Matrix Partners is raising $450 million for new India fund

Matrix Partners India is raising $450 million for its fourth India fund, doubling down on the South Asian market where scores of investors including Sequoia, Lightspeed, SoftBank, Elevation, Accel, Alpha Wave Global and Tiger Global have increased the pace of their investments in recent years.

The firm, which counts Ofbusiness and Razorpay among its portfolio firms, disclosed it is raising the new India fund and its size in an SEC filing last week. At $450 million, Matrix is considerably increasing the amount of capital it plans to invest in India. Its third fund, closed in 2019, was $300 million.

The firm’s new fund comes at a time when scores of other investors have raised new capital — and nearly all at a much faster pace.

Sequoia India and Southeast Asia unveiled a $2.85 billion fund last week, after raising at least three funds in the past two years. Lightspeed Venture Partners, which closed a $275 million fund in 2020, is looking to raise as much as $500 million for the new India fund, TechCrunch previously reported. Accel and Elevation Capital also unveiled large new India funds this year.

SoftBank alone invested more than $3 billion in Indian startups last year, it said. Tiger Global wrote dozens of checks in the country, too, last year. A number of other funds including Insight Partners and Bessemer have became more active in the country in recent quarters.

Matrix Partners India did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

H/T: Madhav Chanchani of news outlet The CapTable.