India's IvyCap launches $8m angel fund
India’s IvyCap Ventures has launched an angel fund targeting INR600 million ($8.2 million) that will make seed to Series A-stage investments.
According to IvyCap founder Vikram Gupta (pictured), the vehicle will target a range of technology companies in areas including healthcare, financial services and consumer businesses. It will also look for opportunities in advanced categories including artificial intelligence, blockchain, and internet-of-things.
The fund will allow IvyCap to expand its coverage of the Indian start-up ecosystem to more speculative, earlier-stage companies. The firm closed its first sector agnostic fund in 2013 above target at about INR2.4 billion. A second fund closed at $83 million earlier this year. The GP aims to differentiate itself through close integration with Indian academia.
Other seed-stage initiatives from IvyCap include the launch of an incubation services platform known as IvyCamp in 2015. The project offers entrepreneurs access to technology experts across India and the US, as well as a marketplace for rating and comparing incubators based on criteria such as infrastructure, staff and funding availability.
Existing IvyCap portfolio companies include e-commerce and software-as-a-service company Vinculum, micro-loans and insurance provider FT Cash, and cybersecurity technology and services player Aujas. The firm has also invested in BlueStone, an online jeweler that designs and creates all its products in-house.
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