Early-stage venture capital firm Athera Venture Partners, which is currently raising Rs 900 crore ($106 million) for its fourth fund, has roped in a key domestic limited partner to the investment vehicle.
The VC firm, which has already raised capital from Indian family offices and international foundations, has secured a commitment from HDFC Asset Management Company’s Select AIF Fund of Funds-I scheme for the new fund.
It didn’t disclose the amount HDFC AMC invested in the fund.
Athera, formerly Inventus India, said that it will use this fund to invest in tech-focused startups in the consumer Internet, enterprise software, AI, and other emerging technologies.
Athera is looking to make the final close of the fourth fund in 2025. To date, the VC firm has made investments in six startups from the fund. These include autonomous robotics company Ati Motors, 3D immersive online gaming platform Terra, AI automation company Hyperbots, robotics startup CynLr, digital consumer products seller Billion Hearts and logistics software provider ClickPost.
The VC firm claims that with these six investments, 30% of the portfolio is already constructed and the fund is already sitting on a positive internal rate of return (IRR). Over the next 18-24 months, it plans to invest in a dozen more such startups from its Fund IV.
“With this (HDFC AMC investment), we remain committed to supporting the Indian startup ecosystem and are looking forward to backing many exciting and innovative founders that are set to transform the world with their solutions,” said Rutvik Doshi, general partner and managing director, Athera.
Founded in 2008, Athera has backed early-stage and tech-first startups partnering largely in Series A and seed-stage funding. The VC firm has, so far, invested in over 40 companies including redBus, PolicyBazaar, Pixxel, MoveinSync, Sokrati, FundsIndia, Euler Motors, BluArmor, Vunet, Healthifyme, Playshifu, and Unbxd.
