Venture capital firm Riceberg Ventures unveiled on Tuesday its debut fund to back early-stage startups developing cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and space technology and said it aims to hit its final closing target of $20 million (about Rs 170 crore) this year.
The VC firm, which has offices in Bengaluru, Zurich and San Francisco, has already invested in five startups through the fund since marking the first close in January last year. It did not disclose the amount raised in the first close.
It will invest in 25-30 startups, across the globe, with an average cheque size of $500,000, it said Tuesday.
So far, the fund has received commitments from a European family office, a founder of an Indian unicorn, and several individual investors, the firm's founding partner Ankit Anand told VCCircle.
Riceberg focuses on deep technology startups in Europe, the US, and India, investing in categories such as spacetech, AI, health tech, cybersecurity and novel energy. It typically invests in startups launched by Indian founders and supports them from pre-seed to seed stage.
It has invested in early-stage companies such as Manastu Space, which makes propulsion system for satellites, launch vehicle maker EtherealX, and cybersecurity startup Arch0, among others.
"The core of our thesis is that we invest in deep tech by Indian founders spread geographically," Anand said.
"Where we find that the technology is very groundbreaking, even if founders are not Indian, it can be very relevant for Indian market. We invest in them anyway because we have a ground presence (in the country)."
Riceberg was founded in 2023 by Anand, Mredul Sarda, Shubham Raj, and Lino Gandola. Anand holds a master's degree in Physics from ETH Zurich and has previously led two startups - Embibe and Sleepiz. Sarda, an IIT Mumbai alumni, previously worked at fintech startup slice in strategy and operations.
Raj earlier worked at Coinbase and holds a Master's degree in computer science from ETH, while Gandola worked in the investment team of a Berlin-based venture capital firm.
