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Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), one of the dominant forces in the venture capital industry, is planning to invest $500 million in India's growing startup ecosystem, according to a report from TechCrunch citing people familiar with the matter.
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India, with its large, web-savvy population, has seen a surge in interest from investors in its startups.
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VCs invested $23.5 billion in Indian startups in 2021, according to PitchBook data, creating 17 unicorns (companies valued at $1 billion or more) in the process.
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Of this $23.5 billion, $587.16 million was allocated to crypto and Web 3 companies according to reports.
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Andreessen Horowitz's first investment in India was in local crypto exchange CoinSwitch Kuber, where it led a round that closed in October 2021 in which the exchange raise $260 million at a $1.9 billion valuation.
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A16z isn’t commenting on the report, but co-founder and general partner Marc Andreessen has in the past talked about how “tempting” India and other emerging markets are for investment opportunities.
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Chinese crypto venture capital firm Sino Global Capital, led by Matthew Graham, has also made a big push into India as part of its new $200 million fund, which it announced last October.
CORRECTION (May 3, 10:25 UTC): Corrects typo in the headline.