IAN Group Marks Final Close Of IAN Alpha Fund At $100 Mn

Early-stage investment platform IAN Group (formerly India Angel Network) has marked the final close of its second VC fund, IAN Alpha Fund, at $100 Mn (INR 900 Cr), over three years after announcing the same. 

The limited partners (LPs) that invested in the fund include government entities like Sidbi managed Fund of Funds for Startups, Self Reliant India Fund, ACE Fund, Odisha Startup Growth Fund, Nabventures’ Agri Sure Fund of Funds Scheme along with institutional investors including Dubai’s Buimerc Corporation, HDFC Life, DS Group Family Office, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, among others. 

With the fund, the investment firm will continue to back early-stage tech companies as well as expand its portfolio in the MSME category. As per the firm, its investment strategy would be centred around backing entities that are “solving real problems, leveraging technology and innovation, including those aligned to India’s national strategic imperatives.”

It plans on backing startups in the advanced hardware and technology segment, with a focus on AI, spacetech, semiconductor and biotech. Besides, it also plans on backing startups in healthtech, manufacturing, climatetech and cybersecurity. The average size of IAN Alpha Fund’s investments is in the range of $1 Mn to $5 Mn

The SEBI Category-II fund was unveiled in 2022 with a target corpus of INR 1,000 Cr. Since the launch, the fund has backed 10-12 startups including EndureAir, BrainSightAI, Noccarc, among others. The first close of the  fund was marked at INR 355 Cr in December 2023.

It terms the investment thesis it follows with the fund as “risk-mitigation” first, with careful consideration on balancing investments in long-gestation ventures with shorter-cycle businesses. It claims that this approach helps it ensure a high return proposition for investors while enabling the fund to continue supporting deeptech startups that require patient capital and domain expertise.

“The IAN Alpha Fund’s thesis is to invest and breed innovation solving real problems or building for India’s strategic imperatives. The role that the Fund plays is way beyond funding, to bring mentoring, market access, and governance frameworks for these early companies,” IAN Group’s cofounder Padmaja Ruparel said.

IAN was launched in 2006 by Ruparel, Srivastava, and Raman Roy to help angel investors come together to back early-stage startups. With a portfolio of over 250 companies, the network has backed multiple high value startups including notable startups like Uniphore, WebEngage, Druva, Wow! Momo, among others.

Founded in 2006 by Ruparel, Raman Roy, and Saurabh Srivastava, Indian Angel Network was initially an angel investment network, allowing HNIs and successful entrepreneurs to collectively invest in early-stage startups.  

In 2017, IAN Group evolved from an angel network to a VC firm when it launched its first VC fund, IAN Fund with a target corpus of INR 375 Cr

Since then, it has expanded its horizontal platform for seed and early-stage investments, now helming funds like IAN Angel Fund, BioAngels, among other series of SEBI-registered venture capital funds.

To guide its investment strategy, IAN Group recently brought onboard ex-Info Edge CFO Chintan Thakkar as its group CEO. Thakkar is providing critical guidance to the IAN Alpha Fund as a senior managing partner for the fund.

The development comes at a time when a great number of startups are eyeing public listings, allowing their institutional investors to exit via the markets. Amid this wave, early stage startups have been earning the attention of VC firms, with about 58% fund launches in 2025 focussing on backing early stage businesses.

For instance, Nexus Venture Partners has closed its eighth fund at $700 Mn with a plan to back early stage AI startups, earlier this month.

Prior to that, 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), in November.