Rocketship.vc Closes Second Global VC Fund at $100 Mn The Silicon Valley-based global VC firm has made 10 investments in Indian startups, including the likes of Khatabook, NoBroker, Moglix and Yulu, among others

Silicon Valley-based venture capital (VC) firm Rocketship.vc has announced close of its second fund (Fund II) at USD 100 million (INR 747 crore). The fresh investment vehicle comes five years after the early-stage global VC firm had closed its first fund at USD 40 million.

Fund II is backed by some of the US-based global investors, including Vulcan Capital, investment arm of Vulcan Inc founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen, private markets investment firm Adams Street Partners and family office of Marc Andreessen and Chris Dixon, both of whom are co-founders of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (A16z).

Founded by veteran data scientists and entrepreneurs Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan, Rocketship.vc uses machine learning (ML) and data science to make investment decisions. Its "smart' algorithm tracks startups globally using a series of metrics to indicate the probability of a startup being successful.

Rocketship claims that its proprietary data-backed approach in Fund I has helped it to discover breakout companies spanning more geographies and industries than it could have using the traditional "network + inbound" model, which has traditionally dominated venture capital for the past 50 years.

Reiterating the same, Sailesh Ramakrishnan, Partner, Rocketship.vc said "Our deep data expertise allows us to take a different approach, leveraging data science, technology and analytics to find the best companies anywhere, at any stage, in any market. We're excited to be at the forefront of this shift and use our experience to help founders successfully build their companies, regardless of location."

The California-headquartered firm has so far invested in 44 startups across India, Southeast Asia, Latin America, Europe and North America and made six exits. It has invested across series A and B rounds, with 46 per cent of its investments outside the US.

One-fourth of its portfolio consists of startups founded in India, which includes B2B industrial tools online marketplace Moglix, digital bookkeeping platform Khatabook, Yulu, an electric bike sharing platform and property portal NoBroker, among others.

Rocketship.vc's Portfolio of Indian Startups

Source: Rocketship.vc Website

Out of the 10 investments made in Indian startups, the VC firm has cashed in two—Fynd and Paysense, acquired by Reliance Industries and PayU, respectively.

The launch of Fund II will enable Rocketship to continue investing globally across different sectors and company stages, and increase the firm's number of follow-on investments, the company said in a statement.