Latest news with #BeyondNextVentures
Mint
7 days ago
- Business
- Mint
As Southeast Asia disappoints, Japanese VCs turn to India for startup returns
BeyondNext Ventures, Enrission India Capital, Incubate Fund Asia and Genesia Ventures are among a handful of Japanese venture capital (VC) firms that are exploring India more aggressively as their investments back home and in southeast Asia fail to produce spectacular exits. The development is at a nascent stage, with most Japanese VCs continuing to sit on the fence, even as the ones that invest in India are keeping fund sizes as well as cheque amounts small. But Japanese VCs said India is increasingly coming on their radar. 'Japanese investors are realising that the southeast Asian market is a difficult market and India is an emerging market open for everyone," Nao Murakami, founder and general partner at Incubate Fund Asia and partner, investments at SMBC Asia Rising Fund told Mint in an interview. 'On top of that, the country's IPO market is booming." Last year, Incubate Fund Asia closed a $30-million fund with 80% of the capital going towards Indian startups. The firm has previously invested in startups such as Captain Fresh, Yulu, ShopKirana (which was recently acquired by Udaan) and Plum. This year, the company will begin raising its largest fund towards the end of the year, a $75-100 million fund with a focus on India, according to Murakami. Why India In the first half of 2025, Indian exchanges saw 119 companies going public, collectively raising ₹ 51,150 crore (approximately $6.1 billion), according to a S&P Global Market Intelligence report. In the same time period, southeast Asia's total has been much lower–53 IPOs raising over $1.4 billion, according to a report from Deloitte. In 2024, southeast Asia's primary markets saw approximately $3 billion being raised from 122 initial public offerings (IPOs), Deloitte data showed. In comparison, the Indian market raised $19.5 billion from 268 IPOs, according to a release from the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The biggest IPO from India last year was from Hyundai Motor India, which raised $3.3 billion. In southeast Asia, the biggest IPO in 2024 was a $531-million offering from Malaysia's 99 Speed Mart Retail Holdings Berhard–the country's largest public offering in seven years. Notably, it was the only IPO from the region last year that crossed $500 million. Who's investing Some other Japanese VCs are also pushing the accelerator in India, including BeyondNext Ventures, which entered the country in 2019. 'Back then, the idea was to get a taste, get some exposure. Now, we've decided to go full hog in India," the company's partner and head of India investments, Jay Krishnan, told Mint in an earlier conversation. So far, BeyondNext has backed 14 Indian ventures, according to Krishnan, but the capital for those investments came out of its Japan funds. Now, it is in the process of raising a $50-million India-focused fund from its Japanese limited partners. (LPs are people or entities who put money in venture funds.) Another Japanese firm, Enrission India Capital, allocated the entire $120 million it raised in Japan last year, to Indian startups. 'The feedback we've received from our Japanese LPs about their market is that it doesn't give great returns," said Harsh Deodhar, principal at Enrission India Capital. 'It's like India's fixed deposit story, it's just depleting and so they're looking for options." So far, the company has made 16 investments this year. Some of Enrission's recent investments include protein synthesis startup Loopworm, cleaning robotics company Peppermint Robotics and bamboo packaging startup Bambrew. Enrission tends to provide seed and pre-seed funding from $500,000 up to $1 million. For follow-on growth investments, funding can go up to $2 million. There are others as well. University of Tokyo Edge Capital led clean energy startup Aerem's ₹100 crore (around $12 million) Series A fundraising round. SMBC Asia Rising Fund was a part of a $35 million round in mortgage-tech startup Easy last year. Similarly, automobile manufacturer Suzuki is focusing on startups in agriculture, financial inclusion, supply chain and mobility spaces after it launched its first India-focused ₹340-crore fund in July last year. The most recent fund to expand focus to India is Genesia Ventures, which focuses on pre-seed and seed investments. The company is currently raising money for its fourth fund (GV-4) and has received $22.5 million from Japan Investment Corporation (JIC) as an LP investment. With the investment, the country's sovereign wealth fund says it 'will strengthen its support for partnerships between Japanese companies and local startups, with the aim of helping Japanese companies create new businesses and expand into new markets", according to its announcement. To be sure, several other Japanese VCs are still in wait-and-watch mode, but Murakami says that might be a function of how slowly Japanese firms tend to move. 