Early-stage investor network FAAD announced that it has received market regulator Sebi’s approval to launch a category-1 alternative investment fund (AIF) with a corpus of $36 million (Rs300 crore). Separately, Java Capital has launched its first fund with a corpus of $9 million.
FAAD gets Sebi’s nod for $36m fund
Early-stage investor network FAAD announced on Monday that it has received Sebi’s green light to launch a category-1 alternative investment fund (AIF) with a corpus of $36 million (Rs 300 crore).
In a statement, FAAD said that it will build the war chest over the coming months to invest across sectors in pre-seed to Series A technology companies, focusing on healthtech, agritech, deeptech, and cleantech space.
“While a lot has been said about the funding winter in the startup ecosystem, when it comes to early-stage companies, the enthusiasm for capital support continues to be on the rise. We are gearing to launch the AIF and see it as a strong force that will fuel young startups with the combined energies, support and capital from our growing network of investors,” said FAAD co-founder and director Karan Verma.
Launched in 2019, FAAD has invested over Rs 75 crore in over 60 startups across a multitude of technology sectors, with a minimum cheque size of $50,000-1 million. Its portfolio companies include Blu Smart, Battery Smart, Hesa, WCube, Cleardekho, Huviair, and Beyond Snacks among others.
Java Capital launches $9m fund
Java Capital, a seed-stage-focused, Sebi-registered alternative investment fund (AIF), has launched its first fund with a corpus of $9 million (Rs 75 crore) including a greenshoe option of Rs 25 crore.
The Fund has already achieved its first close at Rs 30 crore and expects to do a final close in the next six months, Java Capital said in a statement.
The Fund will participate and lead investments in startups looking to raise pre-seed to pre-series A funding across deep-tech, SAAS, enterprise tech, fintech and climate and sustainability verticals.
Java has already invested in four companies from this fund and plans to build a portfolio of 15-20 startups with an average cheque size of Rs2 crore. The fund will reserve 50% to make follow-on investments into top-performing portfolio companies.
Java Capital was founded in 2020 by Bhargavi V, Vinod Shankar and Karteek Pulapaka. The firm has backed 23 startups such as Agnikul, KukuFM, BharatX, Better Opinions, Yellow Metal, The Eplane Company, Kindlife, and Legistify.