Norwest Venture Partners announced a $4 billion global fund, its largest to date, while leaving India’s share unspecified as reports differ on its annual investment pace.
The firm said Norwest 18 will invest in technology, healthcare and consumer businesses across the United States, India and Israel. Its strategy combines venture investing with growth equity. The announcement brings Norwest’s total capital under management to $18 billion. Norwest cited a six-decade history involving more than 750 companies and said its investments in India and Israel date back 20 years.
Niren Shah, Norwest’s managing director and head of India, told Mint the firm would continue investing $250 million to $300 million a year in India. Moneycontrol reported that Norwest typically invests $250 million to $350 million annually in the country and expects to maintain a similar pace. VCCircle also reported a typical range of $250 million to $300 million, adding that Shah said the amount could rise with the larger global fund. Norwest’s announcement gives no India-specific allocation or annual deployment target. Shah told Mint, “The fund is a global fund, so there is no specific allocation to India.”
Shah told Mint the firm plans to add value-added manufacturing and related services to its India strategy, alongside healthcare, pharmaceuticals, financial services and consumer businesses. VCCircle reported that Norwest’s industrial investment interests include aerospace, automotive components and precision manufacturing.
Shah described artificial intelligence and deeptech as venture investment themes and cited Pascal AI as a company Norwest backed through an earlier fund, Mint reported. Moneycontrol reported that Shah connected the manufacturing focus to companies diversifying supply chains, India’s high-value engineering capabilities, a global upswing in capital spending and government support for domestic production.
