Venture Highway merges with Silicon Valley's General Catalyst to bolster focus on Indian startups

New Delhi-based Venture Highway has announced its merger with Silicon Valley's venture capital firm General Catalyst. The merger aims to expand General Catalyst's presence in India by investing $500 million to $1 billion in the country. 

The development will see Venture Highway rebranded as General Catalyst India, with its operations and investments continuing under the new name. Neeraj Arora, Venture Highway's founder and former WhatsApp CBO, and Priya Mohan, its General Partner, will lead the efforts in India.

Today GC welcomes @venturehighway to the GC family! Led by @neerajarora (former WhatsApp CBO) and @TheMadrasVC (former entrepreneur), VH is a leading early-stage VC firm based in Bangalore, India. Thanks to fantastic work on the ground by partners Alex Tran and @deepnishar, GC… pic.twitter.com/qJhjcFUlNb

— General Catalyst (@generalcatalyst) June 20, 2024

What does the merger mean for Venture Highway’s investments?

Founded in 2014, Venture Highway has been a key early-stage investor in several successful Indian startups, including the social commerce platform Meesho and the B2B marketplace Moglix. 

Despite the merger, all of Venture Highway's portfolio companies will continue to be managed as before, albeit under the General Catalyst brand.

The combined entity will look at Venture Highway's existing portfolio for potential follow-on investments. Most of the capital from Venture Highway's third fund has already been deployed, and future investments will be made through General Catalyst.

This is a pivotal moment in Venture Highway's journey that started 10 years ago. A heartfelt thank you to my co-founder Samir Sood for starting VH with me. Grateful to Priya Mohan and the entire VH team for their relentless dedication. To our limited partners and advisors who…

— neeraj arora (@neerajarora) June 20, 2024

Investing up to $1 billion in Indian startups

General Catalyst, which manages over $25 billion in assets globally, plans to invest between $500 million and $1 billion in Indian startups over the next three years. The strategy spans early- and growth-stage investments across various industries.

“Combining our US seed team with Venture Highway in India and La Famiglia in Europe, we are committing deeply to becoming great at supporting the world's best founders at the earliest stages…The combined capabilities of the two firms will allow us to be much more hands-on and effective going forward in India. I am especially excited about bringing our co-creation capabilities to India.” said Hemant Taneja, CEO of General Catalyst.

Focused on key global markets

The merger with Venture Highway is part of General Catalyst’s broader strategy to deepen its roots in key global markets.

The move follows a similar strategy employed last year when General Catalyst merged with Berlin-based venture firm La Famiglia to strengthen its presence in Europe.

General Catalyst has a track record of investing in India, with notable investments in fintech unicorn CRED, used car marketplace Spinny, and healthtech startup Orange Health. The firm’s approach includes developing industry-specific incubation and partnership strategies to build large enterprises from India for the global market.

The latest merger positions General Catalyst as one of India's largest venture capital firms, alongside firms like Lightspeed, Accel, and Nexus.

According to General Catalyst, The merged entity will play a significant role in amplifying the Indo-US-Europe collaboration in AI, technology, industry, and talent. The firm will also develop industry-specific incubation and partnership strategies to build large enterprises from India for the world.