General Catalyst, a Silicon Valley–based venture capital firm managing more than $43 billion in assets, has announced plans to invest $5 billion in India over the next five years, significantly scaling up its presence in the country’s startup ecosystem. The announcement marks a sharp expansion of its India strategy less than two years after it merged with local venture firm Venture Highway.
The firm revealed the investment commitment at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on Friday. Through this plan, General Catalyst will back startups operating across artificial intelligence, healthcare, defense technology, fintech, and consumer technology. Notably, the new commitment represents a substantial increase from the $500 million to $1 billion that the firm had earlier allocated for India.
Meanwhile, India continues to position itself as a global destination for AI investment, supported by its population scale and digital adoption. With more than a billion internet users, the country is actively courting large-scale capital inflows. As part of this push, New Delhi aims to attract over $200 billion in AI infrastructure investment over the next two years while hosting the India AI Impact Summit with participation from global technology leaders such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.
Commenting on the opportunity, General Catalyst CEO Hemant Taneja said India will build the next generation of global platform companies. He added that the firm views Indian founders as uniquely positioned to create technology for markets that serve massive populations, both domestically and globally.
General Catalyst also emphasized that it sees India’s largest AI opportunity in real-world deployment rather than in building frontier foundation models. According to the firm, India’s government-built digital public infrastructure, large domestic demand, and deep services talent pool create ideal conditions for scaling applied AI solutions across sectors.
This investment push arrives as India’s AI ambitions accelerate rapidly. At the summit, major conglomerates, including Adani Group and Reliance Industries, led by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, announced combined plans exceeding $200 billion to build AI data center infrastructure across the country. Separately, OpenAI has partnered with the Tata Consultancy Services to develop a 100-megawatt AI data center as part of its Stargate infrastructure expansion. In parallel, global cloud providers such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft have outlined tens of billions of dollars in additional AI and cloud investments in India.
At the same time, General Catalyst has steadily expanded its India portfolio across fast-delivery commerce, health tech, and deep tech. The firm’s investments in the country include Zepto, PB Health, Raphe, Jeh Aerospace, Pronto, and Ayr Energy. Neeraj Arora, CEO of General Catalyst for India, the Middle East, and North Africa, said the expanded capital base allows the firm to operate at a different scale in India and support companies from the earliest stages through to public market listings.
Looking ahead, General Catalyst confirmed that it is building a framework to accelerate large-scale AI adoption across priority sectors in India. Through this effort, the firm aims to help startups convert pilot AI projects into full commercial deployments. Additionally, the General Catalyst Institute continues to work on strengthening government–industry collaboration in India, reinforcing the country’s broader push to turn AI ambition into real economic impact.
