Hyderabad Angel Fund Launches INR 100 Cr Fund To Back Early Stage Startups

SUMMARY

HAF said that it has already secured 62% commitments toward its target corpus and is in advanced discussions to raise its first institutional cheque

With the fund, HAN intends to back 15–20 startups across sectors like AI, gaming, spacetech, drone tech, healthtech, fintech, among others

HAF backs startups at the Pre-Series A to Series B stage, coinvesting alongside VC firms

Angel network firm Hyderabad Angels Network (HAN) has launched a category I alternative investment fund (AIF), Hyderabad Angels Fund (HAF), with a target corpus of INR 100 Cr ($11.3 Mn).

The INR 100 Cr corpus includes a INR 50 Cr green-shoe option. In a statement, HAF said that it has already secured 62% commitments toward its target corpus and is in advanced discussions to raise its first institutional cheque.

With the fund, HAN intends to back early stage businesses across the Indian startup ecosystem. 15–20 startups across sectors like AI, gaming, spacetech, drone tech, healthtech, fintech, among others.

Its typical investments will range from INR 2–4 Cr per company, with reserves for follow-on rounds to support scaling ventures. In addition to investment, the fund will also offer mentorship to the startup founders.

HAF backs startups at the Pre-Series A to Series B stage, coinvesting alongside VC firms. While Rathnakar Samavedam and Kalyan Sivalenka serve as the fund’s managing partners, ex-ITC executive director Pradeep Dhobale serves as its chairman.

“With this INR 100 Cr fund, we want to identify credible founders across India and help them build companies that are both innovative and sustainable,” Sivalenka said.

The fund’s portfolio currently includes Glynk, Paathshala, Freed, Edutor, Flexmo, among others. On its investment thesis, the VC fund scores a startup based on market scalability, founder track record, innovation, customer access, ecosystem strength, and long-term value creation, before making an investment.

Following a cautious investor sentiment throughout the past year which reflected in the funding interest, investor confidence in early stage Indian startups has picked up so far in this year.

Based on Inc42’s Indian Tech Startup Funding Report Q3 2025, investors launched funds worth over $9 Bn, surpassing the $8.7 Bn number of 2024, in the first nine months of this year. Precisely, the third quarter alone accounted for over $2.5 Bn in new funds, spread across 25 investors, with 17 of these funds specifically targeting early stage startups.

To note, Accel India, A91 Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners and 360 ONE Asset are some of the VC firms that have launched early stage funds in 2025.