India Venture Capital Stats: 2009

Disclosed venture capital investments in 2009, by my count, stood at just under $150 million. The total number of deals announced was 59, out of which 28 did not disclose the investment amount.

This is as per numbers collated from deals reported by various media and announced in press releases. Not all these deals are verified and in many cases the announced/ committed money will flow into the respective companies in tranches over an extended period. The actual total investment, therefore, would be much lower.

There are other numbers floating around as well. Venture Intelligence puts investments till November at $332 million across 68 deals, against $839 million and 155 deals for the full year 2008.

Here are our key numbers from 2009:

Investments: $147 million

Deals: 59

Top Dealmaker

This one is a tie. Nexus Venture Partners and Aavishkaar Venture had the most number of deals in 2009, notching six each. It was not possible to select the top dealmaker by quantum of investment because several deals have been done in concert (two or three investors teaming up) and the break-ups are not available. However, to get a sense of who the top venture capital investors in India are at present and where they are investing, read a recent Businessworld story here.

A small note on Aavishkaar: This one is a special kind of investor. It backs startups that address ‘bottom-of-the-pyramid’ opportunities. Many of its portfolio companies address the rural markets and disadvantaged sections of our society. It has three funds, of which Aavishkaar India Micro Venture Capital Fund has made the most investments this year. This fund typically invests between $50,000 and $500,000 per company.

Deals