Chiratae upsizes fourth VC fund; IIFL floats seed vehicle for fintech bets
Indian venture capital firm Chiratae Ventures has closed its fourth fund after increasing its size by a quarter, as it joined a half-dozen peers to hit fundraising milestones this year.
The fourth fund—Chiratae’s largest—raised $337.37 million (Rs 2,500 crore at current exchange rates) from 245 investors, regulatory filings show. This is up from the target of $275 million that it hit in April.
Chiratae, which was formerly known as IDG Ventures India and rebranded in October 2018, had floated the fund in late 2019. The fund comprises two vehicles—one registered in Mauritius and the other domiciled in India.
The VC firm had raised its first fund in 2006-2007, scooping up around $150 million. The second fund missed its target of $175 million and ended up collecting $95-100 million during 2012-2014. The third fund hit the final close in 2017 after securing capital commitments of $200 million.
The new fund invests in health-tech, fintech, agri-tech, consumer media, deep-tech and software-as-a-service companies. It began investing in 2019 and has backed companies such as CropIn, GoMechanic, Pando and Uniphore.
Overall, the VC firm has invested in almost 100 companies over the past 15 years and has exited three dozen. Its portfolio also includes companies such as Curefit, FirstCry, Lenskart, Policybazaar and e-commerce firm Flipkart.
Apart from Chiratae, other Indian VC firms that have marked either a first close or the final close include Avataar Venture, India Quotient, 9Unicorns, Orios and Inflexor Ventures.
IIFL’s seed fund
Meanwhile, Mumbai-based financial services provider IIFL said it will launch a Rs 100 crore seed fund focused on Indian fintech startups, The Economic Times reported.
The new fund will also provide mentorship, collaboration opportunities and partnerships to fintech ventures.
According to the report, IIFL is already looking to invest in fintech companies FinBox and Leegality.
IIFL manages several other alternative investment vehicles. In March, it floated a $280 million fund to invest in tech-focussed companies in late-stage rounds or those that are planning initial public offerings.
