Canaan Partners looks at IT investment in India

By agencies   |   Wednesday, 07 June 2006, 19:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: Canaan Partners, a 19-year-old Silicon Valley venture capital firm that specializes in early-stage investing, is looking at opportunities in India. Alok Mittal, Executive Director, Canaan India said, “Sighting the enormous opportunity in the Indian market, Canaan will initially focus Internet and wireless investments in one of the biggest and fastest-growing economies in the world.” He said, “With an office in place, Canaan will focus on early and mid-stage investments, which offer greater growth potential. Canaan has already reviewed about 40 business plans, about half of which are getting additional scrutiny.” Mittal is an established Indian entrepreneur and co-founder of JobsAhead.com, which was acquired by Monster.com in May 2004. He is also a founding member of Band of Angels India. Confident of Indian spirit of entrepreneurship, Mittal said, “We are ready to provide first rounds of institutional capital and are already receiving many interesting business proposals.” Deepak Kamra, general partner at Canaan Partners said, “We believe that we can act as catalysts for companies in India by building and assisting them on strategic operations and business models, market development, and corporate partnering.” Canaan Partners already has an Indian investment track record. In 2000, it invested in Aztec Software, a software development firm that services the software industry, and in e4e, a diversified business-outsourcing firm.