15 Hidden Gems Of The Venture Capital Ecosystem In India

When we talk about number of startups founded, India ranks among the top three countries globally. Startups that raised funding between the years of 2007-16 are also on the hunt for another round of funding. To support these startup ideas, the number of venture capital firms are on the rise too. While there are quite a number of venture capital firms dominating the funding scenario, there’s a notable increase in new VC firms working on the low. These are either investing in small amounts, dark knights of the VC world, or relatively new startups/ventures

Here’s a list of hidden gems of the venture capital ecosystem that provide a strong pillar to startups:

1. Aavishkaar Bharat Fund

Aavishkaar Bharat Fund is an innovator in early-stage funding. It was founded in 2001 and has a 3 step strategy to support entrepreneurs, build an ecosystem, and generate responsible exits.

Key Investments: Over 50 investments.
Key People: Vineet Rai.
Key Sectors: Microfinance, low-income states.

2. Ankur Capital Fund

Co-Founded by Rema Subramanian and Ritu Verma, Ankur Capital Fund is focused on providing flexible seed stage funding to startups. They also collaborate with their portfolio companies to help them scale and build an impactful business.

Key Investments: Suma Agro, Skillveri, ERC, Tessol, Niramai, BigHaat.
Key People: Rema Subramanian, Ritu Verma.
Key Sectors: Agriculture, healthcare, skill development, and education.

3. Augment Ventures

Augment Ventures provides mentoring, strategic assistance in development, and also incubation spaces to startups.

Key Investments: Zepo, Innov8, Seenit, Purple Style Labs.
Key People: Sonali Vijayavargiya.
Key Sectors: Technology enabled enterprises.

4. CapAleph Indian Millennium SME Fund

This  Bangalore-based private advisory equity firm engages deeply with the operating aspects of business that have the potential to generate significant differences in returns.

Key Investments: Utkal Tubers.
Key People: Rajesh Ranjan.
Key Sectors: Food and agri sectors.

5. CapitaLand Limited – C31 Ventures

C31 Ventures was founded in 2016 to advance the range of business CapitaLand is involved in. Their investments are mainly in their eight focus areas.

Key Investments: Ace Turtle Services Pvt. Ltd.
Key People: Lim Ming Yan.
Key Sectors: Real Estate, Customer Engagement.

6. Caspian

Caspian has been investing in high-quality enterprises in India since 2005 that have an environmental impact along with financial returns. They have 4 different funds.

Key Investments: Ujjivan, Janalakshmi Financial Services, Micro Housing Finance Corporation
Key People: S Viswanatha Prasad.
Key Sectors: Financial inclusion, food & agriculture, affordable housing, healthcare and clean energy.

7. Clairvest Group

Clairvest Group was founded in 1987 and has a board of entrepreneurs with experience building successful companies of their own.

Key Investments: Chilean Gaming Holdings, County Waste of Virginia, CRS Contractors Rental Supply.
Key People: Jeff Parr, Ken Rotman.
Key Sectors: Defense, Waste Management, Business Services, Healthcare, and much more.

8. Cocoon Ventures

This Dubai-based venture capital firm invests in early stage Information technology and IoT software companies.

Key Investments: AirMeLive, markat.com, World Startup Expo, Cocoonnest.
Key People: Nebu K Abraham.
Key Sectors: Information Technology, Internet of Things (IoT).

9. Falcon Edge Capital

Falcon Edge Capital has been a part of the major round of funding Ola secured in May 2017.

Key Investments: Ola.
Key People: Wilson Rondini, Angus Rose, John Howarth, Marco Castaldo.
Key Sectors: Open.

10. Green Shoots Capital

Green Shoots Capital is a private investing firm that funds startups in their initial or early stages of business. They conduct financial and market analysis on interesting startups before investing a seed amount.

Key Investments: 2-3 undisclosed investments.
Key People: Mohit Seth.
Key Sectors: Open.

11. Ideaspring Capital

Ideaspring Capital is an early stage venture fund by entrepreneurs with a vision to reimagine technology to enable a better world.

Key Investments: Karomi, Lavelle Networks, Whodat.
Key People: Naganand Doraswamy, Arihant Patni, Prashant Deshpande.
Key Sectors: Machine Learning and Deep Learning, Computer Vision and Image Processing, Big Data Analytics, Internet of things, Augmented and Virtual Reality, Cyber Security, etc.

12. IDEIN Ventures

IDEIN Ventures invests in companies with a strong growth potential, solid assets for backup, or a proven model of success.

Key Investments: Infuria, QRIYO, Buildtraders, Zoeasy.
Key People: Mahesh Vellaboyina, Ashwin Srivastava, Rajeshwar Prasad.
Key Sectors: Sector agnostic.

13. IncubAsia Ventures

IncubAsia Ventures makes strategic late seed and Series A investments in early stage technology companies.

Key Investments: Moko Social Media, Sayduck, Inzen Studio, VMOB, Pocket Media, BlockOn.
Key People: Gerben Visser, Hans de Back.
Key Sectors: Technology.

14. IndiaNivesh Growth and Special Situations Fund

IndiaNivesh has a mission to be a top financial powerhouse in India and offer a bouquet of financial services to its clients.

Key Investments: Innefu Labs, M Power.
Key People: Hemant Panpalia, Dinesh Nuwal, Rajesh Nuwal.
Key Sectors: Technology

15. Iron Pillar Funds

The Iron Pillar team has a combined experience of over 100 years and backs innovative companies post Series A round of funding.

Key Investments: Nowfloats, Bluestone.
Key People: Anand Prasanna, Mohanjit Jolly, Ashish Shah, Sameer Nath, Harish Hulyalkar, Ashok Ananthakrishnan.
Key Sectors: Consumer Tech and Enterprise Tech sectors.

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