India's Pi Ventures closes early-stage fund at $31m
Pi Ventures, an Indian early-stage investor focused on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, has closed its debut fund at INR2.25 billion ($30.9 million).
The vehicle will target start-ups aiming to use AI and machine learning to solve problems in the healthcare, logistics, retail, financial technology, and enterprise sectors. The plan is to back 18-20 companies over the next three years, according to a release, with a significant portion of the corpus reserved for follow-on rounds.
Investors include CDC Group, which committed INR400 million to the fund earlier this year, along with the International Finance Corporation, the Small Industries Development Bank of India, Canada’s In Colour Capital, and a number of family offices and high net worth individuals. The majority of the vehicle’s capital was contributed by Indian LPs.
Pi was founded in 2016 and has already invested in several companies, including healthcare-focused SigTuple Technologies and Niramai Health Analytix, energy consultancy Zenatix, and internet development platform Altizon.
The firm claims to be India’s first dedicated AI and machine learning-focused early stage fund, though a number of VC firms have also been active in the space. Technology accelerator Techcelx and Helion Venture Partners spin-out Stellaris Venture Partners both launched funds in 2016 with remits including AI, while Axilor Ventures is looking to raise a INR2 billion fund aimed at seed investments in sectors including AI.
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