Sep 25, 2023

Unitus Ventures, Capria Ventures unite to create Global South VC powerhouse Published: 25-09-2023 14:19:00 | By: Pie Kamau | hits: 10 | Tags: Unitus Ventures, a venture capital firm in India that supports early-stage tech startups focused on India’s rising middle class, announced it is joining forces with its US affiliate Capria Ventures, a Global South specialist, to operate with a unified global strategy under a single brand, Capria Ventures. An even stronger commitment to India Unitus Ventures has been operating in India for over a decade, investing in such stellar companies as BetterPlace, Awign, Cuemath, Eduvanz and Masai School. The transition to the Capria brand will bring additional resources including capital, global expertise and learnings from other Global South markets. As Capria, the firm will double down on investing in India. This alignment will create a single-brand, multi-stage portfolio for Capria in India. In addition to early stage investing that the firm is already known for, it will also invest in early growth stage startups across a broader range of sectors including Fintech, Jobtech, Edtech, Agtech, Climate and SaaS. Investing in the Applied Generative AI opportunity Generative AI (GenAI) has taken the world by storm. We believe this rapidly evolving technology will have a far-reaching impact on businesses and societies worldwide. In particular, the Global South can leapfrog technologies and business paradigms by harnessing the potential of GenAI. Capria has recently made ten investments in applied GenAI companies and plans to back 30+ more GenAI-focused startups in the entrepreneurial hotspots of India and the rest of the Global South, regions that offer a multi-trillion dollar growth opportunity. Will Poole , Managing Partner, Capria Ventures and former Managing Partner for Unitus Ventures, “We’re Global South specialists who invested through the mobile revolution and now see GenAI as an even bigger opportunity for the Global South. We started embracing GenAI shortly after the release of ChatGPT. Going forward, more than 75% of our investments will be placed in applied GenAI companies. We are also confident that Unitus Ventures’ alignment with the Capria brand and strategy will create more value for founders.” India portfolio companies rapidly adopting GenAI Some of Capria's portfolio companies in India, now encompassing those invested in by Unitus Ventures, have already embraced GenAI to facilitate product shipments, while others are actively developing their products. Among these, Masai School, a zero-to-one coding school, is harnessing the power of GenAI to reinvent its curriculum, teaching methods, and operational processes. BharatAgri, a crop-input advisory and e-commerce platform, has seamlessly integrated GenAI into its customer support function, significantly enhancing its ability to respond accurately to farmer queries. Cuemath, a leading online mathematics education platform, utilizes GenAI to create virtual co-pilots for educators and students. This extends beyond conventional approaches, as Cuemath also explores voice AI capabilities to analyze and interpret classroom interactions between teachers and students. Surya Mantha , Managing Partner, Capria Ventures and former Managing Partner for Unitus Ventures: “We are delighted to join forces with Capria Ventures under a single brand and strategy and now have renewed vigor to invest in startups with India scale and global potential under Capria’s uniquely-collaborative network. GenAI is emerging as a talent and language equalizer, amplifying the Global South’s demographic advantage by opening up vast new markets in the region. Together, we can better harness the power of GenAI for our combined portfolio. We will expand the focus of our India investments to include Climate and Agtech in addition to our traditional strengths in Jobtech, Fintech and SaaS.” Globally, Capria will continue to invest in the top emerging Global South tech hubs, including Mexico City, São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Cairo, Lagos, Nairobi, Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Singapore, Jakarta and Ho Chi Minh City.