early stage investments across a wide spectrum of sectors that capture the India growth story." Rajesh Raju, Managing Director added, “At Kalaari, we want to carry forward our culture of being highly entrepreneur centric and working constantly towards nurturing great ideas into successful companies.”

Kalaari advises on investments in companies in the early stages of growth, with Series A and Series B funding. This initial capital is primarily utilized for customer acquisition, market validation, product development and hiring. Most investments are in companies that are less than three years old, have received little or no prior institutional funding, and require capital in the range of $1M to $5M. Kalaari’s key criteria for an investment are an innovative business model, market leadership, market size, product advantage, domain expertise, management characteristics and an entrepreneurial spirit. The advisory team focuses on technology-savvy companies in the following rapid-growth areas: Software Products & Services, E-commerce, Mobile & Telecom Services, Education, Healthcare, Media and Clean Tech. Kalaari Capital Partners II has already made several investments in companies including Hands Free Networks, Lapis, Magzter, Mettl, Simplilearn, Urban Ladder, Vyome, Zivame and is actively considering various other investment opportunities.

Website: Kalaari

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