RTP Global, an early-stage venture capital firm that has backed fintech unicorn Cred, launched a new fund with a corpus of $1 billion. The fund will invest in Indian and Southeast Asian startups, as well as other geographies in the West. Through its new fund, RTP Fund IV, the VC firm will invest in technology startups with a focus on artificial intelligence, machine learning, enterprise software, fintech, e-commerce across North America, Europe, India, and Southeast Asia, the company said in a statement.

Of the $1 billion, RTP Global has earmarked $660 million for early-stage startups, while it will use the balance $340 million to invest in its existing portfolio companies, the VC said. RTP Global will focus on Seed and Series A investments, it added. RTP Global said that the new fund has derived capital almost entirely from the reinvestment of proceeds from the VC's previous investments. The VC has backed more than 110 startups to date globally and claims that about a tenth of its portfolio companies have become multi-billion dollar businesses.

In India, the early-stage VC has invested in 33 companies, who cumulatively have raised close to $6 billion to date. Besides Cred, a rewards-based credit card payment app, the VC has backed two more unicorns in the country Rebel Foods, a virtual restaurant network, and Mobile Premier League (MPL), an e-sports and mobile gaming platform. "India and Southeast Asia (SEA) are vibrant with entrepreneurial opportunities, and we are actively exploring innovative ideas and potential partnerships that align with our vision, specifically focusing on seed and Series A investments," said Galina Chifina, investment partner at RTP Global in Asia.

In its previous fund, RTP raised just under $500 million for Fund III in 2020. Through the fund, it backed soonicorns such as agritech startup DeHaat and edtech platform Classplus, among others. "Our team has invested in and operated at some of the most successful companies in the India-SEA ecosystem. With the launch of RTP IV, we aim to strengthen our proposition to be the best global fund for founders in the region, and we set the highest standards of trust and partnership with our founders as we collaborate with them in their entrepreneurial journeys," said Nishit Garg, investment partner at RTP Global in Asia.

RTP Global's new fund adds to the already large pile of venture capital dry powder. While RTP Global's new fund isn't entirely focused on India, in the past 15 months, several private equity and VC firms, including Sequoia Capital India (now Peak XV Partners), Accel, Matrix Partners India, Nexus Venture Partners and Elevation Partners, have raised large India-dedicated funds.The deployment of capital, however, has been slower due to macroeconomic headwinds. In the recent past, corporate governance issues too have cropped up, making VC firms cautious.