'It's still slow, but it's faster than before. It's why the SMBC Asia Rising Fund is so important because one of the largest banking groups from Japan is putting $200 million to support Indian startups." Thesis for India In terms of sectors, banking and real estate have generally been favoured by larger institutional investors coming out of Japan. However, smaller funds, which have traditionally invested in sectors like fintech, consumer, and climate tech are now looking to emerging sectors like sustainability, deeptech and semiconductors. Apart from these sectors, BeyondNext is bullish on biotech. 'India can take an IT services approach to biotech because of the industries around it like vaccines, active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing, generic pharma. All those will have second-order effects on new innovation coming up," said Krishnan. Given its ties with larger Japanese corporations, BeyondNext wants to tap those links to bring Indian startups to Japan, where they can benefit from R&D help and then take their products global and into markets like the US. Meanwhile, Enrission is fairly sector agnostic. 'We're constantly discussing with our LPs, asking them what they like, what they want to invest in. Currently, there's interest in the consumer space," said Deodhar. Loopworm and Peppermint Robotics, in which the firm made investments in the first quarter of FY26, are deeptech plays. Most of the smaller funds are entering Indian startups early, taking a larger chunk of equity, and are willing to sit on their stake until the company goes public or is acquired for a substantial sum. It's why deeptech has emerged as a new go-to sector for Japanese funds. Incubate Fund Asia has traditionally invested in fintech and consumer companies, offering cheque sizes ranging between $750,000 and $1 million. Going forward, they will target sustainability as well, according to Murakami. 'In the fourth fund, cheque sizes will be bigger. We'll probably do between $1 million and $1.5 million and then double down later," he said. For growth-stage investments for breakout companies, the Incubate Asia Fund taps SMBC's Asia Rising Fund, which is currently sized at $200 million. Through the lifecycle of the new fund, portfolio construction will remain the same, with the firm investing in 15-20 startups. This time around, they'll be setting up the fund in India itself, instead of in Japan, though the fundraise will happen from Japanese LPs. The company is currently building its thesis around deeptech, defence and semiconductors. 'Earlier people were sceptical, but people are seeing the success of companies like Pixxel and AgniKul and their ability to pivot, scale and generate value is opening up sectors," said Rajeev Ranka, partner, India investments at Incubate Fund Asia and SMBC Asia Rising Fund. 'Defence is another category where India is for the first time becoming the consumer rather than investor."
Mint
20-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
Japan's BeyondNext plans $50 million India fund to back deeptech, AI, semiconductor startups
Japanese venture capital firm BeyondNext Ventures, which focuses on deeptech and deep science startups, plans to raise a $50 million fund to back more Indian ventures, a top company executive said. The firm's rationale is threefold: investing in companies with a strong go-to-market focus, investing in Indians across the world, and bringing these businesses to Japan, where larger conglomerates can act as distribution partners. 'We think of India as a place where there are enormous tailwinds and tonnes of young entrepreneurs," Jay Krishnan, head of India investments at BeyondNext Ventures, told Mint in an interview. 'We want to enable those tailwinds, both from a policy and risk conversion side, and bring them to Japan." BeyondNext entered India in 2019, when it backed 14 startups using capital from its $100 million second fund. 'Back then, the idea was to get a taste, get some exposure. Now, we've decided to go full hog in India," Krishnan said. Also Read | How AI is transforming the role of venture capital for startups Japanese VCs are looking more closely at the Indian startup ecosystem. Clean energy startup Aerem raised about $12 million from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation earlier this year. In November last year, Sumitomo's Asia fund was part of a $35 million funding round in mortgage-tech startup Easy. In July last year, mobility manufacturer Suzuki launched its first India-focused ₹340 crore fund to tap startups working in agriculture, financial inclusion, supply chain and mobility. BeyondNext is fundraising at the moment and will set aside 50% of the fund for 20 to 25 investments in the first five years of the 10-year fund. In the next five years, it will deploy the remaining capital for winners from the India portfolio, reserving $1 million for a pre-Series A cheque and another $1 million for follow-on investments. Bullish on semiconductors The firm will enter companies at the pre-seed stage and is offering cheques that start at $250,000 and go up to $2 million. 