US-based VC appoints former Reliance Group executive to head India operations

Former Reliance Group prime executive Lalit Jalan has joined 3Lines Venture Capital as its India head, to drive the US-based fund’s investments within the nation because it goals to have $1 billion of belongings underneath administration globally.

3Lines, based by a gaggle of Indian professionals, invests in early-stage startups engaged on synthetic intelligence and disruptive expertise within the US and India. The agency, which has already performed two rounds of fundraising, is planning its debut fundraising in India.

“It’s a growth venture capital but we follow the rigours of a private equity fund. The firm has already made commitments worth $20 million from two existing funds. Now we plan to raise $15 million (around Rs 100 crore) in India,” Jalan informed ET after becoming a member of the VC agency.

Jalan, who retired because the chief executive of Reliance Infrastructure in 2019, held a number of positions within the Anil Ambani-led group and was on the helm of the group’s entry into a number of new companies.

3Lines invested in Hyderabad-based AI-powered governance danger administration and compliance startup SignalX and Bengaluru B2B retail-tech agency Arzooo in 2020 alone. Jalan, who’s an infrastructure veteran and was on the helm of expertise initiatives in his earlier task at Reliance Group, will lead the hunt for investment alternatives in India.

“There are people who need technology but don’t have the wherewithal to develop it, and then there are founders who can do it and have passion but don’t have money. That’s where we feel we can contribute and help them scale. Hopefully, we will have our own unicorns,” Jalan stated.

3Lines has closed 20 offers to this point, of which 30% are investments in India whereas the remaining are within the US. Its common ticket dimension is $1-2 million a deal, he stated.

“With more than 40,000 startup companies in India and around 40 unicorns born in just the past six years, this is the best time to build 3Lines in India’s rapidly growing innovation economy,” stated Jalan.

Investors are keenly wanting and investing in deep-tech house in India. The nation is remodeling right into a digital financial system, which has pushed development within the expertise startup ecosystem. Covid-19 has solely accelerated the adoption to digital expertise and on-line providers, and tech startups are leveraging on this chance.