HAF.VC Launches INR 150 Cr Maiden Fund To Back AI Startups

SUMMARY

HAF said in a statement that the fund is designed to focus on startups placing a significant emphasis on scalability through technology and artificial intelligence (AI)

The fund aims to deploy up to INR 5 Cr across 20 startups that are positioned to scale with technology and AI at the pre-Series A or Series stages

In addition to investment, the fund will also offer mentorship to the startup founders led by Hyderabad’s serial entrepreneurs and investors across diverse sectors

Hyderabad Angels, a platform which connects angel investors and entrepreneurs with innovative business ideas, has launched its maiden venture capital fund at INR 150 Cr to invest in early stage startups.

The Hyderabad Angels Fund (HAF), a category I alternative investment fund (AIF), will have an investable corpus of INR 100 Cr with an additional greenshoe option of INR 50 Cr, said a statement on Monday (February 12).

The fund plans to deploy up to INR 5 Cr across 20 startups in Pre-Series A or Series A funding stages with a commitment to follow-on investments. It is designed to focus on those startups that seek to scale up via technology and artificial intelligence (AI).

On the investment front, the fund is looking to partner with entrepreneurs as investors, fostering rapid scalability for startups with a robust technology foundation. With such moves, HAF aims to establish a platform where successful entrepreneurs and investors collaborate to build game-changing ventures.

On this, the fund’s founders Sri Myneni and Kishore Ganji said, “We are building HAF as a dynamic, collaboration-driven platform where founders not only secure financial backing but also tap into the collective wisdom of accomplished limited partners (LPs) who themselves are successful entrepreneurs.”

In addition to investment, the fund will also offer mentorship to the startup founders led by Hyderabad’s serial entrepreneurs and investors across various sectors.

The announcement comes days after financing platform GetVantage announced the launch of its SaaS Accelerator Fund II for B2B SaaS businesses, with a total corpus of INR 250 Cr.

In another instance, the Karnataka government recently announced the launch of INR 20 Cr venture capital (VC) fund that will invest in the animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) startups.

According to Inc42’s India’s Startup Investor Landscape Report 2023, the number of VCs will cross 2.7K by 2025 and 5K by 2030.