 Mumbai:
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has decided
to invest $10 million in New Path Ventures, which incubates
companies dealing with semiconductor design and related
software. IFC also has the authority to invest up to $10
million in future funding rounds of New Path’s incubated
companies, for a combined investment of up to $20 million.
IFC is the private sector development arm of the World
Bank Group.
An
IFC press release said that the mission of New Path Ventures
is to create leading-edge technology companies that can
take advantage of the cost-effective development and implementation
strengths of India. Each company will also have a product
definition and marketing unit in the US.
New Path Ventures
will create three to five companies, investing $5 to $10
million in each, and manage each company through prototype
completion. Total funding of $ 56 million has been raised
by New Path from investors such as New Enterprise Associates,
ChrysCapital, CMEA Ventures, and Adams Street Partners.
Mohsen
Khalil, the World Bank Group’s Director for Global
Information and Communication Technologies, said: “New
Path is an important initiative for the future development
of India’s information technology sector, representing
a strong opportunity to strengthen India’s position
in the high-skill, high value-added areas of the industry.”
Tushar
Dave, one of the two founders of New Path, said: "New
Path will leverage India’s tremendous technology
talent pool by undertaking development of products for
all our portfolio companies done in India to serve global
markets. We look forward to working closely with IFC in
this endeavor.”
The
two founders of New Path Ventures, Vin Dham and Tushar
Dave, have extensive entrepreneurial and operational experience.
Dham has experience in the semiconductor design industry,
having held senior posts at Intel, AMD, Broadcom, Silicon
Spice, and NexGen. At Intel, Dham was the vice-president
and general manager of the Pentium processor division.
His partner Dave also has broad industry experience with
firms such as Intel, Broadcom, Armedia, and Arcus.
IFC's
stated mission is to promote sustainable private sector
investment in developing countries, helping to reduce
poverty and improve people’s lives. IFC finances
private sector investments in the developing world, mobilises
capital in the international financial markets, and provides
technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses.
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