Lightspeed is targeting $250 million for a new early-stage India fund focused only on artificial intelligence startups, according to an investor letter seen by TechCrunch.

The fund, called Lightspeed India Partners V, will back AI startups in India and Southeast Asia. The letter, sent to investors on September 24, said the fund has already secured commitments for 80 percent of its target, or about $200 million.

The new fund is half the size of Lightspeed’s previous $500 million India fund raised in 2022. It marks a sharp pivot for a firm that previously funded quick commerce, consumer internet and household services in India.

Lightspeed plans to start investing within two months and to deploy the money over about two and a half years, a shorter period than a typical venture fund’s cycle.

Lightspeed already backs global AI companies including Anthropic, xAI and Databricks. In India, it has funded Sarvam AI, a language-model developer picked by the government to help build sovereign AI models. A company spokesperson declined to comment to TechCrunch. The move follows rival Accel, which raised a $550 million India fund earlier this year, as venture firms narrow their bets on AI.