Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), a California-based venture capital firm, has set aside a corpus of $50 million (around Rs 230 crore) for investment in India. The company has said that it is looking to invest in a range of sectors including consumer media, clean technology, health care, education, logistics and distribution.
Speaking on the sidelines of Connect 2010, an ICT event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, Mohanjit Jolly, partner, DFJ, said that the company had so far invested in 20 companies, including in Reva, an electric car manufacturer recently acquired by Mahindra & Mahindra.
“This is the only deal we exited with a good return,” said Jolly. Some of the VC firm's other investments include Cleartrip online travel portal, Attero (in e-waste recycling) and Catura Systems (education sector).
“We are planning to invest around $50 million over the next three years. Typically we will invest around $1-$10 million in any deal,” Jolly said. The company expects an internal rate of return (IRR) of 35-40 per cent and will exit from the company after eight years.
DFJ Global Network, with 17 network partner funds in four continents and $7 billion of assets under management, recently launched DFJ Fund X worth $350 million invested in companies all over the world and across clean technology, IT, mobile and life science sectors.
“Our India share will be $50 million,” Jolly said. The company was currently negotiating with two Chennai-based companies which Jolly declined to name saying talks were in initial stages.
