Chiratae Ventures Growth Fund-1 makes its first close of Rs 759 crore and plans to invest in growth-stage startups

The Indian venture capital company Chiratae Ventures, which focuses on funding early-stage entrepreneurs, has received Rs 759 crore as the first closure of a new fund that will invest in growth-stage businesses.

It will only invest in firms that are in the Series C and later investment stages under the name 'Chiratae Venture Growth Fund-1.' In contrast to previous fundraising efforts by Chiratae, this fund will have a distinct character.

This money was raised by Chiratae Ventures from both new and old investors, including family offices and institutions. These include the family offices of SBI, IIFL Wealth & Asset Management, the Choksi Family Office (promoters of Asian Paints), and Kris Gopalakrishnan.

Chiratae Ventures was founded in 2006 as the Indian division of the international venture capital firm IDG Ventures by Sudhir Sethi and T. C. Meenakshi Sundaram.

Mr Sudhir had his stint with Wipro, and he was the Vice-President for around 14 years and later worked as a president and Executive Director in Infotech Enterprises.

On the other hand, Mr Sundaram also had his stint in Wipro as a General Manager and was with Wipro for over 14 years in different roles before he joined Walden International as an Investment Manager. Then, he switched to Venture Infotech as CFO and President of Corporate Services.

Coming back to Chiratae Ventures, the venture company has a large number of companies in its portfolio that are in the Series C and beyond phases, according to TC Meenakshi Sundaram.

Chiratae Enterprises' portfolio includes companies such as Firstcry, Curefit, Lenskart, Myntra, and Policybazaar. Chiratae Ventures has invested in over 128 ventures in the SaaS, consumer media and technology, health tech, and fintech sectors.

Chiratae claims that the growth fund, which was only formed this year, experienced the quickest first closing. It intends to complete the final close at Rs 1,500 crore by the end of the year, which will also include the oversubscription option.

Around 15-20 firms will get investments from the growth fund, with sums ranging from $5 million to $15 million. Startups from the portfolio as well as outside will be included in the investment.

According to reports, the growth fund will fund firms that are market leaders in their respective industries.

“The mortality risk in these startups is lower while the growth potential is high,” Meenakshi tells Your Story.

Chiratae Ventures, which oversees $1.1 billion in assets and has had 45 exits, three IPOs, and eight unicorns, has raised four early-stage funds. $337 million was raised in its most recent fundraising campaign in 2021.

The company claims that over the past ten years, it has returned capital each year.