
The Earth Fund is an INR 200 Cr alternative investment fund with an additional INR 100 Cr green shoe option
The fund will be deployed in Pre-Series A and Series A investments with an aim to back 10 to 15 startups operating in real estate tech, sustainability and clean tech sectors
India witnessed 81 new fund launches worth over $8.7 Bn in 2024 compared to 64 new funds launches with a total corpus of $5.6 Bn in the previous year
Nikhil Kamath’s investment firm Gruhas has joined hands with Bengaluru-based real estate major Brigade Group to launch a fund for investing in proptech and sustainability-focused startups.
The INR 300 Cr Earth Fund, set up under Zoiros Projects Private Limited, includes an INR 200 Cr SEBI-registered Category II alternative investment fund (AIF) and an additional INR 100 Cr in green-shoe option.
The fund aims to invest in 10 to 15 startups who are delivering solutions in the real estate technology, construction tech, clean tech and climate tech, among others.
The investment vehicle plans to invest $1- $2 Mn in startups who have demonstrated market fit products and are looking to scale their business through capital.
“By bridging traditional real estate with emerging technologies, we’re accelerating ventures that redefine urban spaces, construction, and resource efficiency,” said Abhijeet Pai, cofounder at Gruhas.
Additionally, the startups will also get mentoring opportunities from leaders of Brigade Enterprises, who have mentored over 80 companies through its startup accelerator programme REAP. On the other side, Gruhas has invested in over 50 startups across proptech, climate tech, sustainability and consumer sectors.
Founded in 1986, Brigade Group operates and handles projects in multiple categories of real estate such as residential, commercial, hospitality and retail.
Gruhas, founded by Kamath and Pai, counts ParkSmart, Zapkey, 1% Club and Printo among its portfolio companies.
The Indian startup ecosystem has been witnessing a wave of fund launches for quite sometime now. According to an Inc42’s analysis, the country witnessed 81 new fund launches, including VC funds, PE funds, micro funds, angel funds, and government funds, worth over $8.7 Bn in 2024. In the previous year, the country saw 64 new fund launches with a cumulative corpus of over $5.6 Bn.
While the consumer services sector was the most focussed sector for all fund launches last year with 13% of new fund launches meant for such startups, 2.4% and 4.3% of new fund launches in 2024 were focussed on sustainability and clean tech startups respectively.