The terrorist attacks on two haunts of U.S. venture capitalists in Mumbai, India, have introduced a new dimension of risk to investing in India.
At least 130 were reported dead after terrorists attacked a Jewish outreach center and two hotels frequented by U.S. venture capitalists and other financiers, the Taj Mahal Palace and Oberoi-Trident hotels.
Some of the most prominent firms in U.S. venture capitalism have offices in Mumbai, including Sequoia Capital, Battery Ventures and Matrix Partners.
A spokesman for Bangalore-based Infosys, one of India’s leading high tech firms, said its business operations were unaffected.
“In view of the attacks in Mumbai, we have increased security across all our development centers in India and will remain fully alert,” he said.
The attacks come as investment in India by U.S. venture capitalists is slumping. In the third quarter, financing by American VCs fell 43 percent to $271 million in 28 deals. That compares to $473 million in 40 deals in the prior period, according to a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association.
The tragedy has been a wake-up call for India, says Raj Jaswa, board president of the Silicon Valley chapter of TiE, (The Indus Entrepreneurs) an influential organization in India and the U.S.. He said he believed that in the long-term, the close ties between Indian and American technologists will not be harmed.
"It’s so embedded and so critical and so important to the competitive
advantage,"said Mr. Jaswa. He suggested that entrepreneurs and investors may resort to using more collaborative technologies like video conferences to cut down on travel to India. "This event might even be a driver for more technology,"said Mr. Jaswa, who serves on the board of Palo Alto video startup.
"It’s essentially going to drive new ways to get access to that
talent."