Chinese venture capital firm Shunwei Capital, which has invested in Indian startups such as ShareChat, Vokal and myUpchar, has raised $1.21 billion for new funds to invest in internet companies.
The firm, which was floated by smartphone maker Xiaomi’s founder Lei Jun and which focusses on early- and growth-stage investments, said in a LinkedIn post it will now have $3 billion under management. It also manages RMB 2 billion in Chinese yuan.
Shunwei didn't specify the number or name of the new funds for which it raised the capital. However, according to the firm's filings to the US Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year, it had targeted to raise $600 million each for Shunwei China Internet Fund III and Shunwei China Internet Fund IV.
Shunwei Capital did not immediately respond to requests for comments, but the firm told The Economic Times newspaper it would continue to be proactive in making investments in India.
“We like business models that are highly scalable and light, ideally with low touch on offline infrastructure,” Tuck Lye Koh, co-founder and CEO of Shunwei Capital, said in the report.
Set up in 2011, the firm has made significant investments across China, India and other markets.
According to the firm’s website, Shunwei focuses on mobile internet and Internet of things. “Specifically, we try to capture opportunities where internet and technology fundamentally disrupt how businesses and services are conducted in traditional industry verticals,” it says.
In India, Shunwei has invested a lot in Indian language platform offerings. For instance, it led a $100 million investment round last month in Mohalla Tech Pvt. Ltd, which operates ShareChat, a social media platform in Indian languages.
In August, it invested $5 million (Rs 35 crore) in medical content startup myUpchar as part of a Series A round along other investors. myUpchar provides wellness and health content in Hindi and other Indian languages.
Shunwei Capital's Koh has said in the past that India is a large market and internet users in Indian languages are under-served.
Shunwei has also invested in Mumbai-based LoanTap Financial Technologies Pvt. Ltd, a digital platform that offers loans and overdraft products to salaried professionals.
Last April, Shunwei Capital and Accel Partners invested Rs 25.5 crore (around $3.8 million) as part of a Series A round in gaming startup Mech Mocha.
Other active Chinese investors in India include Fosun RZ Capital, internet giant Tencent Holding, VC firms like Legend Capital and CDH Investments.
