United Arab Emirates-based AUM Ventures has launched a $30-million debut venture capital fund targeting tech-enabled, innovation-backed and consumer-focused Indian startups.
The firm has received an anchor commitment from a prominent Dubai-based family office and is targeting global family offices/HNIs to subscribe to the fund, AUM Ventures founding partner Chetan Mehta told DealStreetAsia.
To date, AUM Ventures has invested in 11 Indian companies, including Skyroot Aerospace, Smiles.ai, Svish, Esports XO, Fenix, Myways.ai and Firstsense.
“One of our key focus areas will be to bring our Indian portfolio companies to the UAE, help them set up their regional base at ADGM (Abu Dhabi Global Market) and be their growth enablers in the region. Further, we will seek to invest in non-consensus, overlooked, and underfunded sectors,” Mehta said.
“[We believe] founders can create entire market categories through bold ideas,” he added.
The fund is fully licenced and regulated by ADGM.
AUM Ventures’s fundraising comes amid rising interest from both global and domestic investors in India.
Recently, Chiratae Ventures raised $93 million (Rs. 759 crore) for the first close of its ‘Growth Fund I’ to invest in growth-stage startups while Fireside Ventures, another early-stage venture fund investing in digital-first consumer brands, recently closed its third fund at $225 million.
Earlier this year, Sequoia India raised a whopping $2.85 billion across three funds to invest in the Indian and Southeast Asian markets, while Accel India mopped up $650 million and Elevation Capital raised its largest-ever fund at $670 million.