Lightspeed gears up for new India-Southeast Asia fund, may raise $500 mn
Lightspeed India Partners, an early backer of firms like Oyo and Razorpay, plans to raise its next fund focused on India and Southeast Asia in 2026, even as the initial public offering (IPO) exit pipeline begins to open, two people with direct knowledge of the development said. Mint.
Its portfolio companies, including Oyo, Zepto, Zetwerk, Udaan and Acko, are in various stages of preparing to go public, creating a potential liquidity pipeline for the venture capital firm. Lightspeed is also a backer of Physics Wallah, but did not sell any shares in its recent IPO as investors gradually reduced the number of components available for sale.
The Silicon Valley-based company has raised $500 million in 2022 to invest in startups in India and Southeast Asia; this was his fourth and largest fund ever. “The new fund is also expected to be in a similar range. Fundraising will start in the third or fourth quarter of this year (2026),” said one of the people cited above.
Lightspeed declined to comment MintEmailed inquiries from .
Lightspeed has so far raised four dedicated early-stage funds focused on India and Southeast Asia; The proposed vehicle is expected to be the fifth. The firm has steadily raised these funds over the years, raising $135 million in Fund I, $180 million in Fund II, and $275 million in Fund III in 2020.
The firm is still deploying capital from its fourth fund, and it could take a few more years for the new fund to close.
Unlike previous cycles, when Lightspeed returns to the market every two to three years, it is approaching its next fund focused on India and Southeast Asia, following a longer pause amid a slower deployment cycle after the 2021 startup funding boom.
In an interview in November Economic TimesBejul Somaia, Lightspeed’s global leader, said the company could: consider a smaller fund size around $250-300 million for his next vehicle.
The timing of the new fund this year also coincides with an aggressive global fundraising effort. Lightspeed announced in December 2025 that it had raised over $9 billion from six new global funds, bringing total assets under management to over $40 billion.
To date, Lightspeed has backed over 165 artificial intelligence (AI) native companies and invested more than $5.5 billion in the space, including Anthropic, Glean, Rubrik, and Databricks.
“As it continues to be a sector-independent investor in India, it is likely to invest more in artificial intelligence, deep tech and gig trading, among other areas,” a second person with knowledge said, referring to the firm’s India and Southeast Asia strategy. Lightspeed has supported e-commerce and flash commerce startups in India such as Zepto, Snabbit, Limeroad and Slikk.
The fundraising effort comes at a time of a broader resurgence in India-focused venture capital. Last year, firms such as Nexus Venture Partners, A91 Partners and Accel India raised over $600 million in new funding. Others, including Bessemer, Fireside Ventures, Blume Ventures and Chiratae Ventures, have also closed new funds.
