Bessemer Venture Partners raises $350M for second India-focused fund

Bessemer Venture Partners on Wednesday announced the close of a $350 million India-focused fund—making this its second dedicated India fund and reinforcing its long-term strategy of investing in businesses across key sectors.

The venture capital firm’s new fund will prioritise investments in artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled services, SaaS, fintech, digital health, direct-to-consumer brands, and cybersecurity.

Historically, Bessemer has supported startups in their early stages, with over 80% of its investments in India over the past five years directed toward young companies, the firm said in a statement.

Bessemer established its presence in India in 2006 and has invested in over 80 startups. The firm follows a roadmap-driven investment approach, allowing its team to build conviction in emerging industries before they gain mainstream recognition. This method helps founders navigate evolving industry landscapes with strategic insights and long-term support.

The firm’s first India-focused fund backed startups, including Boldfit, MoveInSync, Pepper Content, Shopdeck, Vetic, and Zopper. Additionally, its broader India portfolio includes BigBasket, Livspace, Perfios, Swiggy, and Urban Company. Bessemer has also seen nine IPOs within its India portfolio.

In an interview with YourStory, chief operating officer Nithin Kaimal discusses the fund’s strategy for its upcoming investments, exits, and the dynamics of Indian markets.

Edited excerpts:

YourStory [YS]: How will this fund differ from your previous ones, in terms of focus, strategy, and risk appetite?

Nithin Kaimal [NK]: We believe there is a transformative opportunity underway in India, which in turn allows us to back the visionary founders of tomorrow.

India is on track to become the third-largest economy; it has the fourth-largest market cap globally today, supported substantially by domestic savings and investments. Besides, we have a large consumer and enterprise market, and we’ll see ourselves become a $1 trillion internet economy and a $50 billion SaaS market by 2030.

These tailwinds are further aided by the unique digital infrastructure created by the government and regulators, transforming financial services and healthcare, and creating new opportunities for startups to thrive. We’re extremely optimistic about what is yet to come for the startup ecosystem.

The fund will make early-stage investments across SaaS and AI, fintech, digital health, consumer brands, and cybersecurity sectors. Fund II marks a renewed deeper commitment by Bessemer to continue backing category-defining Indian founders from inception to scale.

We are long-term, patient partners to founders—we partner with them at the earliest stages (seed onwards - in fact, 80% of our investments in the past five years were Series A cheques or earlier) and continue to back them as they scale and grow.

YS: What AI segments and sub-segments is Bessemer focusing on for investments? How do you assess differentiation in AI startups?

NK: We see AI opportunities emerging across four key categories. The foundational layer involves building AI models, such as Anthropic (BVP’s global portfolio), OpenAI, Claude, and Cohere. India can develop capital-efficient language models, especially with GPU access improving through the IndiaAI mission.

The infrastructure layer enables companies to harness foundational AI models. Startups like Qwak, Vapi, Infino, and Voxel help enterprises integrate AI and ML Ops seamlessly into their workflows. The application layer focuses on AI-driven solutions for specific industries.

Our portfolio company, Leena AI, automates enterprise ticketing, increasing efficiency. We see significant potential in vertical AI-tailored solutions for sectors like fintech and healthcare.

Lastly, the AI+ services layer leverages India’s deep talent pool and service-driven economy. AI-powered BPOs and KPOs will transform outsourcing, shifting from FTE-based pricing to AI-driven outcome-based models. Our portfolio company, PepperContent, exemplifies this shift by blending AI with human expertise to enhance content marketing services.

YS: Is there a specific revenue or growth threshold that makes a company attractive to you?

NK: There isn’t; we are on the lookout for companies that demonstrate strong product-market fit, sustainable unit economics, and rapid growth. While we partner with founders at all stages, we prefer partnering at the earliest stages (seed and Series A) and continue supporting them as they scale.

That said, we’re multi-stage investors—we don't want the stage to be a constraint if we find a great business aligned with our roadmaps. We can write a $1 million cheque or a $30 million cheque, and we can scale even more by using our global funds.

YS: Do you see more potential in premium/D2C brands or mass-market FMCG challengers?

NK: Consumer brands continue to be a core focus area for us. The opportunity is driven by catering to evolving consumer behaviour and cuts across segments as is shown by two of our recent investments—Boldfit and Vetic.

Boldfit is a fitness brand that builds on people’s desire to lead healthier, more active lives. Vetic caters to those who consider pets their family and believe their pet deserves the same degree of medical care as any family member.

YS: Given the market conditions, is Bessemer focusing more on profitability than growth compared to earlier funds?

NK: Our focus is independent of market conditions because what makes a robust, enduring company remains the same irrespective of what is happening externally— - strong product-market fit, sustainable unit economics, and rapid growth.

YS: Can you provide some details on the previous fund’s performance? How has your investment strategy evolved?

NK: We are excited by founders and companies we’ve backed with Fund I across categories like SaaS and AI (MoveInSync, Shopdedeck, Pepper Content, Zenskar) fintech (Lentra, Zopper), consumer brands (Boldfit, Vetic), and healthcare.

Our investments from our first fund are an exciting portfolio of early-stage companies that we continue to support beyond our initial investment as they build enduring companies. As for the fund’s performance, these aren’t specifics we can share.

YS: What’s your view on liquidity events in India? —Are IPOs becoming more viable, or is the focus still on strategic M&A exits?

NK: India is one of the most active IPO markets in Asia, and we believe that disruptive/ unique technology-driven businesses will attract strong interest from public market investors. The IPO of one of our portfolio companies Medi Assist ((the first health benefits administrator to list in Asia) is a good example of this.

The overall trend indicates a maturing public market, increasingly receptive to well-governed, fundamentally strong businesses. It is a healthy evolution, leading to many more PE/VC-backed companies listing in the public markets.

YS: With India’s evolving digital infrastructure, do you see new opportunities emerging?

NK: Fintech remains one of the most dynamic sectors, with India’s digital payments market expected to double to $7 trillion by 2030. Government-backed initiatives such as UPI, ONDC, and the Account Aggregator framework are fostering deeper financial inclusion and enabling new business models in embedded finance, lending infrastructure, and wealth management.

Some of the most exciting models we have seen are in payments, cybersecurity, hyper-personalisation of banking, and innovations in insurance products, and we’re optimistic about getting more built in the future.

YS: Are there sectors where you think India is still underserved, in terms of capital allocation?

NK: We prefer thinking about capital allocation in terms of sectors where the greatest potential for disruption exists—SaaS and AI, fintech, digital health, consumer brands, and cybersecurity. on Wednesday announced the close of a $350 million India-focused fund—making this its second dedicated India fund and reinforcing its long-term strategy of investing in businesses across key sectors.