Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin's B Capital closes $250 mn fund

Ascent Fund II is B Capital's first dedicated early-stage fund. It invests in pre-seed through series A rounds globally, with an emphasis on the US and Asia, including India

B Capital, a venture capital firm co-founded by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Luiz Saverin and Bain Capital veteran Raj Ganguly, said it is closing a $250 million Ascent Fund II, its first dedicated early-stage fund. Ascent invests in pre-seed through series A rounds globally, with an emphasis on the US and Asia, including India. With $6.5 billion in assets under management across multiple funds, B Capital has backed Indian unicorns such as Byju's, Meesho, BlackBuck and Dailyhunt.

“It’s incredible to see the continued pace of growth and development in the early-stage ecosystem across India and South-East Asia, spanning over 1.5 billion people in the most digitally connected countries globally,” said Karan Mohla, Partner, B Capital.

Mohla said that with the new fund, the venture capital firm is looking to partner with founders who envision scale for impactful transformation across all sectors.

The Ascent team was founded by chair and general partner Howard Morgan, firm co-founder and Managing Partner Eduardo Saverin, general partners Gabe Greenbaum and Karen Page, and partner Karan Mohla. Leveraging their decades of experience as active partners of early-stage companies, they target founders leading the next wave of innovation across digital healthcare, enterprise software, fintech and logistics, among other growing industries.

“Forty years of investing has taught me that early-stage founders have the best view of where the market is heading,” said Morgan. “Ascent allows us to work with these entrepreneurs to build great companies ahead of the curve.”

Founded in 2015, B Capital leverages an integrated team across eight locations in the US and Asia. Strategic partnership with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) provides portfolio companies access to BCG’s vast network of over 11,000 consultants with market expertise and 1,800 advisors across 90 offices in over 50 countries globally.

In April 2021, edtech giant Byju’s raised over $455 million from a slew of investors, including B Capital Group, Baron Funds, and XN, as part of its massive $1 billion funding round. The move reportedly increased Byju's valuation to $15 billion.

Last September, e-commerce start-up Meesho raised $570 million, led by Fidelity Management & Research Company and B Capital Group. Following the fund-raise, Meesho’s valuation more than doubled to $4.9 billion in less than five months.

In 2020, B Capital and Accel led a $105 million funding round in Bounce, the Bengaluru-based smart mobility solutions company which unveiled its first consumer electric scooter in December last year.

This April, B Capital Group announced the expansion of its leadership team, hiring Elizabeth Wahab in a new role as global chief operating officer and Cecilia Kwan as chief financial officer, and naming Ted Hill as chief administrative officer. The firm also elevated general counsel and chief compliance officer Mark Cho to partner.