OYO, Razorpay backer Lightspeed to launch new India-focused fund
What's the story
Lightspeed India Partners, a prominent early-stage investor in companies like OYO and Razorpay, is gearing up to launch its next fund focused on India and Southeast Asia in 2026. The move comes as the firm's exit pipeline from initial public offerings (IPOs) begins to open up. Portfolio companies such as OYO, Zepto, Zetwerk, Udaan, and Acko are at different stages of their IPO preparations.
Fundraising
Lightspeed's successful fundraising history and future plans
In 2022, Lightspeed raised a whopping $500 million to invest in start-ups across India and Southeast Asia. This was the firm's fourth and largest fund so far. The upcoming fund is expected to be of a similar size, with the fundraising likely starting in Q3 or Q4 of this year.
Strategy
Investment focus and global fundraising efforts
Despite a slower deployment cycle since the 2021 start-up funding boom, Lightspeed is gearing up for its next fund. In November, Bejul Somaia, Lightspeed's global lead, hinted that the firm could consider a smaller fund size of around $250-300 million for its next vehicle. The new fund also comes amid an aggressive global fundraising push by Lightspeed. In December 2025, it announced raising more than $9 billion across six new global funds.
Investment areas
Lightspeed's AI investments
So far, Lightspeed has invested in over 165 AI-native companies, pumping in over $5.5 billion into the sector. Some of its notable investments include Anthropic, Glean, Rubrik, and Databricks. While it remains a sector-agnostic investor in India, the firm is likely to invest more in areas like AI, deep tech, and quick commerce.