Bertelsmann India Investments Plans Investments Exceeding $500 Million The company plans to invest as part of its boost program to increase revenues and profits

By Teena Jose

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Company handout

Bertelsmann is systematically implementing its group-wide Boost 25 strategy. Under the program, the Bertelsmann India Investments (BII) fund will make new and follow-on investments totaling $500 million. The fund will keep an eye on disruptive technologies like Web3 and Deeptech, and plans to open more offices in India and the region.

"BII will benefit from Bertelsmann's boost program, which is being carried out based on our high investment capacity. It will help Bertelsmann continue to increase its growth momentum significantly. As part of our global venture capital activities, BII 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," said Carsten Coesfeld, CEO, BII.

BII has invested in more than 17 companies, some already valued as Unicorns. Current investments include Eruditus, Licious, Shiprocket, Pepperfry, AgroStar among others. In what has been a decade of dynamic developments, BII has to date invested a total of about $285 million in startups. In 2022 and 2023, BII plans to focus on investments in the health-tech, future of work, fintech, agritech, and other sectors, claimed by the company in a statement.

"Our BII team has done an incredibly good job since its inception. Our current portfolio in India looks excellent, as evidenced by dynamic operational developments, very good valuations and well-known co-investors in our investments. On the back of VC market potential in India, we now enable BII team to expand their investment scope both in terms of sectors and volume," said Shobhna Mohn, CSO, Bertelsmann Investments.

Founded in 2012, Bertelsmann India Investments (BII) is a sector agnostic venture capital fund that has proven to be a strong pillar for mentoring growth stage companies into unicorns. BII focuses on early growth stage investments, Series A to D, in tech driven startups. It is known for investments in disruptive sectors such as healthtech, fintech, agritech, enterprise tech and others.

Teena Jose

News Desk Reporter with Entrepreneur India

Teena is a post graduate in financial journalism. She has an avid interest in content creation, digital media and fashion.
Business News

JPMorgan Shuts Down Internal Message Board Comments After Employees React to Return-to-Office Mandate

Employees were given the option to leave comments about the RTO mandate with their first and last names on display — and they did not hold back.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

News and Trends

Union Budget 2025: Will FM Finally Offer Tax Relief to India's Crypto Ecosystem?

Among the demands and suggestions posed by the ecosystem players, the reduction of tax on virtual digital assets (VDA) and Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) remain a prime concern. The previous interim budget and union budget failed to provide any relief for domestic crypto investors.

News and Trends

Zetwerk Appoints Banks for Maiden Listing: Eyes $500 Million in Funds Through IPO

Zetwerk has opted to partner with Axis Capital Ltd., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Jefferies Financial Group Inc., JM Financial Ltd., JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. as the book-running lead managers (BRLMs) for the IPO.

News and Trends

India has the Potential to Host over 620 New Large GCCs by 2030: ANSR

The BFSI sector dominates GCCs in India, followed by Manufacturing and Retail/CPG. There is also a strong focus on digital technologies, with 85 per cent of GCCs engaged in digital commerce initiatives.

News and Trends

D2C Skincare Brand Foxtale Raised USD 30 Mn Series C Funding

Last year, the Mumbai-based brand raised USD 18 million (around INR 150 crore) in its Series B funding round, led by Panthera Growth Partners from Singapore.