First Cheque Seeks To Back 15-20 Startups From Third Cohort

Sector agnostic VC firm First Cheque, which counts startups like Giva, Rocketlane and Seekho among its portfolio companies, is planning to invest in 15-20 startups over the next 18 months from its third cohort.

As a part of this investment, First Cheque will be writing cheques of up to $500,000 for each startup, ET reported.

India Quotient’s partner, Kanika Agarrwal, told the publication that the pre-seed market has expanded significantly, offering more options for founders seeking funding. She noted that many investors are now willing to participate in larger rounds, prompting First Cheque to adjust its investment strategy accordingly.

“So, for us, we want to tweak the programme a bit and work with all these groups, investing alongside them, where the cheques can be a little larger as well,” ET quoted Agarrwal as saying.

Founded in 2018, First Cheque is a Bengaluru based venture capital firm investing in seed to early-stage companies in software, AI, and IT sectors, focusing particularly on India. It has backed over 100 startups till date. 

It closed its second fund after raising $5 Mn (INR 38 Cr) in 2022 to write cheques of $100K to 50 pre-seed startups in the next 18 months.

Last year, First Cheque made a partial exit from D2C jewellery startup Giva, making a 75X return on the initial investment and 194% internal rate of return (IRR).

Update | November 28, 19:52: The copy has been edited to make some corrections.

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