Private equity and venture capital companies invested around $1.8 billion in Tamil Nadu-based firms through 60 deals during 2021. Data collected by Venture Intelligence, a research firm focused on private company financials, transactions and their valuations, shows that in the first quarter of 2021, firms invested $510 million in 11 deals and about $323 million during the second quarter. Deals came through.
In the September and December quarters, about $415 million (19 deals) and $585 million (19 deals) came to state-based firms. In 2020, PE-VC firms invested $690 million in state-based firms through 41 deals.
Arun Natarajan, Founder, Venture Intelligence, said: “PE-VC investments in Tamil Nadu-based companies grew 166% year-on-year to over $1.8 billion (in 60 deals) in 2021. Fintech start-ups from Chennai such as M2P Fintech, CredAvenue and GuardianLink will make a strong mark on the radar of Indian and international VC investors during 2021,” said Mr. Natarajan.
“It was also interesting to see that state-of-the-art B2C brands like Juicy Chemicals, Tendercuts and The Indus Valley attract out-of-state VC investors,” he added.
Established companies like TVS Logistics and IPO-bound financial services companies like Five Star Business Finance and Star Health Insurance attracted mega investments (over $100 million each) in the year 2021. Traditional investor backed areas of enterprise technology and SaaS, exemplified by Unifor Software and Chargebee in particular, continue to attract sizable investments during 2021.
“The Nasdaq IPO of SaaS unicorn Freshworks and the exit of cross-border software start-up Ally (through acquisition by Microsoft) are going to give more wind behind enterprise technology start-ups in the state,” Mr. Natarajan said. Mr Natarajan said.
Investments by Angel Networks and “Super Angels” in Tamil Nadu-based companies also rose 46% year-on-year to 38 deals in 2021. The number of such investments registered a steady increase in each quarter during 2021, Mr Natarajan said.
Last year, the state saw 26 angel investment deals. Some of the firms that have received angel investment are Blair Motors (raised Rs 2.61 crore from The Chennai Angels), Planis Technologies (raised $1.6 million as part of its ongoing Pre-Series A round) and Agnikul (in Series A). $11 million was raised). Round led by Mayfield India).
In February, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra had invested in Agnikul.
In 2021, two Tamil Nadu-based companies, Chargebee Technologies and Five Star Business Finance became Unicorns.
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