Тус хөрөнгө оруулалтын компани Энэтхэг болон Зүүн Өмнөд Азийн бүс нутаг дахь гарааны бизнесүүдийн хиймэл оюун ухааны хөгжлийг дэмжихээр төлөвлөж байна.
Lightspeed компани Энэтхэг дэх үйл ажиллагаагаа өргөжүүлж, хиймэл оюун ухааны (AI) чиглэлээр дагнан ажиллах 250 сая долларын шинэ санг байгуулахаар болжээ. Энэхүү Lightspeed India Partners V сан нь 2022 онд байгуулагдсан 500 сая долларын өмнөх сангийн үйл ажиллагааг үргэлжлүүлэх бөгөөд хоёр жил хагасын хугацаанд хөрөнгө оруулалт хийхээр төлөвлөж байна. Тус компани нь өмнө нь Anthropic, xAI, Databricks зэрэг томоохон технологийн компаниудад хөрөнгө оруулж байсан туршлагатай бөгөөд Энэтхэгийн Sarvam AI стартапыг дэмжин ажиллаж байна.
Шинэ сангийн хэмжээг өмнөхөөсөө багасгасан нь хөрөнгө оруулалтын үйл явцыг илүү хурдасгаж, тус тусчилсан гэрээ хэлцлүүдэд анхаарлаа төвлөрүүлэх зорилготой аж. Энэхүү өөрчлөлтөөр дамжуулан Lightspeed нь Энэтхэг дэх хөрөнгө оруулалтын мөчлөгөө дэлхийн бусад бүс нутгийнхтайгаа нэгтгэж байна. Тус компани нь Энэтхэгийг програм хангамж хөгжүүлэгчдийн томоохон төв болохын хувьд хиймэл оюун ухааны салбарт интернетээс ч илүү үнэ цэнийг бүтээх боломжтой гэж үзэж байгаа юм.
Lightspeed нь дэлхий даяар 65 тэрбум гаруй долларын хөрөнгийг удирддаг бөгөөд өнгөрсөн арванхоёрдугаар сард нийт 9 тэрбум долларын санхүүжилт татан төвлөрүүлсэн нь тус компанийн түүхэн дэх хамгийн том амжилт болсон. Энэтхэг болон Зүүн Өмнөд Азийн зах зээлд өмнө нь Zepto, Pocket FM, SolarSquare зэрэг олон салбарын стартапуудад хөрөнгө оруулж байсан туршлагатай тус фирм энэ удаад зөвхөн хиймэл оюун ухааны технологид гол анхаарлаа хандуулахаар шийдвэрлэжээ. Шинэ сангийн удирдлагыг өмнөх дөрвөн санг хариуцаж байсан баг үргэлжлүүлэн удирдах юм.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
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Lightspeed is sharpening its India strategy around AI, targeting $250 million for a new early-stage fund as the venture firm bets the technology will drive the next wave of startups in one of the world’s largest markets.
The Silicon Valley venture firm is already a major investor in AI companies including Anthropic, xAI, and Databricks. In India, it has backed Sarvam AI, one of the country’s leading large language model developers and a startup selected by the Indian government to help develop sovereign AI models.
The new fund, Lightspeed India Partners V, will be half the size of its $500 million predecessor, which was raised in 2022 and has already committed 80% of its capital to startups, according to a letter sent to investors on Thursday and seen by TechCrunch.
In late April, Lightspeed disclosed the new fund in a U.S. regulatory filing, though the filing did not specify its target size. Indian media had previously reported that the firm was looking to raise between $300 million and $350 million for the vehicle.
Lightspeed plans to begin investing from the new fund within two months and has designed it around an investment period of roughly two and a half years, per the letter. Until then, it will continue making its final investments from the existing fund.
A Lightspeed spokesperson declined to comment.
Starting with the new fund, Lightspeed is also moving its India funds onto the same fundraising cycle as its global funds for the first time, per the investor letter. The change brings a regional business it established nearly two decades ago more closely in line with the rest of the firm.
The move follows a similar shift by rival firm Accel, which in August raised its latest $550 million India fund alongside new U.S. and Europe funds and a global growth vehicle as part of a coordinated $3.5 billion fundraising effort. It was the first time Accel had raised all four funds simultaneously.
The $250 million fund is sized to match how quickly Lightspeed is currently investing and its shorter investment period, according to the letter. Lightspeed suggested to investors that the smaller size lets it focus on individual deals rather than fund size, and raise its next fund sooner.
The new fund also marks a sharper focus on AI for Lightspeed’s early-stage investment strategy in the region. The investment thesis outlined in the letter anticipates AI creating more value in India than the internet did, with the fund seeking out AI companies across India and Southeast Asia.
India has yet to produce a major frontier AI model developer on the global stage and has attracted far less investment in AI than the U.S. and China. Investors, nonetheless, increasingly see an opportunity for India in the application layer, drawing on the country’s large pool of software developers and its decades-long history as a hub for software and technology services.
The new $250 million India vehicle is a fraction of the capital available across Lightspeed’s global platform. The firm, which manages more than $65 billion in assets globally, raised $9 billion across several new funds last December, the largest fundraising haul in its history. The total included a $980 million early-stage venture fund.
Lightspeed’s dedicated India and Southeast Asia funds represent only part of the capital the firm has put to work in the region. Those funds have deployed roughly $900 million, while Lightspeed’s global funds have invested another $1.6 billion to support companies from the regional portfolio, according to the investor letter.
The decision to dedicate its newest regional fund entirely to AI also marks a sharper thematic focus for Lightspeed in a market where it has historically invested across sectors. Its India portfolio spans businesses including quick commerce, consumer internet, software, and household services.
Lightspeed’s bets in India have included companies such as quick-commerce startup Zepto, audio platform Pocket FM, house-help startup Snabbit, rooftop solar startup SolarSquare, and a range of enterprise software businesses.
The same team that led Lightspeed’s previous four India funds will manage the new fund, per the letter.
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