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US-based investment firm B Capital on Tuesday (July 19) announced the final close of its $250 Mn Ascent Fund II to invest in early-stage startups. 

The fund will primarily invest in pre-seed and series A rounds of startups globally, with a specific focus on the US and Asia. This will be the first dedicated early-stage fund to come out of the company’s coffers, a press statement by B Capital said.

The early-stage vehicle is the brainchild of company chair and general partner Howard Morgan, firm cofounder and managing partner Eduardo Saverin, general partners Gabe Greenbaum and Karen Page, and partner Karan Mohla.

“We will focus on pre-seed to Series A funding with India, Indonesia, Vietnam as some of the key geographies in Asia,” Mohla was quoted as saying. 

He further added that the company would write cheques in the range of $1 Mn-$10 Mn across sectors such as fintech, enterprisetech, and healthtech.

Notably, Mohla’s elevation comes after he moved from Chiratae Ventures to B Capital earlier this year, and will reportedly lead the US-based firm’s Asia team.

Founded in 2015 by Facebook cofounder Eduardo Facebook Saverin and former Bain executive Raj Ganguly, B Capital has close to $6.5 Bn in assets under management across multiple funds. The company, which is primarily based out of the US and Singapore, leverages its teams across eight locations to scout startups and build them up. 

B Capital has a slew of big names in its portfolio, including edtech giant BYJU’S, B2B supply chain enablement startup Bizongo, social commerce startup Meesho, epharmacy startup PharmEasy. 

B Capital has joined a growing number of investment firms that have raised funds amidst a global economic slowdown and a purported ‘funding winter’.

According to an Inc42 report, startup funding fell 37% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) in Q2 of current year 2022 (CY22). The scarce funding has forced many startups to take cost cutting measures to increase their runway. As many as 34 startups, including Vedantu, Cars24, Ola and Meesho, have laid off more than 11,363 employees in 2022 so far. 

“The correction and slowdown in early stages is presently minimal but that may change going forward. Also, we are yet to see a fewer number of startups tapping the private funding market. However, the next three to six months will be crucial and we will get a better picture by the end of the year. We continue to be excited about early-stage opportunities in the region and partnering with innovative and resilient founders,” Mohla said.

Earlier this month, US-headquartered Lightspeed announced the closing of a $500 Mn fund dedicated solely to India and the South-East Asia region. Another VC firm, Sorin Investments, raised $100 Mn from multiple family offices for its debut fund.

In June, Sequoia Capital India raised its largest ever $2.85 Bn fund to invest in startups across India and Southeast Asia. Elevation Capital also raised $670 Mn for its Fund VII to focus on early and growth-stage startups in India. 

According to Inc42 data, 78 funds with a corpus of $12.3 Bn have been launched in the first half of 2022.