Cybersecurity investments ripe for take off in India: Bessemer’s Vishal Gupta

livemint.com:

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners, which has invested in the likes of Swiggy and BigBasket, said that the cybersecurity segment is poised, in terms of investments, to take off in India on the back of rising instances of data fraud. The segment has been “fertile" for Bessemer globally, where the VC has made over 30 investments.

It is now starting to mature in India in terms of scale, enough for Bessemer to launch a road map on it, said Vishal Gupta, partner, Bessemer Venture Partners, in an interview with Mint. Bessemer invests in companies on the back of its investment ‘road maps’, which are the firm's outlook or an investment thesis on a segment. Its longest running road map has been in consumer internet, on the back of which it invested in Indian startups such as Swiggy (which it has exited), Bharat Matrimony, Snapdeal, BigBasket, and Urban Company among others.

Its other road maps in India include fintech, healthtech and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). “Cybersecurity has been fertile ground for us globally–we have invested in over 30 companies," he said, adding that one of the top companies in this space VeriSign was incubated in Bessemer’s office. “The question of cybersecurity has existed for 50 years, but in a road map you are always trying to answer—when is it taking off? We think the timing from an Indian ecosystem (perspective) looks good today—given the data protection bill has passed and the rules are on the way.