Mumbai-based portfolio management service provider Piper Serica Advisors Pvt. Ltd recently launched a SEBI Registered Category 1 Angel Fund to invest in early-stage companies that are using technology to either disrupt or significantly improve industries and processes.
The Rs 100-crore fund launched to invest in 30 to 40 early-stage tech companies over the next three-year period is led by Piper Serica's founder and fund manager Abhay Agarwal, according to a press release.
Piper Serica’s Angel fund mainly focuses on start-ups with exponential growth models. The Fund aims to be a seed-to-IPO fund and will stay with its winners for a period of up to 10 years and to reduce the risk of high mortality.
The firm noted the fund will use its proprietary AI ML-based tool called Yoda.ai to screen investment opportunities. It has stated that this is a unique tool developed by the management team to improve its decision-making process by making it objective and quick. This tool uses 17 parameters to predict the probability of success and then selects the company with a score of 70 percent or above for further diligence.
Commenting on this announcement, Abhay Aggarwal said, “It is a very exciting time to invest in start-ups in India just as the start-up ecosystem is ramping up. We are seeing some exceptional talent aspire to become entrepreneurs. India’s economic growth over the next decade will create hundreds of unicorns. HNI investors should definitely allocate a portion of their equity portfolio to start-ups with the objective of making high returns over a long holding period. At the same time, investing in start-ups is fraught with risks therefore better to invest through a well-managed fund”.
