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Saturday, July 4, 
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VC Rating: Bharat Matrimony

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Company: Bharat Matrimony
Description: Online matchmaking
Competitors: Shaadi, Jeevensathi
Location: Chennai, India
Amount Raised: $8.6 million
Round: First
Date Announced: 8/2/06
VC Firms: Canaan Partners, Yahoo! Inc.
VC Directors: Alok Mittal
Quick Take: A culture of arranged marriages combined with 1.1 billion people in that culture adds up to a sizable business opportunity. Bharat Matrimony operates a subscription-based Web site that allows people to find a suitable marriage partner. Since most singles in India don't date before marriage, the site is called an online matrimonial service, rather than an online dating site. Whatever the terminology, Canaan Partners had success with Match.com in the United States and should be able to use that experience in India. A danger is Bharat Matrimony's ambition to develop real estate, automotive, classifieds and employment Web sites in addition to its nine-year-old marriage service. I'm not sure how likely it is for one company to become the Craig's List, CarsDirect, Monster.com and Match.com of one country (even if that company is aligned with Yahoo!), but as long as its growth ambitions don't allow it to stray from its matchmaking roots and the company continues to tailor its service to the Indian market, success is attainable.

Technology (1 out of 10): 3
Market: 9
Management: 3
Chances for IPO: 5
Overall VC Rating: 7

For more on Bharat Matrimony's funding, see:
Srishti
ContentSutra
Alok Mittal

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