Dallas Venture Capital LLC (DVC) on May 25 announced the closing of $80 million fund and aspires to become one of the largest technology focused funds to operate out of Dallas, Texas, USA. DVC is currently raising a separate fund in India, DVC India Fund 1 to provide opportunities to Indian investors and has raised $20mn of its $50mn target. DVC US Fund II plans to invest alongside its $50mn India fund, making it a true cross-border venture capital fund that is poised to bootstrap two large start-up ecosystems in the US and India. DVC plans to invest about $130mn in Enterprise focused B2B SaaS start-ups over next four-five years through both its funds.
DVC was founded in 2020 by Dayakar Puskoor, a serial entrepreneurs and co-founded by Abidali Neemuchwala, former CEO of Wipro Limited and a 30-year veteran public company, information technology and investment executive.
The fund focuses on early and growth stage companies in B2B SaaS sector focused on leveraging deep tech in the areas of cloud, AI/ML, XR, Data, and other emerging technologies with infrastructure software or industry vertical focus. It has invested in 27 start-ups which include companies across the US and India with 9 successful exits over the last decade. Some of the portfolio companies are HyperVerge and Corestack.
“We are overwhelmed by the response to our DVC Fund II and particularly pleased with the recognition as a cross-border VC by our investors as they benefit from the start-up revolution that is taking place in India,” said Dayakar Puskoor, Managing Director of DVC. “The extensive due diligence performed by our strategic investors has sharpened our investment thesis. The continued guidance of our strategic investors and advisors are going to help us create differentiated value for our portfolio companies,” Puskoor added.
“We partner with our portfolio companies as mentors offering strategic guidance during the most important phase of the start-up’s journey to accelerate their revenues from $1 million to beyond $10 million through our time tested and honed DVC Advantage program leveraging our network of venture partners and advisors,” said Abidali Neemuchwala Co-founder & Director of DVC. “Our experience and familiarity with both US and India enable us to bring exceptional operational and growth strategies to our portfolio companies,” added Neemuchwala.
“The completion of fundraise of US Fund II, which is a co-investing partner for DVC India Fund, is a significant milestone in DVC’s journey. We are confident that both the funds, which are truly cross border in nature, will emerge as significant contributors to the growth of Indian SaaS start-ups,” said Shyam Penumaka, Partner at DVC. “Currently, the focus of DVC India Fund is on raising the remaining capital from institutional investors, family offices, and high net worth individuals keen on participating in the flourishing Indian deep technology B2B SaaS sector,” Penumaka added.
The fund has already invested in four start-ups – Lucy.ai, Rollick, Citylitics, and Disprz and plans to, on average, invest in one company per quarter for a total of approximately 20-25 companies over the next 4-5 years. DVC’s typical investment stage is post-product market fit, and its initial capital is focused on enabling the start-ups to scale through its DVC Advantage Program. DVC India Fund has made investments in the Enterprise skilling start-up, Disprz, and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) start-up, IntelleWings.
