Aarin Capital anchors $18.8m India venture fund
Aarin Capital has anchored the launch of Ideaspring Capital, a venture fund seeking to raise INR1.2 billion ($18.8 million) for investments in Indian technology start-ups.
According to a statement, other backers include members of the leadership at The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE), Nirvana Venture Advisors and Sasken Communication Technologies.
"Ideaspring Capital is a coming together of entrepreneurs and investors with rich experience to partner with entrepreneurs who are re-imagining technology to enable a better world," said Naganand Doraswamy, president of TIE who will serve as the fund's CEO and managing director. "We see immense growth potential for enterprise product innovation from India and are confident that India's next wave of innovation will come from this space."
The fund will provide global-scale product development services to early-stage tech companies under a "high-touch" model of operational intervention. This approach will entail direct input on customer management and the creation of differentiated intellectual property.
Key sectors to be covered include machine learning and deep learning, computer vision and image processing, big data analytics, the internet of things, augmented and virtual reality, health tech and fintech. The fund will target 4-6 companies a year, with seed-stage investments up to INR30 million and Series A commitments up to INR50 million.
Aarin anchors thematic, operational-focused funds in India and the US. The firm has made tech investments, largely in the healthcare sector, at the seed and early growth stages in both countries. It employs separate financial and operational teams.
Ideaspring framed the fund launch as part of a national effort to boost domestic funding for Indian start-ups, citing estimates that 90-95% of venture capital pumped into the local ecosystem comes from outside the country. It follows hints of a policy shift from the government earlier this year that included recommendations to facilitate venture investment and the announcement of an INR100 billion VC fund-of-funds.
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