India-based mobile handset manufacturer Micromax plans to raise up to $100m for an independent venture capital fund to invest in consumer internet companies, the Economic Times has reported.
Founded in 2000, Micromax began life as a software developer before switching to mobile phone production in 2008. Its low-price mobile handsets have since been joined by laptops, tablets, LED televisions and other consumer electronics.
Micromax will be the anchor investor for the fund, named Orbis Capital, and will seek to raise the rest of the capital from private equity firms, pension funds and other investors, both domestic and international.
Orbis will look to invest in in a total of 10 to 12 startups, in rounds sized between $3m and $5m, and is targeting global consumer internet companies with the potential to expand to and compete in India. It is particularly interested in online services that could be integrated into its devices.
Rahul Sharma, Micromax’s co-founder and CEO, told ET: “The first investment could well be in the next six months, but it depends on the fundraising.”
The company began making VC investments in 2014 and has so far provided funding for 10 companies including digital payment company TranServ and cloud storage provider MiMedia, though Sharma said it intends to divest its stakes in two of its portfolio companies by the end of March this year.