Venture capital investment trends in IT Businesses

Abstract

How are venture capitalists reacting to the boom-and-bust IT business scenario? Has there been a shift in entrepreneurial activity from the traditional software services to products? Is Intellectual Property creation possible out of India and what do Indian companies have to offer to the global market? How would ‘Silicon Valley Angels’ affect the competitive paradigm for Indian VC funds? What is the possibility of germinating a venture in India and transplanting it overseas? How can Indian business schools and institutes of technology contribute in the vital field of R&D? Entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and academics participated in a round table discussion on VC investment trends in IT businesses in India, at IIMB last year, where a free and forthright exchange of views and experiences brought the main issues in the field into sharp focus. The participants were: Vinod Chandran, Chief Operating Officer and co-founder of Ind-TeleSoft and its product subsidiary, Xybridge; Siddhartha Das, Director, Strategic Investments, Intel Capital; Abhay Havaldar, Partner, Connect Capital, previously a Partner at Draper International; Pradeep Kar, Founder & Chairman, Microland Group – a leading player and incubator in the Internet economy; Kiran Nadkarni, presently Managing Director, JumpStartup Fund Advisors, with over 15 years experience in the VC industry in India; Subhash Reddy, Vice President, e4e Labs; and M R Rao, Director, IIMB. The Round Table, organised under the auspices of the Centre for Software Management, was anchored by G Sabarinathan and its Q & A session was moderated by Pradeep Kar.