Mount Judi Ventures has struck its debut bet by investing in medtech company InnAccel Technologies Pvt Ltd, a top executive of the venture capital firm told VCCircle.
Mohammed Shoeb Ali, investment manager, Mount Judi, said that the startup raised close to $1.5 million (around Rs 11 crore) as part of this round with the venture capital firm as the lead investor.
The Bengaluru-based medtech company will use the funds to commercialize its products in India and other emerging markets.
InnAccel was founded by Siraj Dhanani and A Vijayarajan in 2012. It started as a medtech accelerator supporting startups.
But last year, it merged operations with its two incubatees -- Coeo Labs and Sattva MedTech -- to form a single entity.
The medtech firm currently has four products including VapCare, a US regulator-approved automated, secretion management and oral hygiene device that helps reduce the occurrence of ventilator-associated pneumonia and replaces manual nursing procedure.
Another product is SAANS, a portable neonatal CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) device designed to provide short-term breathing support for infants suffering from respiratory distress syndrome.
The company also launched SAANS PRO, a non-invasive ventilator, developed in response to Covid-19. Its product Fetal Life is used to monitor mother and foetus post 36 weeks of gestation.
InnAccel's co-founder and CEO Dhanani had previously co-founded PharmARC, a knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) firm focused on the pharmaceuticals industry.
PharmARC was acquired by healthcare consulting firm IQVIA, formerly IMS Health, in 2012. He has also previously worked with pharmaceutical companies Bristol-Myers Squibb and Strand Life Sciences.
Vijayarajan, chief technology officer, has more than 40 years of experience in developing medical device products. He has led medtech product development at GE Healthcare and VC-backed Perfint Healthcare. He has also worked at Wipro and HP.
Sherif Kottapurath, managing partner of Mount Judi, said that InnAccel is providing life-saving innovation at affordable rates, while still making good profits and rewarding investors.
The company currently sees a global addressable market size of more than $4 billion as it expects to tap into both the emerging and developed markets.
Aurum Equity Partners acted as the financial adviser for the deal.
Mount Judi had received regulatory approval for its debut venture capital fund in 2018, VCCircle reported previously.
The fund had a target size of Rs 50 crore and a greenshoe option to raise a similar amount.
Mount Judi executives did not comment on the fund close but a venture capital firm typically starts investing after the first close is made.
The fund is sector-agnostic but will prefer sectors which its General Partners (GPs) have experience in. These include digital/Internet of Things (IoT), consumer services, food and food-tech, healthcare and clean energy segments.
Mount Judi planned to typically invest Rs 6-10 crore in 10 to 12 companies, in a staggered manner, in pre-Series A or Series A fundraising rounds.