Early bird takes wing

Google’s keenness to fund innovation out of India only seems to be growing. In what it calls “partnerships that further commitment to fostering innovation in India,” Google has invested in early-stage venture capital fund Ventureast TeNet Fund II, a seedstage fund run by the TeNet Group of IIT, Madras and Ventureast Fund Advisors.

It has also joined the Indian Angel Network, an organisation supporting entrepreneurship. “We see Google’s investment as an endorsement of the need for early-stage funding,” says Sarath Naru, Managing Partner, Ventureast. Google has so far invested Rs 15 crore and has a right to invest up to Rs 22.5 crore in the fund, whose size is Rs 75 crore.

The other key investors in the fund include SIDBI, Technology Development Board (TDB) and a few private investors. In a release, Samir Sood, Google’s Head of Corporate Development for South Asia, says: “The early stages of VC financing are underserved in the Indian market, despite their importance to the innovation chain.”

Earlier this year Google invested in VC funds Erasmic and Seedfund. Google’s investment strategy has been to seek out unique products, technologies and engineering teams that can help it provide innovative products to users or enhance existing services.