Venture Highway

Venture Highway is a founder-first, seed-stage, tech-focused venture capital firm founded in 2015 and based in India, in New Delhi, originally established by former Google executive Samir Sood. The firm invests almost exclusively at the seed stage, preferring to be the first institutional partner for category-creating companies, and backs startups across fintech, logistics, Web3, SaaS, cybersecurity and B2B commerce, willing to lead. It takes a hands-on approach, leveraging a network of investors, industry experts, advisors and potential hires across India and the US, with an average cheque size of around $1M. Venture Highway raised a $78.6M second fund announced in January 2020 and built a portfolio of roughly 80 companies that has produced six unicorns, two IPOs and eight acquisitions. It is best known as an early and long-term backer of Meesho, having invested in its first seed round, and reportedly sold a 1.5% stake for around 50x returns. Other notable portfolio names include Moglix, MPL, BetterPlace, Chalo, Fam, Grip Invest and CheQ. In a major development, global firm General Catalyst agreed in early 2024 to merge with Venture Highway, completing the deal in June 2024 to strengthen its India presence and global seed capability; founder Samir Sood subsequently transitioned to an advisory role amid the restructuring. By being the first institutional partner to category-creating Indian founders and pairing capital with a hands-on network, Venture Highway built a seed track record that drew a global firm's acquisition.