The popular venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz aka a16z is aiming to invest $500 Million in Indian startups.
According to a Techcrunch report, many high-level a16z partners including Seema Amble and Sumeet Singh, have been in talks with a number of Indian startups in recent months.
As per sources familiar with the investment plans, a16z is also looking to fill a number of investment roles across the country. a16z is also said to be in talks with a Bengaluru-based early-stage Fintech company.
According to one source, a16z, which secured $9 billion for its venture, growth, and bio funds in January is considering a $250 million investment in an Indian startup that runs an opinion sharing platform.
For years, the company has been researching markets such as India, and it has been transparent about the challenges of entering new markets. Already a16z has made a significant investment in CoinSwitch Kuber, a cryptocurrency exchange platform based in India.
a16z will see that familiar venture capital competitors already have a strong footprint in India’s startup ecosystem. Accel, Lightspeed, Sequoia, and Softbank have all made significant inroads in the Indian market.
Last month, Andreessen Horowitz announced ‘a16z Crypto Research,’ a new research unit that aims to shape crypto and Web3 as formal fields of study while also addressing issues in the field. a16z is attempting to create an entire research lab dedicated to crypto.
