Caret Capital, Ev2 Ventures To Launch New $50 Mn Fund

SUMMARY

Called Caret Capital Fund II, the new fund will invest in early-stage Indian startups across mobility, distribution, and employment sectors

The new fund will be helmed by Caret Capital cofounders and managing partners Pankaj Bansal and Prajakt Raut, and Ev2’s Karan Mittal

As per Inc42 data, more than $5 Bn worth of new India-focussed funds were launched in the country in 2023

Venture capital (VC) firms Caret Capital and Ev2 Ventures have joined forces to launch a new $50 Mn India-focussed fund.

Called Caret Capital Fund II, the new fund will invest in early-stage Indian startups (pre-Series A) across three sectors – mobility, distribution, and employment. In a joint statement, the firms said that they have already lined up anchor investors for the new fund.

The collaboration is expected to help the two investment firms leverage synergies across teams and resources and shore up operations.

Commenting on the merger of the teams and the launch of the fund, Caret Capital’s cofounders and managing partners Pankaj Bansal and Prajakt Raut said, “Karan’s experience only adds to the exceptional outcomes that we have seen in our investing journey at Caret Capital. As we commence our journey of raising a larger fund, we are fortunate to have found in Karan a partner with shared aspirations, vision, and values.”

Meanwhile, Ev2 Ventures general partner Karan Mittal said, “Given the size and scale of the opportunities that India has, it was crucial to expand our resources. Combining the collective power of both teams with an outstanding track record gives us the right foundation to create value supporting our thesis.”

The new fund will be helmed by the trio of Bansal, Raut and Mittal.

Founded in 2020 by Raut and Mittal, Caret Capital is an early-stage fund that invests in startups in the sustainability space. Its portfolio includes B2B fashion startup Stylumia, cold supply chain solutions provider Celcius, and logistics platform Tusker.

On the other hand, Ev2 Ventures is also a pre-Series A VC firm that counts EV maker Euler Motors, logistics startup Cogos Technologies, and EV financing platform Alt Mobility in its portfolio.

The development comes close on the heels of Caret Capital investing an undisclosed amount of capital in Kolkata-based logistics platform SuperProcure. The VC firm, along with Lenskart cofounder and CEO Peyush Bansal, also invested in employee background verification startup TraqCheck earlier this month.

The development also comes at a time when the Indian startup ecosystem is witnessing a spate of new fund launches. On Thursday, angel network BizDateUp Technologies unveiled an INR 200 Cr fund to invest in homegrown technology startups.

Last month, it was reported that A91 Partners was all set to raise its largest ever fund to date at $700-750 Mn. In March, revenue-based financing platform GetVantage also unveiled its INR 100 Cr fund to back women entrepreneurs.

In February, VC firm Endiya Partners was said to be in the final stages of launching its third fund with a size of $100-$125 Mn.

Not to mention, $5 Bn worth of new India-focussed funds were launched in the country last year, as per Inc42.