Lightspeed is targeting $250M for its next India fund, roughly half the size of the vehicle it raised in 2022, and is steering the money toward early-stage AI, according to a letter sent to investors.
Commitments for about 80% of the target are already in hand for Lightspeed India Partners V, the letter said. The firm plans to start investing within two months and has designed a roughly two-and-a-half-year investment period, while it finishes deploying the current fund.
The smaller size is deliberate. Lightspeed told investors it matches the pace at which the team invests today, lets partners concentrate on individual deals rather than fund scale, and should mean a faster return to market for the next vehicle. Indian media had earlier reported a $300M to $350M target.
The fund also marks a change in plumbing. For the first time, Lightspeed’s India vehicles will sit on the same fundraising cycle as its global funds, bringing a business built nearly two decades ago into line with the rest of the firm. Accel made a similar move in August, raising a $550M India fund alongside US, Europe and global growth vehicles in a coordinated $3.5B effort.
The thesis in the letter is that AI will create more value in India than the internet did. India has yet to produce a frontier model developer of global standing, so Lightspeed is hunting in the application layer across India and Southeast Asia, leaning on the country’s developer base. Its existing India bets include Sarvam AI.
