Helion Venture Partners, an India-focused venture fund today announced the closing of its second fund of $210 million. With this the total funds raised by Helion for investing in companies has gone up from $140 million to $350 million. In a significant acknowledgement of the growing power of India’s domestic market, Helion also announced that it would now expand its focus sectors to include companies in the consumer services space as well. This would include high-potential companies in sectors such as retail services, education and financial services.

Giving details on the second fund Sanjeev Aggarwal, Managing Director, Helion Venture Partners Pvt. Ltd. said, “What is heartening is the fact that while all the original investors have invested again in Helion’s second fund, the fund has also attracted new high quality investors from the US, Europe and Asia. This reflects growing global investor confidence in both Helion and the India growth story.”

Since its launch in 2006, Helion has invested in 11 companies including JiGrahak, makemytrip.com, UnitedLex, Gridstone, Anantara, Zmanda, Kirusa, Komli, Hurix, Amba Research and Mindworks Global Media Service. As proof of the growing eco-system of entrepreneurs in India are the over 1000 proposals from different sectors that Helion has evaluated in the same period.

Kanwaljit Singh, Managing Director, Helion Venture Partners Pvt. Ltd. said, “The rise of entrepreneurial activity within fast growing domestic consumption-led sectors makes a compelling investment proposition for Helion. This is set to increase even further as sound policy initiatives and technological advancements make it possible for more Indians to partake in India’s growth.”

With an estimated ten-fold increase in the middle-class population and three-fold rise in household income, aggregate consumer spending in India is likely to more than quadruple from around US$ 428.69 billion in 2005 to US$ 1.76 trillion in 2025. Also, as per a study by McKinsey Global Institute, India is likely to leap-frog from being the twelfth largest consumer market in the world to become the fifth largest consumer market in the world.

“Helion will continue its focus on technology-powered businesses even as we expand our focus into consumer services. Factors like the rapid increase in mobile and Internet penetration in India are further paving the way for innovative technology products and services that to cater to the domestic market In addition, Domain focused outsourcing and technology products continue to be focus sectors,” said Ashish Gupta, Managing Director, Helion Venture Partners Pvt. Ltd.

In keeping with its mission to ‘Partner with entrepreneurs to build world-class companies’, Helion plays an active role in helping companies make strategic choices and in building an organization that can execute on strategy. In keeping with this belief, Helion has on board, experts in the specific functional areas of Finance and HR. Natarajan Ranganathan, CFO and Dhruv Prakash, Director HR, work closely with Helion’s investee companies in guiding and mentoring them in the areas of finance and human capital management.

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About Helion Venture Partners:

Helion Venture Partners is a multi-stage, India-focused venture fund with $350 million under management. The fund invests in businesses that are either technology-powered or catering to the Indian consumer services space. The focus sectors of investment include - outsourcing, internet, mobile, technology products, retail services, education and financial services. The fund’s investors are well-respected Global institutions including top tier University endowment funds, Foundations and family offices. The fund and its portfolio companies are advised by an experienced and industry renowned team of professionals based in India which include Sanjeev Aggarwal, Ashish Gupta, Kanwaljit Singh and Rahul Chandra.