Early-stage venture capital firm 2am VC said Thursday it has launched its second fund with an aim to raise $25 million (about Rs 215 crore) to invest in new opportunities in India.
The 2am VC Fund II intends to invest in up to 30 Indian startups, predominantly at the pre-seed to seed stage. It aspires to lead investment rounds and take “meaningful ownership” of companies to provide operational value to founders, it said in a statement.
The fund will invest in startups across consumer technology, fintech, food and beverage, artificial intelligence, and software-as-a-service domains. About 60% of the fund will be committed to initial investments, leaving 40% to support founders in follow-on investments.
2am VC, which has offices in Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi-NCR, and Los Angeles, launched its debut fund in 2021 and raised $10 million. To date, the VC firm has invested in 47 companies, including NEWME, Apna Mart, Bimaplan, and Karbon Card, among others.
To be sure, the VC firm was planning to launch the second fund three years ago, VCCircle reported in February 2022. It didn’t specify any reason for the delay in rolling out the second fund.
The VC firm is led by founding partners Hershel Mehta and Brendan Rogers. Mehta brings investment experience through Mehta Ventures and has invested in a number of startups in the US and India, including Zepto. Mehta Ventures is a family office led by 100x VC’s founder Sanjay Mehta and Hershel Mehta.
Rogers is the co-founder of Wag! and brings years of operator experience to support founders in building their startups, the VC firm said.
“India’s startup ecosystem has officially arrived—and is now a mainstream destination for venture capital investment. For institutions, it’s no longer a question of if you should invest in India, but rather how you should invest in India as the Indian century unfolds,” said Rogers.
Mehta said that Indian founders have many financing options and that 2am seeks to support entrepreneurs in being their “hyperlocal and hyperglobal partners” to introduce key relationships, arrange customers, and offer guidance to support growth and achieve product-market-fit.
