According to reports, Lightspeed Venture Partners has raised its largest fund dedicated to India and Southeast Asia at $500 million.

With the closing, the Silicon Valley-headquartered venture capital firm has joined a growing set of technology investors that have amassed large amounts of dry powder even as a funding slowdown hits the technology sector worldwide.

Lightspeed, which has backed startups such as Oyo, Udaan, Sharechat and Byju’s, has increased the size of its fourth India fund substantially from its previous corpus of $275 million, which it racked up in 2020.

The India fund is a part of the $7 billion that Lightspeed announced it had raised overall to deploy in early- and growth-stage companies globally.

Bejul Somaia, a partner at Lightspeed who set up the fund’s India franchise in 2007, has been promoted to its global leadership team and will spend time between the US, Europe and India. Somaia will serve on various investment committees in addition to his existing role of overseeing India. Lightspeed presently has nine partners in its India team as per the reports.

Somaia says, “The opportunity continues to broaden in scope, founder quality continues to improve, technology adoption is accelerating, and we’ve begun to see venture-backed companies get public. All these developments give us confidence in the India and Southeast Asia opportunity.”

“When we commit resources to a market, it's really done with a very long-term view. What’s clear is that this region matters to us, and it will take some time for the growth markets to adjust and find a new equilibrium. That's okay; it doesn't change our view of the market,” adds Somaia.