Chiratae reaches $93m first close on debut India growth fund
India-based venture capital firm Chiratae Ventures has achieved a first close of INR 7.59bn (USD 93m) on its debut growth fund, announcing that it was substantially oversubscribed.
In February, Sudhir Sethi (pictured), the firm’s founder and chairman told Mergermarket, AVCJ’s sister title, that a target of USD 200m had been set for the growth fund. Chiratae would follow up by launching its fifth venture fund, seeking USD 500m.
LPs include the Kris Gopalakrishnan family office, the Choksi Family Office – established by the promoters of Asian Paints – SBI, and IIFL Wealth & Asset Management. Other unnamed family offices as well as “existing global investors and key LPs” also participated, according to a statement.
Just over half of Chiratae’s capital historically has come from local investors, with Sethi describing the firm as “the largest rupee capital raisers in VC alternative assets in the country.” However, there are plans to source more capital from global LPs, and to open a US office in support of these efforts.
Chiratae closed its fourth fund on USD 337m in August 2021, beating a target of USD 275m. It received commitments from the likes of British International Investment (BII), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC).
Chiratae Ventures Grwoth Fund – I will join expansion rounds for technology companies, including but not restricted to start-ups backed by the firm’s venture funds. It will follow a sector-agnostic strategy and support 15-20 companies in total.
Founded in 2006 as IDG Ventures India, Chiratae now has USD 1.1bn in assets under management (AUM). Its portfolio features Lenskart, MyGlamm, FirstCry, Curefit, and GlobalBees, each of which is valued at USD 1bn or above. Other past investments include Bizongo, EarlySalary, GoMechanic, Myntra, PolicyBazaar, Pyxis, Vayana, and Uniphore.
Chiratae claims to be the only Indian VC to have returned capital to LPs for nine consecutive years.
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