India Quotient raises $129 million in Fund 5 to bet on early-stage startups

India Quotient was the first investor in ShareChat, Sugar Cosmetics, Lendingkart, Kuku FM, Vyapar, and several other startups.

India Quotient, an early-stage investor, has raised $129 million in its fifth fund, as the homegrown venture capital firm looks to double down on Indian startups and founders.

It also promoted two executives Kanika Agarrwal and Sahil Makkar to the position of partner to work alongside Anand Lunia, Madhukar Sinha, and Gagan Goyal, the company said on October 22.

How much has India Quotient raised previously?

The fifth fund is India Quotient’s largest and is double of what it raised in its fourth fund, as it looks to make bolder bets. At the time of its inception in 2013, the VC fund had raised $6 million and has progressively increased the capital pool since.

In its latest fund, nearly 80 percent of the capital has come from global limited partners (LPs)

Has India Quotient’s investment thesis changed?

The investment thesis remains unchanged. “We will continue to back founders long before their ideas become ‘sectors’. This has been true from the early days of India social, brands, content, digital lending, India software, agritech, and many more,” the fund said on its X handle.

Which are the startups India Quotient has invested in?

India Quotient was the first investor in ShareChat, Sugar Cosmetics, Lendingkart, Kuku FM, Vyapar, and several other startups.

Broader picture 

So far this year, 18 venture capital firms have raised close to $3.2 billion, a Moneycontrol analysis has found. It is higher than the $2.7 billion India-focused funds raised in all of 2024, a five-year low, according to a Bain & Company and Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA) report.

The resurgence has been driven by global as well as domestic names, including Accel ($650 million), A91 Partners ($665 million), Bessemer Venture Partners ($350 million), Cornerstone VC ($200 million) and Prime Venture Partners ($100 million).

Several more firms such as Nexus Venture Partners, Fireside Ventures, and Info Edge Ventures are in the market to raise capital. If these fundraises close successfully, the total haul could reach $4.6 billion, surpassing 2023’s $4-billion figure, marking a decisive shift from the previous year’s slump.