SEPTEMBERASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK8NEWSROOMELEV8 CLOSES RS. 1,400 CR FUND FOR INDIA GROWTH STARTUPSElev8 Venture Partners has successfully closed its first India-focused fund at 1,400 crore (US$160 million), aimed at investing in growth-stage startups over the next 1218 months.The fund is backed by investors from South Korea, Hong Kong, and India, including a sovereign wealth fund, large family offices, and unicorn founders. KB Investment, part of South Korea's KB Financial Group, acted as the anchor investor, with significant contributions from the Self-Reliant India Fund. Launched in 2023 and supported by Venture Catalysts, Elev8 has already deployed around one-third of the fund into five companies--Astrotalk, IDfy, Smallcase, Porter, and Snapmint--with investment sizes ranging between $8 million and $14 million.Key Highlights· Elev8 closes Rs. 1,400 crore India-focused VC fund· Backed by KB Investment, unicorn founders, and family offices· To invest in fintech, SaaS, B2B platforms, and consumer brandsThe firm often co-invests alongside its limited partners, and notes that its portfolio companies are scaling at 30 percent+ annually while maintaining profitability.The fund plans to channel remaining capital into fintech, SaaS, B2B platforms, and consumer brands, sectors that attracted over 60 percent of VC funding during India's recent investment rebound. Indian VC funding reached $13.7 billion in 2024, a 1.4x increase over 2023.Elev8's closure also underscores a broader re-engagement of South Korean investors in India, driven not only by financial opportunities but also by growing cultural ties. Korean dramas, K-pop, and K-beauty products have seen explosive adoption in India, with the K-beauty market alone projected at $1.5 billion by 2030. This cultural and economic bridge strengthens the thesis for cross-border capital flows into Indian consumer and tech-first sectors. G42 DIVERSIFIES CHIP SUPPLIERS FOR UAE-US AI CAMPUSAbu Dhabibacked technology group G42 is taking a strategic step to diversify its semiconductor supply chain for a planned UAEUS AI campus, according to a Semafor report.The initiative comes as global concerns rise about supply chain resilience and overdependence on a few key chipmakers, particularly Nvidia, which currently dominates the AI computing market. G42 is in discussions with several U.S. tech giants--Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Meta, and Elon Musk's xAI--to become tenants at the state-of-the-art data center. Google is reportedly the most advanced in negotiations, signaling strong interest from major players in the AI ecosystem.Key Highlights· G42 plans a UAE-US AI campus with top U.S. tech firms as tenants· Google is furthest along in negotiations to join the project· G42 explores AMD, Cerebras, and Qualcomm to reduce reliance on NvidiaOn the chip supplier side, G42 is exploring partnerships with AMD, Cerebras Systems, and Qualcomm, either alongside or in place of Nvidia. This move reflects a growing industry trend of reducing reliance on single suppliers amid increasing scrutiny of semiconductor supply chains.The backdrop for this diversification is the global semiconductor landscape, where the U.S. share of chip manufacturing has dropped from 37 percent in 1990 to just 12 percent by 2020. This decline has fueled concerns over supply chain concentration, particularly for mission-critical technologies like AI chips.By broadening its partnerships, G42 aims to strengthen resilience, reduce operational risks, and ensure the AI campus becomes a robust hub for innovation. For tenant companies like Google, supplier diversity could directly impact cost, performance, and risk management in scaling AI infrastructure.
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