Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) to expand India presence with local hire

In 2022, the company said it will pump in as much as $500 million into Indian startups but is yet to sign deals.

Storied venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, or a16z as it is commonly called, is set to hire investment executives in India to closely track companies in the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem.

The move comes at a time when VCs are looking at India as an attractive market for outsized returns on their investments and also as a hedge away from China.

What will a16z do in India?

Through the move, the global VC fund will look at appointing 2-3 investment professionals in India who will analyse deal flow and spend time with companies here before investing in them.

“It will be less of a full-fledged office and more of an outpost marking a16z’s presence here in India. There will be 2-3 investment professionals present here in India who will identify deals and send them to their global investment committee (IC) for final approvals,” an industry executive said.

The VC fund has already begun tapping investment professionals from global funds present here in India.

Its general partner, Anish Acharya however said a16z will not have an office here in India. "As much as I adore India and the many impressive founders+investors in the region, this is entirely fake news," he said on his X account.

a16z, in its initial days, will follow a model that will be similar to what other large global VC funds, like Tiger Global, have in place.

A small team tracking opportunities and cracking deals that seem lucrative.

What investments has a16z made in India?
In India, a16z has largely been absent. Its only notable investment, and publicly available deal was in CoinSwitch (then CoinSwitch Kuber), a crypto platform. It led the company’s $260 million round in 2021.

Weeks after that investment a16z said it is looking to do more deals in India but is yet to sign any. In 2022, the company said it will pump in as much as $500 million into Indian startups but is yet to sign deals.

The development was first reported by Mint which said a16z’s General Partner, Anish Acharya, is personally looking to hire executives in India where it will focus on SaaS and AI deals.