2024 is looking like a “wow” - Season’s Greetings from WaterBridge Ventures!

In 2023, India danced its way to a lead role on the global stage. From Naatu Naatu at the Oscars to the G20 Presidency or celebrating the year of the millet. We excelled at the Asian Games and the ICC Cricket World Cup. We took moon shots with Chandrayaan. Our exports became less vulnerable to global demand,?and we recommitted to achieving the UN SDGs.?Read more about what was top of mind for India here

We at WaterBridge Ventures celebrated significant achievements in our portfolio. Chalo, EloElo, and Nymble cumulatively raised $87M in follow-on rounds. CityMall and Bijnis strengthened their category leadership, marching towards profitability with sustained growth. BimaKavach obtained its IRDA broking license. Loopworm commercialised its state-of-the-art insect-protein facility in Bangalore, and YellowMetal's AUM surpassed $10M. We made new investments in FairDeal, an offline distribution platform, and Adster, an ad-tech monetisation platform; welcomed six new team members; and successfully concluded the fourth edition of FastForward. We supercharged the ecosystem with initiatives like the IVCA VC 101 program, hosted roundtables, and published insights across our sectors, underscoring our commitment to enriching the ecosystem.

As we wrap up the year, we are excitedly shooting season 3 of our podcast series, That One Idea, and getting set to publish our 2023 Sustainability Report.?

From our family to yours, wishing you a merry Christmas and our best wishes for 2024!?

Portfolio Milestones Notable Updates From Our Portfolio

Portfolio Expansion

In the last quarter, we expanded our portfolio with two new companies. Adster, an ad-tech monetisation platform, empowering web and mobile publishers to boost ad revenue with self-serve solutions, data analytics, and a parallel ad-server, enhancing team productivity and maximising ad inventory yield. Fairdeal, a retail intelligence platform, reshaping retail with its offline data-driven distribution network, aiding Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) brands and streamlining product launches for global brands.?

Portfolio Awards and Recognition

?Some notable highlights include BimaKavach securing the Direct Insurance Broking License, Magicpin becoming ONDC's largest seller, Atlan attaining LEADER status on G2 in 5 categories, Bijnis winning Best Technology Team of the year (B2B ECommerce) at the India DevOps Show presented by NewRelic, and Chalo receiving the Best Product Innovation award at the Digital Native Brand Awards organised by the IMAI.

Portfolio Follow-on Rounds

Chalo secured an impressive $57M, marking a significant milestone in revolutionizing bus commutes. EloElo, on the other hand, has successfully secured $22M in Pre-Series B funding, setting the stage for substantial future growth. Additionally, Nymble celebrates a notable $8M boost in its latest funding round.

WBV Insights Thought Leadership From Our Team

Partner Participated Events

Manish Kheterpal featured as a panelist at the AVCJ Forum in Hong Kong, the Mumbai and Bengaluru edition of IVCA #VC101, WINPE Leadership Summit and the FinTech Round Table hosted by Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas. In the past month, Anjali Sosale, spoke at the WebEngage Startup Demo Day 2023, CII Cost Conference 2023 in Hyderabad, and featured in the W Talks podcast by WinPE.

WaterBridge Ventures’ Published Insights

We continue to deliver engaging articles and valuable insights including, "Healthcare in India", "Building for India's Silver Economy", "India’s Role in the Evolving Global Synthetic Biology Landscape", "FastForward Refresh: Global SaaS", "The Rising CAC Conundrum", and "Easy To Plug In Hard To Plug Out: D2C Enablement".

Read more here

WBV?Hosted Events

WaterBridge Ventures hosted a series of events, beginning with an exclusive mixer for VC analysts and associates to usher in the new year. The WaterBridge Ventures FinTech Mixer in Bangalore, featured 80+ early stage fintech founders. The FastForward VC Partner Meet recognised 50+ of our co-investment partners in the FastForward Program. Founders building B2B tools convened at the WaterBridge Ventures D2C Enablement Roundtable.

Women In Investing Mixer

WaterBridge Ventures hosted a year-end Women In Investing mixer. There were 100+ women from investing and 40+ women founders who attended. We were delighted to shine the spotlight on Lathika Pai from SonderConnect, a community of over 200 founders, and Sheeba D'Mello from Women In Investing, a community of over 400+ women in investing, to share their trailblazing work in building these entirely volunteer and member-driven communities.

WaterBridge Ventures Team Expansion

We welcome 6 new team members this year as we power on into 2024. Abhinav Adlakha, Ahlam Ansari, Baba Prasad Nath, Raj Nayan Datta, Sapna Goyal, and Yash Chhabra join us across our Bangalore and Delhi offices.

Bengaluru The Leela Palace Hotel

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Delhi The Imperial Hotel