Artha venture fund announces first close of its Rs 200-cr fund

Artha Venture Fund (AVF) has completed the first close of Rs 200-crore seed fund, Artha  Venture Fund I.

While $6 million has been raised as the first close, according to the fund, the final close is expected in 6-12 months.

AVF's strategy is to be the first investor in early-stage companies and support them through their first three rounds of capital raise.

It is allocating between Rs 10 to 15 crore through the lifecycle of their investment with 50-60 percent of the fund earmarked for follow-on rounds. It is already in the process of completing 3-4 investments by the September quarter and intends to make 8-10 new investments each year.

AVF is founded by seed investor Anirudh Damani. He has participated in over 100 rounds of funding and invested in startups such as OYO Rooms, Exotel, BabyChakra, Fynd, and others.

The venture fund plans to participate in Series-A funding of LenDenClub.