General Catalyst commits $5B to India over five years

General Catalyst, a Silicon Valley venture firm managing over $43 billion in assets, has committed to investing $5 billion in India over the next five years, significantly increasing its previous allocation of $500 million to $1 billion. This expansion follows its merger with local venture firm Venture Highway and aims to bolster startups in artificial intelligence, healthcare, defense technology, fintech, and consumer technology. The announcement was made at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, highlighting India's emergence as a major AI investment hub with ambitions to attract over $200 billion in AI infrastructure investments within two years. The firm’s CEO, Hemant Taneja, emphasized India's potential to build the next generation of global platform companies, citing the country’s large digital infrastructure, vast market, and skilled talent pool as key advantages. General Catalyst focuses on large-scale AI deployment rather than frontier model development and has already invested in Indian startups across various sectors, including Zepto and Jeh Aerospace. The firm plans to support companies from early stages through public