Lightspeed, a prominent venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley, is adjusting its strategy in India with a stronger emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI), planning to invest $250 million through a new early-stage fund called Lightspeed India Partners V. This marks a shift in focus toward AI, which the firm believes will drive the next wave of innovation in India, a country with a vast and growing tech market. Lightspeed has previously invested in major AI companies such as Anthropic, xAI, and Databricks, and in India, it has supported Sarvam AI, a leading developer of large language models and a startup chosen by the Indian government to help build sovereign AI systems. The new fund is smaller than its $500 million predecessor, which was raised in 2022 and has already committed 80% of its capital. According to a letter sent to investors and seen by TechCrunch, Lightspeed plans to begin investing from the new fund within two months, with a focus on a two-and-a-half-year investment period. Until then, it will continue using the remaining capital from the previous fund. The firm has also aligned its India funds with the same fundraising cycle as its global funds for the first time, bringing its regional operations more in line with its overall strategy. This move follows a similar approach by rival firm Accel, which raised multiple funds simultaneously earlier this year. Lightspeed described the $250 million fund as being sized to match its current pace of investment and shorter time horizon. The smaller size, the firm suggests, allows it to focus more on individual deals rather than on fund size and to raise its next fund sooner. The new fund also reflects a sharper focus on AI, with the investment strategy targeting AI-driven companies across India and Southeast Asia. While India has not yet produced a major global AI model developer and has attracted less investment in AI compared to the U.S. and China, investors are increasingly interested in India’s potential in the application layer of AI, leveraging its large pool of software developers and long-standing role as a global tech services hub. The $250 million India fund is just a small portion of Lightspeed’s global capital. The firm, which manages over $65 billion in assets globally, raised $9 billion last December—the largest fundraising in its history. This included a $980 million early-stage venture fund. Lightspeed’s India and Southeast Asia funds have deployed roughly $900 million so far, while its global funds have invested an additional $1.6 billion in regional companies. The decision to focus the new fund entirely on AI represents a more targeted approach for Lightspeed in a market where it has previously invested across a wide range of sectors, including quick commerce, consumer internet, software, and household services. The same team that managed the previous four India funds will oversee this new AI-focused initiative.