Managing partner Jishnu Bhattacharjee emphasizes that AI marks a major inflection point, while the firm also sees broad opportunities for AI applications that serve the mass market.

Industry data show a surge of capital into AI, hardware, and deeptech in India, even as the segment lags behind other high-growth areas.

The OpenAI-TCS potential deal would position OpenAI to expand in India and may intersect with Reliance-Google cloud ambitions, aligning with TCS’s goal to lead AI-led services and leveraging HyperVault data centers with a 51:49 partnership with TPG.

OpenAI is in advanced talks with Tata Consultancy Services to create a large-scale AI infrastructure project in India, including leasing at least 500 MW of data center capacity from TCS’s HyperVault under a commercial lease.

The fund’s portfolio already features Indian growth names like Apollo, Zepto, Turtlemint, Delhivery, India Shelter, and Rapido, underscoring Nexus’s regional focus and sector reach.

Industry observers view Amazon’s push into quick commerce in major Indian cities as a response to shifting consumer behavior, with rivals pursuing large dark-store networks.

Historically, Nexus has backed more than 130 companies with over 30 exits, including several IPOs, illustrating a track record of scaling ventures.

Nexus Venture Partners has closed Fund VIII at $700 million to back AI, enterprise software, consumer, and fintech startups from inception, seed, and Series A stages in the US and India, continuing its hands-on, cross-border approach.

Senior partners Bhattacharjee and Sharma reiterate that AI’s momentum spans beyond a single trend, with practical, mass-market use cases across industries.

Nexus notes portfolio moves into AI-driven sectors with SEDEMAC Mechatronics pursuing an IPO and investments in rapid-growth areas like quick-delivery fashion (Slikk) and quick-maid services (Snabbit).

Strategic positioning centers on bridging India and U.S. startup ecosystems, leveraging open-source and India’s digital growth to unlock a large market and export opportunities.

India remains a core focus for Nexus amid a rapidly expanding digital ecosystem, driven by payments, mobile adoption, and broadband expansion.