Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has pushed back against local media reports suggesting it plans to open an office in India, with its general partner calling the reports “totally fake news.”
Earlier on Thursday, Indian media reported that a16z was preparing to set up an office in Bengaluru and establish a physical presence in the country. The report also cited anonymous sources and said the company was in the process of hiring a local partner.
However, Anish Acharya, Bay Area-based general partner of a16z, who has been with the company for the past six years, dismissed the report. “I respect many great founders and investors in India and the region, but this is totally fake news!” he wrote to X.
When contacted, an a16z spokesperson confirmed Acharya's statement and referred to his post.
The denial comes as A16Z appears to be scaling back some of its international ambitions. Earlier this year, the company decided to close its London office. The office was opened in 2023 after the British government reportedly spent five years trying to convince the powerful company to do so, media outlet Shifted reported. The closure comes just 18 months after a16z set up shop, with the company citing a change in strategy and more favorable regulatory developments in the country. But the company said it will continue to invest internationally through remote teams and local networks. According to later reports, some of its scouts were active throughout Europe.
So far, India has not been a major focus for a16z, unlike other US venture firms such as Accel, General Catalyst and Lightspeed Venture Partners, which have penetrated deeper into the market. The company’s only notable bet in India is crypto exchange CoinSwitch, which was backed as part of the company’s $260 million funding round in 2021.
In the months that followed, a16z reportedly sought to invest around $500 million in Indian startups, but it has not made any major investments in the country since then.
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As TechCrunch previously noted, a16z co-founder and general partner Marc Andreessen spoke at the Stanford Graduate School of Management years ago and said that while backing startups in emerging markets is “very attractive,” it's difficult for venture funds to expand into more countries. Venture capital is “a very hands-on process of understanding the people you're working with in order to evaluate both the company and the work.”[ing] with the company,” he said at the time.