Chiratae Ventures announces close of Maiden Growth Fund-I at Rs 1,001 crore

Chiratae Funds marks final close of its Growth Fund

Venture Capital firm Chiratae Ventures, on Wednesday, said that the fundraising for its first Chiratae Growth Fund (CGF-I) was closed, raising nearly Rs 1,001 crore on a targeted Rs 750 crore, oversubscribed by 34%.

CGF-I will invest in the growth rounds of technology startups from its portfolio and other new opportunities, making it a sector-agnostic fund to support the growth and expansion of companies, the VC firm said in a statement.

"We are looking to invest in companies in their growth stage. Obviously, the bar is high. We are mainly looking at companies that will use the capital to grow instead of survive," said TC Meenakshi Sundaram, Founder and Vice-Chairman of Chiratae Ventures in interaction with Moneycontrol.

CGF-I is supported by Chiratae's existing investors, including Pratithi (Family Office of Kris Gopalakrishnan, the Co-Founder of Infosys), 57 Stars (a global alternative asset manager), and Manish Choksi (Vice Chairman and non-executive-board-member of Asian Paints) and his Family Office along with new investors including State Bank of India, IIFL, and others.

The VC firm made its first investment through the fund of Rs 100 crore in LensKart.

"We have brought in a substantial focus on margins and path to profit. We have advised all the companies and said that they have to turn profitable in the next 12 to 18 months and that is bringing a lot of sanity in the ecosystem," Sundaram said.

The Chiratae Funds collectively (across 6 funds) have $1.1 billion in AUM (Assets Under Management), made around 130 investments, 48 exits, 8 Unicorns, 3 IPOs.

Chiratae Ventures has been an early backer of technology-led companies such as Bizongo, Curefit, Fibe, Firstcry, Lenskart, Myntra, PolicyBazaar, Pixis, Vayana, and Uniphore, amongst others.

Talking about the slowdown in funding in India, Sundaram said that the companies that are profitable or will be profitable in the next 12 months are able to garner enough investor support.

"After the euphoria of 2021, the bar has gone up. Not all startups are struggling to raise funds. Companies that are profitable or will be profitable in the next 12 months are able to raise funds in the market," He said.