StartupXseed Ventures generally invests in seed and growth-stage companies. It is now the investment manager of Aaruha Technology Fund I and II Fund II, which will invest between INR 5 Cr and INR 12 Cr in 8-10 enterprise SaaS and deeptech firms over the next year.
StartupXseed Ventures has raised INR 243 Cr ($30.4 Mn) for its second fund (Fund II). The second has been 20% oversubscribed in comparison to its initial aim. In the next 12 months, Fund II will invest between INR 5 Cr and INR 12 Cr in 8-10 corporate SaaS and deeptech firms.
The fund’s backers include ultra-high net-worth individuals (UHNIs), family offices, and corporates from India, the United States, Singapore, Oman, and Japan, among others. StartupXseed Ventures generally invests in seed and growth-stage companies.
It is now the investment manager of Aaruha Technology Fund I and II Fund II, which will invest between INR 5 Cr and INR 12 Cr in 8-10 enterprise SaaS and deeptech firms over the next year.
Furthermore, prior investors in StartupXseed’s first fund (Fund I) have also invested in the second fund (Fund II).
StartupXseed intends to sponsor strong founders capable of producing enterprise solutions and selling them globally through the second fund. The startup stated that it will assist the selected firms with product development, growth plans, geographic expansion, and organizational skills.
“With our experience in the B2B industry, we have assisted entrepreneurs in achieving noteworthy success, and our average markup on previous investments is greater than 6x.”
BV Naidu, managing partner at StartupXseed, said, “After seeing comparable growth signs on the Fund II portfolio, a few of Fund II LPs upped their investment at final close.”
StartupXseed Ventures is a business-to-business venture financing firm founded by V. Naidu, Mohandas Pai, Ramakrishna V, and Ravi Thakur. It primarily funds seed and growth-stage enterprises.
The venture capital firm is now an investment manager for Aaruha Technology Fund I and II, which invest in deeptech, B2B, SaaS, and spacetech firms.
Ravi Thakur, the fund’s co-founding partner, said, “In terms of investments, we are especially interested in solutions that need the confluence of new business models and technology. This way, we’re putting ourselves ahead of the curve when it comes to working on the next major verticals. We’re also investing time helping founders quadruple to treble their Topline year over year,”
Dr. Krishna Mikkilineni, former CTO and board member of Honeywell, has been named as StartupXseed’s general partner for the second fund.
BV Naidu, Ravi Thakur, Sid Mookerji, Ramakrishna V, Mohan Das Pai, and V. Balakrishnan are among the other general partners overseeing its second fund.
The revelation comes at a time when Indian entrepreneurs are facing a cash shortage due to factors such as the current funding winter, market inflation, investor skepticism, and disruptions in the global supply chain, among others.
However, VC firms appear to be optimistic and are creating as well as leading startup-focused funds. Some of the funds that have been opened are Auxano Capital’s $25 million fund, Shanti Mohan’s Propell, and Fundamental VC’s $130 million fund.
