Bertelsmann India Investments, (BII) is the venture capital arm of German media company Bertelsmann. Bertelsmann was established in the year 2012. The company has recently introduced a funding round amounting to $500 million to invest in new startups as well as follow-on investments.
BII is a sector-agnostic fund that focuses on Series B stage investments but is now foraying into the early-stage segment.
Bertelsmann is planning to utilize the fresh funding capital in the following ways:
- To invest between €5-7 billion by 2025 to increase its revenue and profits,
- To focus on investments in the healthtech, enterprisetech, future of work, fintech, agritech, and other sectors, and
- To partner with various investors to make selective Series A and mid-stage investments in about six to eight deals in a year.
Later with this, the company has a motive to make 2-3 deals annually. This new fund is part of Bertelsmann’s group-wide 'Boost 25' strategy.
BII has invested in various companies like Eruditus, Licious, Shiprocket, Pepperfry, Agrostar, and Lendingkart. The total valuation amounts to about $285 million.
BII is a part of the Bertelsmann Investments (BI) division.
EXECUTIVE OPINION:
Carsten Coesfeld, CEO of Bertelsmann Investments, said, “As part of our global venture capital activities, Bertelsmann India Investments will play an important role in this in the years ahead. The Indian economy is seeing very strong growth right now, from which the venture capital industry, in particular, is benefiting as well.”
Pankaj Makkar, Managing Director of BII, said, "We are very pleased to be more than doubling our investment under the new Bertelsmann Boost program. We aim to connect with founders early. With a decade of experience, we have witnessed that founders and companies are exhibiting maturity at an early stage. No doubt, the industry landscape is changing and we are ready to dive in."
