The global venture capitalist Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) is seeking broader investment opportunities with two of its family funds —DFJ Growth Capital and Element Partners — kicking off action in India.
DFJ, a marque Silicon Valley venture capitalist associated with start-ups, such as Skype and Hotmail, is believed to be managing capital commitments of nearly $5 billion worldwide. While DFJ Growth will invest in firms with validated revenue of $5 million upwards, Element Partners is focused on clean energy and has already uncorked an investment with talks currently underway for more.
Element Partners is a $500-million multi-stage clean technology fund partnering with entrepreneurs across the lifecycle and plays the role of PE investor as well. It has made one local investment in Deeya Energy, a renewable energy storage firm, and could be in play more.
Meanwhile, DFJ’s growing affinity for ‘bottom of the pyramid’ investments in rural electrification, water purification and solar energy also open up more opportunities in the clean energy and material science space.
