India's Elev8 hits $67m first close on maiden fund
India’s Elev8 Venture Partners has reached a first close of USD 67m on its debut growth-stage venture fund with Korea’s KB Investment as the anchor LP. The target is USD 200m.
Additional commitments came from Venture Catalysts, a local incubator with longstanding ties to the Elev8 team, plus family offices and individuals from across Asia and the Middle East.
Elev8 was set up by last year by Navin Honagudi, who previously led investments for local seed investor Kae Capital, where he continues to serve as a venture partner. He has noted that Kae founder Sasha Mirchandani helped conceptualise Elev8 with support from investors representing Venture Catalysts, Nexus Venture Partners, and 9Unicorns.
Elev8 will make deployments of up to USD 10m-USD 15m in Series B and C rounds with a sector-agnostic mandate. Portfolio companies will have valuations of USD 100m-USD 500m.
Deal sourcing will leverage an accelerator and seed network that is estimated to have missed out on some USD 500m in pro-rata investment opportunities in 2021 due to a lack of growth-stage capital. The new fund has been positioned as India’s first pro-rata fund.
“We have spent a significant amount of time and concluded that Elev8’s management team is by far the best team to invest in, at the growth stage,” Eric Yoo, an executive managing director of KB Investment, said in a statement.
“Their exceptional track record, prospective portfolio pipeline, and proprietary data algorithms have presented a strong proposition for us to join hands. Furthermore, Navin and the [Venture Catalysts], group provide unprecedented access and network to early-stage start-ups, which will significantly enhance Elev8 in future deal flow and investments.”
Elev8 said it would target digital-first technology companies in consumer, enterprise software, financial services, and healthcare. The firm has agreed at least one deal to date, an enterprise software-as-a-service company. It added that it expects to leverage KB’s experience, operational capabilities, and strategic network.
“Elev8’s investment strategy involves a data-driven algorithm which is highly targeted and leverages the firm’s extensive repository of 600-plus companies within a valuation range of USD 100m-USD 400m,” Anuj Golecha, co-founder of Venture Catalysts, added.
“To ensure the successful execution of growth stage investments we have built a strong operating team with deep expertise in technology space. This approach helps us mitigate risks, identify, and partner up with companies that have a strong growth potential, even in turbulent market conditions.”
Elev8 Venture Partners is not to be confused with Singapore’s Elev8.vc, a deep tech-focused VC firm, or Australia’s Elev8 Venture Capital, also known as Elev8 Ventures.
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