B Capital Group, the second biggest thing Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin has worked on, has closed an $820 million fund, bringing the total assets under management by the firm to $1.44 billion. The firm plans to use this money to revolutionize all large industries in the near future by investing in growing industry disrupting startups.
B Capital has set its eyes on the long game. B Capital co-Founder and Managing Partner Raj Ganguly said, “We believe the next ten years will see a major shift in innovation as entrepreneurs examine industries and practices from new angles and find ways to accelerate connectivity between systems, companies and people.”
Thus, for the ominous “10 year change” that Mr. Ganguly is rooting for, companies need to be prepared, both mentally and financially. And that is what B Capital is gunning for. The fund will be used to invest in growth-stage startups transforming large industries and scaling rapidly. The firm, which already has 30 companies under its portfolio from Asia, Europe and the United States, has been investing in promising, industry disrupting startups left and right, including Synack, a crowdsourced cybersecurity testing platform powered by the world’s most skilled ethical hackers, and Khatabook, the Bangalore-based startup that digitizes local businesses through bookkeeping and online payments.
The firm has a multinational presence, with offices in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and Singapore.
Moreover, if you are thinking that the timing of the fund is a little odd, you are right. The world itself, and specifically world economy, is in a precarious state, with many promising and revolutionary ideas dying due to bad timing. That is a big reason why B Capital planned this fund in the first place, to help companies grow despite the trying times. Moreover, with the advent of the virus, new opportunities have opened up for technological companies, which is seeing never seen before traffic.
“Although technology is already embedded in nearly every sector and aspect of daily life, the last three months show us there is still extensive unmet need when it comes to digitization,” said Ganguly, addressing how this was probably the perfect time for this fund.
Additionally, the B2B and B2B2C investing firm has become a pioneer for the investments it has made in the technological startup market. The company’s “unique multinational presence and deep industry knowledge” has enabled it to “o build a portfolio of startups in Enterprise application software, Infrastructure, Security, AI/ML, Fintech and Insurtech, and HealthcareTech and Bio IT that are transforming large traditional industries across borders and geographies.” Thus, for a company so deep in the technological market, the opportunity is ripe.
