MOL to invest in Indian venture capital fund managing $1.3B of assets

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines’ investment firm MOL PLUS has announced its plans to invest in Chiratae Ventures International Fund V, managed by India-headquartered Chiratae Ventures Offshore Manager LLP, an Indian venture capital fund (VC fund).

This marks MOL PLUS’s second investment in an Indian VC fund, following its investment in Theia Ventures.

Tokyo-based MOL PLUS is a company established in 2021 by Japanese shipping group Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) to invest in startup companies and promote collaboration with MOL Group businesses.

Chiratae Ventures – a VC fund established in India in 2006 – has about 20 years of investment experience, extending back to the early days of India’s startup ecosystem.

To date, it has managed 7 funds with a total of roughly $1.3bln in assets under management, MOL PLUS said.

It is one of India’s most established VC funds, according to MOL PLUS, with cumulative investments in over 130 companies and around 65 exits – including 5 IPOs.

MOL PLUS highlights that India is one of its key investment regions and that a partnership with an