Bengaluru-based venture capital firm India Quotient, which focuses on early-stage investments, has appointed a co-founder of now-defunct portfolio management services provider Upside AI, Kanika Agarrwal, as a partner.
The VC firm had invested in companies like marketing automation platform WebEngage, lending platforms Lendingkart and LoanTap, edtech platform Masai, and D2C brands like FabAlley, Giva and Sugar Cosmetics.
“I’ve joined IndiaQuotient as Partner recently! While our journey at Upside didn’t work out, endings also mark exciting new beginnings. At IndiaQuotient, we are usually the first investor in a company – we like coming into big, India-first businesses early. I’m excited to join the team and invest in crazy ideas,” Agarrwal said in a LinkedIn post.
Agarrwal had cofounded Upside AI along with Nikhil Hooda and Atanuu Agarrwal in 2017. In June 2021, the startup had raised $1.2 million led by venture capital fund Endiya Partners in its seed round, with participation from veteran stock market investor Vijay Kedia and other angel investors. The startup now appears to be defunct.
Prior to Upside AI, Agarrwal was working as an associate with US-based venture capital Mayfield Advisors LLP, which she joined in 2012 from the global investment bank and financial services firm Credit Suisse. In the past, she has also been associated with professional services firm Ernst & Young as a consultant.
Meanwhile, India Quotient is currently investing from its fourth fund which has a target corpus of $80 million. In June 2021, the fund had announced that it had raised $64 million (Rs 474.2 crore then). It raised the capital from family offices and other institutional investors in India, and was in discussions with global investors for the rest of the money.
India Quotient was founded by Anand Lunia and Madhukar Sinha, a senior investment manager at Aavishkaar, in 2012. The paper-stage investor has invested in startups such as ShareChat, Kuku FM, Lokal, Koo, and PagarBook, among others. It typically gives out the first cheque for a startup backing them with funds in the range of $250,000-$1.25 million.
