Venture Catalysts, a Mumbai-based startup incubation platform, has floated a fund with a corpus of Rs 300 crore ($43.44 million) to help early-stage Indian startups expand their business.
The 9Unicorns Fund aims to invest in more than 100 companies every year, Venture Catalysts said in a statement.
The fund will typically invest Rs 60 lakh for a 5% stake in a startup, and may put in additional Rs 3-5 crore in subsequent funding rounds depending on a company’s ability to meet its growth objectives.
9Unicorns aims to invest in “high-potential” startups across sectors such as electric vehicles, mobility, augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence and machine learning, fintech, retail and fast-moving consumer goods.
The fund aims to “revive idea-stage funding” in India, said Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, co-founder and managing director, 9Unicorns.
“They will also be able to access markets across 26 cities across the world as well as tier-II, III and IV cities in India to build a large customer base quickly,” Sharma said.
Venture Catalysts
The firm was set up December 2015 by Anuj Golecha, Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, Anil Jain and Gaurav Jain. It usually invests between $250,000 and $1 million in an early-stage startups.
Last month, it invested Rs 4 crore (around $580,260) in Pariksha, a startup which helps aspirants prepare for government exams in their regional languages. It also placed an undisclosed sum in Vested, an investment platform enabling Indian investors to invest in the US stock market.
In April, snacks and sweets brand Haldiram’s invested an undisclosed sum in Venture Catalysts to facilitate more investments in the packaged foods segment.
Other recent investments on its portfolio include WiFi and data network aggregator EasyFi, snacks brand Keeros Foods Pvt. Ltd, online procurement platform for restaurants Adurcup and rental accommodation space provider Grexter.
