Friday, January 4, 2013

Seattle Venture Fund Raises $8M For Startups In India

The latest venture capital fund to emerge in Seattle isn't focused on consumer Internet, mobile apps, or even enterprise software (or even, investments in Seattle). Unitus Seed Fund, said Thursday that it has raised $8M for its investment fund, which will focus on funding startups serving low income consumers in India. The funding comes from such investors as Mike Murray (Unitus Labs), Jeff Clark, Vinod Khosla (Khosla Ventures), 500 Startups, and Bob Gay (Formerly Huntsman-Gay and Bain Capital). The company also has co-investors in India include T.V. Mohandas Pai (Chairman of Aarin Capital Partners), and Dr. Ranjan Pai (CEO of Manipal Education and Medical Group). Unitus said its efforts will go towards companies that will provide economic self-reliance, education, and basic necessities to people living at the "base of the economic pyramid".