South Park Commons closes third fund, plans India-dedicated fund

(From left) Aditya Agarwal, Ruchi Sanghvi and Binny Bansal of South Park Commons.

South Park Commons (SPC),  a tech startup community and early-stage venture fund, has closed its third fund, founders Aditya Agarwal and Ruchi Sanghvi told Moneycontrol on June 13. While the husband-wife duo did not shed light on the total corpus, it is likely to be larger than its first two funds.

SPC’s first fund in 2018 had a total capital pool of $50 million. In its second fund, launched in 2020, the corpus increased 3X over its previous fund to $150 million. The third fund, larger than the previous funds, is due to be announced soon and is awaiting regulatory formalities.

Along with closing its third global fund, SPC is also planning an India dedicated fund to back some of the most talented founders in the country. India is one of the most sought after startup markets in the world.

With over 820 million internet users, and more than 100 tech unicorns, India has solidified its position as a global tech powerhouse, which explains SPC’s interest in India. It has even roped in Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal who is closer to the ground and will be able to build the community in a better way.

SPC is also on the lookout for two partners who will lead its operations in India. One partner will solely focus on India, while the other will be a global partner responsible for bridging the gap between the US' startup ecosystem and India's market.

In its first intake, SPC aims to have 15-20 community members in India and help them through the -1 to 0 journey. SPC’s journey in India will be similar to what the incubator does in the US. Its first cheque is typically a $1 million – split in two tranches with an ownership of around 11-12 percent.

"You can feel the tailwinds here. The Indian startup ecosystem has matured to the point that it can sustain the incredible talent density that makes SPC work. Founders don't have to move to the US to build world-class, category-creating companies," said Agarwal.

Since inception, SPC has 150 companies started up from its community members. In total, the companies have raised over $1.5 billion in capital and are cumulatively valued over $40 billion.

"I am equally excited to partner with Ruchi and Aditya to help the next generation of Indian founders navigate the -1 to 0 stage of their startup journey," Binny Bansal concluded.