Key facts
- Lightspeed is targeting $250 million for a new early-stage fund in India focused on AI.
- The fund, Lightspeed India Partners V, has secured commitments for 80% of its target.
- The new fund is half the size of its $500 million predecessor raised in 2022.
- Lightspeed plans to begin investing from the new fund within two months.
- The fund will seek out AI companies across India and Southeast Asia.
- Lightspeed manages more than $65 billion in assets globally.
Lightspeed Venture Partners is sharpening its India strategy by targeting $250 million for a new early-stage fund, Lightspeed India Partners V, with a primary focus on artificial intelligence companies. This move signals a significant bet on AI driving the next generation of startups in India and Southeast Asia.
The new fund, which has already secured commitments for 80% of its target, is half the size of its $500 million predecessor raised in 2022. Lightspeed plans to begin investing from the fund within two months, with an investment period of approximately two and a half years. The firm believes the smaller size will allow for a more focused approach on individual deals and enable quicker fundraising for subsequent vehicles.
Lightspeed, which manages over $65 billion globally and has backed AI companies like Anthropic and xAI, sees AI as potentially creating more value in India than the internet did. The fund will seek out AI companies across India and Southeast Asia, aiming to capitalize on the region's large pool of software developers and its established role as a technology services hub.
This strategic shift aligns Lightspeed's India funds with its global fundraising cycles for the first time, a move also recently adopted by rival firm Accel. The firm's existing India and Southeast Asia funds have deployed approximately $900 million, with an additional $1.6 billion invested from Lightspeed's global funds into regional portfolio companies.