Dubai-based venture fund Cocoon Ventures is planning to invest around $20 million in Indian startups in the areas of IoT (internet-of-things), robotics, and agriculture.

The year-old fund, which is a consortium of 25 high profile Gulf Arabs, is also collaborating with US and Turkey-based accelerators planning to establish a base in India. “We are already in talks with the Alcor fund of the US, and are planning to invest another $20 million with them. We are also talking to Turkey-based StartersHub, an entrepreneurship platform,” said Cocoon Ventures CEO Nebu K Abraham. Abraham was speaking at the World Startup Expo in Bengaluru, a three-day event conducted by them that started on November 21.

The venture fund has made eight early-stage investments so far in Dubai. The investments are between $250,000 and $1 million. The plan is to fund around 20 startups, out of the 300 that are showcasing at the expo.

Abraham added investor interest in Indian startups is increasing, since what the Dubai market is demanding is lying outside the country.

“Innovation is not that prominent in the Gulf countries. But the culture in the Gulf is changing. In Dubai, for instance, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed (crown prince) has a vision that Dubai should turn into a smart city by 2020. So they want to find a way to change the ecosystem completely. They are looking at organic food, healthy living. We are trying to bring in those ideas from startups that would be a right fit, and make them reach a marketable level,” Abraham said.

Turkish entrepreneur and angel investor Baybars Altuntas, who was one of the attendees at the expo, said that India was too big to ignore. He said the Indian angel networks needed to be more connected to attract more investors.

Source: Times of India