'We don't want to do Series A for these startups – we'd rather make them discoverable and visible to investors who come in at that stage," said Krishnan. Also Read | India's venture capital firms are finding that leaner might be better For the India-focused fund, BeyondNext said it is very bullish on the semiconductor industry, specifically startups that are able to disrupt the value chain in the sector. Additionally, the firm is evaluating startups in biotech, space and artificial intelligence. 'We're also eager about anything that has a local/contextualised play where the market is big enough that once they crack India, they can go anywhere," Krishnan said. The firm plans to bring its Japanese deeptech playbook to India. BeyondNext runs an incubation programme called BRAVE, where it matches scientists and researchers with ideas that could become startups with business-facing talent. The programme has yielded 52 ventures, according to BeyondNext's website. Also Read | End of FOMO: Venture capital firms turn cautious over AI startup hype; demand models with clear returns and impact 'We prefer two or three founders where the shortcomings of one are mitigated by someone else," said Krishnan. Some of BeyondNext's previous investments in India include GigIndia, which was acquired by PhonePe in 2022, medical crowdfunding platform ImpactGuru, daycare surgery aggregator Medfin, and low-code digital therapeutics SaaS platform Wellthy Therapeutics.
Entrepreneur
05-05-2025
- Automotive
- Entrepreneur
Battery Tech Startup Volt14 Raises USD 1.87 Mn Led by Blume Ventures to Scale Silicon Anode Production
The funds will be deployed to scale manufacturing of its silicon-rich anodes and strengthen its technical team as it prepares for commercial adoption of its next-generation battery materials. You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Battery technology startup Volt14 has raised USD 1.87 million in a Pre-Series A funding round led by Blume Ventures, with participation from Beyond Next Ventures, Spectrum Impact, Supermorpheus, and existing investor Cocoon Capital. With this round, the total funding raised by the company has reached USD 4.02 million. The funds will be deployed to scale manufacturing of its silicon-rich anodes and strengthen its technical team as it prepares for commercial adoption of its next-generation battery materials. Founded in 2019 by materials scientist Animesh Kumar Jha, Volt14 is at the forefront of battery innovation, focusing on ultra-high capacity electrode materials, particularly silicon-majority anodes for lithium-ion batteries. Its core offering is a ready-to-use, tunable anode product that promises a substantial boost in energy density without compromising performance or scalability. The company has also developed an in-house cylindrical EV-format battery cell, showcasing state-of-the-art energy density using its proprietary anodes. "We are delighted to have the backing and vote of confidence from such high-quality investors," said Animesh Jha, Founder of Volt14. "Over the past five years, our focused and resilient team has made outstanding progress in commercializing our high-performance silicon anode platform. Electrification is an irreversible trend, and we are excited to help our partners unlock tangible product advantages through superior battery performance." Dr Puneet Gupta, a seasoned silicon industry veteran, joined Volt14's Board last year, bringing two decades of management experience. Yifan Tang, ex-Tesla and CTO of SERES, has also come on board as an advisor. Blume Ventures' Arpit Agarwal commented, "Volt14 is fundamentally reimagining the future of battery technology. Their breakthrough silicon anode innovation could push the boundaries of what's possible with lithium-ion batteries. Under Animesh and Puneet's world-class leadership, we're confident in Volt14's global potential." Jay Krishnan, Partner at Beyond Next Ventures, added, "Our investment in Volt14 aligns with our thesis of 'Healthy Planet, Happy People'. Their mission to innovate in battery chemistry supports our commitment to backing pioneers who are building a sustainable future." Volt14's progress comes at a critical time, as global demand for lithium-ion batteries surges, fueled by the rapid rise of EVs and clean energy solutions.
