Bill Gates invests in Unitus Seed Fund; raises over $4 million from HNIs

Unitus Seed Fund, India’s leading venture seed fund supporting start-ups innovating for the masses, announced that it has raised over $4 million from 16 high net income Indian investors in its domestic fund.

Additionally, Unitus Seed Fund announced that leading Seattle area tech executives, including Steve Singh, Diego Piacentini, and Bill Gates have invested in Unitus Seed Fund’s affiliated offshore venture fund.

Unitus Seed Fund has more than $20 million to invest across healthcare, education, mobile commerce and value-added services, marketplaces and e-commerce, retail and distribution, agriculture, water and energy sectors. Unitus has already announced 14 investments in India.

“Impact investing is a powerful model with the potential to build markets and drive change for the people who need it most,” said Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft and co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  Bill Gates’ investment is a personal one and not associated with his foundation’s work.

“I have invested in Unitus Seed Fund because I believe that Indian entrepreneurs are uniquely positioned to field profitable and scalable solutions that unlock opportunity for the masses in India”, said Desh Deshpande, chairman, Tejas Networks. “The Unitus Group has a track record of finding and supporting the best entrepreneurs who are building impact businesses serving the base of the economic pyramid in India, and making good money at the same time. I hope others will join me in investing in impact funds from Unitus Group and other innovative managers.”

Unitus invests in India through two investment funds: Unitus Seed Fund India, a Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)-registered venture capital fund, and Unitus Seed Fund, LP an offshore venture capital fund.

“We are very pleased to announce our growing group of Indian HNI investors who see the opportunity to invest in innovative high-growth startups serving the masses in India,” said Srikrishna Ramamoorthy, Partner, Unitus Seed Fund. “We are finding a large number of high-quality entrepreneurs in India who are creating disruptive businesses that can deliver superior financial returns to investors while improving the lives of millions of India’s low-income populations.”