Softbank, Sequoia, Tiger Global Emerged as Prominent VCs of 2019

Venture Capital is an important cog of the startup ecosystem in India. Wizikey, Asia’s first PR and communication platform has collated interesting trends across industries using its AI and ML-based Technology and created a report on the top newsmakers of 2019 in the VC ecosystem. The report has been created after a thorough study of all the news published in the sector from 1st of January till date.

The most common theme for all big VC players was either about their funding announcements or the exits they made. Overall, it was a good year with lots of investments taking place regardless of the economic slowdown.

The top 5 Newsmakers in the category were:

Anshul Sushil, Co-Founder and CEO of Wizikey said, “Venture Capital firms have evolved in stature in the last few years. People just don’t look at them for just capital requirement but for guidance at each and every aspect of the business. Hence it becomes interesting to see what is perceived image of these firms in media.”

SoftBank, the Japanese multinational conglomerate holding company is one of if not the biggest venture capitals operating today. With its fingers in almost all kinds of pies, the Japanese giant has been in the news on its own merit and for being mentioned alongside its star portfolio companies like Oyo Rooms, WeWork, Paytm and Ola. Being an industry leader in its field, the media follows SoftBank’s steps with keen interest, which means almost every investment or activity it carries out is covered extensively.

Sequoia, a leading California based venture capital firm had substantial visibility in 2019. In terms of investments, Sequoia had an active year which kept the venture firm in the news constantly throughout the year. Articles pertaining to the star investees of the firm like Oyo, Cred, Freshworks, and Druva ensured Sequoia had enough mentions throughout the year.

Additionally, a shift in the top leadership of the firm coupled with the launch of its Surge program ensured the firm was never out of the media’s spotlight.

Tiger Global is one of the biggest names in the investment community till date. The firm has a rich history of investing in some of the biggest unicorns and up and coming startups across the globe. Thus, it is no surprise that it is in the top 5 Newsmakers in the investment sphere. With investee companies like Ola Electric, CleverTap, and NoBroker, Tiger Global has had a healthy amount of visibility across 2019.

The Chinese mega-conglomerate, Tencent is probably most widely known for its games, PUBG being the most prominent of those lately. What people not keenly following the Venture Capital space doesn’t know is that it also operates one of the world’s largest venture capitals. So much so that Tencent has invested in more Unicorns than even SoftBank. It is also a prominent player in the Indian investment space with portfolio companies like Ola and Udaan. While Tencent may not be as visible as SoftBank or Sequoia, it is still one of the biggest players and Newsmakers in the industry.

Accel, a US-based venture capital firm has had a very active year in terms of investments having participated in funding rounds for the likes of Acko, Blackbuck, Ninjacart to name a few. The firm works closely with early-stage startups and has had a considerable amount of visibility, enough to help the firm differentiate itself from the clutter and be included in the top five Newsmakers in the investment space. This was made possible through Accel’s frequent funding announcements across 2019.