Qualcomm Ventures, the corporate venturing unit that invests on behalf of mobile semiconductor maker Qualcomm, is targeting healthcare and mobile technology for its Indian deals, DealStreetAsia has reported.
Varsha Tagare, Qualcomm Ventures’ managing director for India, told DealStreetAsia it plans to invest in roughly six India-based startups per year, having already provided funding to 20 since 2007.
The unit invests out of a $150m India-focused fund it put together in 2015. Tagare, who took over its management from Karthee Madasamy when the latter left in May 2017 to form his own fund, MVF Partners, said about a third of the capital has been allocated.
Tagare said Qualcomm Ventures India generally supplies between $3m and $5m for its first investment, with additional capital reserved for follow-on rounds. Its Indian portfolio companies include retail analytics provider Capillary Technogies and hotel aggregator Fabhotels.
“In core technologies, we are seeing a mix of companies whether they are into [the internet of things], computer vision, robotics or drones and even [the] autonomous driving space,” Tagare said.
“We are also encouraged to see an increase in the number of companies in core tech in India, and good improvement in terms of management teams and their ability to address global markets.”