Synopsis
JSW Ventures, the VC arm of JSW Group, is planning to raise Rs 400-450 crore for its third investment fund, targeting domestic investors. Following the full deployment of its Rs 300 crore second fund, JSW Ventures aims to continue its focus on early-stage tech startups across various sectors.
JSW Ventures, the venture capital (VC) arm of the Mumbai-based conglomerate JSW Group, is looking to raise Rs 400-450 crore from domestic investors for its third investment fund, said people familiar with the matter.
Its second fund – of Rs 300 crore – was launched in 2020.
JSW Ventures is an early-stage institutional investor focused on tech startups across consumer, healthcare, enterprise, sustainability, agriculture and financial services. Beyond capital, it offers strategic guidance, operational support and access to the broader JSW Group.
Queries sent to JSW Ventures remained unanswered till press time.
The second fund is now fully deployed, according to the people. It was the firm’s first multi-limited partner pool, with participation from family offices and institutions including SIDBI, NABARD and the family office of Ranjan Pai, chairman of Manipal Education and Medical Group.
Investments from this round include a follow-on in beauty ecommerce platform Purplle and bets on dermatology-focused healthtech startup Cureskin, pet care brand Vetic and agritech platform Growcoms.
Sachin Tagra serves as the company’s current managing partner.
JSW Ventures’ maiden vehicle, launched in 2016 with around Rs 75 crore, was backed solely by the JSW family office. It returned about Rs 220 crore, nearly a threefold increase, led primarily by its investment in Purplle.
In October, Purplle raised Rs 1,500 crore in a funding round led by Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), with JSW Ventures continuing to hold a minority stake.
Other notable investments from the first vehicle include home interiors startup HomeLane and content discovery platform Indus OS, which was acquired by PhonePe in 2022. Last year, HomeLane acquired its smaller rival DesignCafe in a share-swap deal.
Several large venture capital firms have announced new funds this year. Accel launched a $650 million early-stage pool in January, while A91 Partners closed its third fund at $665 million.
Other firms targeting similar sizes include Capital A, which aims to mobilise Rs 400 crore for investments in manufacturing, deep tech, climate and fintech. Meanwhile, PixelSky Capital — a secondaries investor launched by Bengaluru-based investment bank IndigoEdge and entrepreneur Hitesh Ahuja — announced a Rs 400 crore pool to invest in late-stage tech and consumer companies.
“Capital is now easily available from domestic players, and it’s much easier to raise money from them than having to fly to New York. There’s also a growing base of institutional capital in India, led by SIDBI, which is anchoring many rounds… Family offices are also deploying more and more capital into venture funds,” said Vikram Chachra, founding partner at venture capital firm 8i Ventures.
In addition to JSW Ventures, a growing number of corporate-sponsored VC funds are stepping up their activity in India. Firms such as Wipro Consumer Ventures, ICICI Venture and Info Edge Ventures are actively backing startups aligned with their strategic interests. These corporate-backed funds bring not just capital but also domain expertise, distribution support and long-term patient capital.
According to a recent report by Bain & Company, 95% of fundraising activity last year was led by domestic players (excluding Accel’s $650 million funding). Strong local fundamentals, regulatory reforms and buoyant public markets have cemented India’s position as Asia-Pacific’s second-largest VC destination, it said.
Source: www.economictimes.indiatimes.com