IAN Sets Up INR 1,000 Cr Fund To Back Consumer-Focussed Startups

Indian Angel Network (IAN) has launched its new fund, IAN Alpha Fund, worth INR 1,000 Cr, the early-stage funding platform said in a Twitter thread.

The SEBI-registered category two venture capital (VC) fund is the second fund launched by Indian Angel Network.

IAN said in a statement that the new fund would invest in cleantech, healthtech, agritech, edtech, fintech, spacetech, industry 4.0, Web3 and robotics.

According to IAN, the IAN Alpha Fund would invest in startups solving problems for a large customer base and leveraging tech to scale quickly.

Indian Angel Network would issue cheque sizes between $1 Mn and $5 Mn.

IAN’s first fund was launched in 2017 and closed in 2019. Worth INR 375 Cr, the first fund backed several startups across segments. The fund’s most recent investment came when Kolkata-based Data Sutram raised INR 2 Cr in August 2020.

Founded in 2006 by Padmaja Ruparel, Raman Roy, and Saurabh Srivastava, IAN helps angel investors back early-stage startups. The network has backed multiple high value startups including unicorns and soonicorns. In total, Indian Angel Network claims to have backed more than 200 startups in India.

According to the statement, Ruparel will lead the IAN Alpha Fund. She is also the senior managing partner at IAN. Speaking on the development, she said, “We will be keen on investing in innovative ideas that have the capacity to generate profits and aim to solve real-world problems.”

Vinod Keni, managing partner at IAN, said that entrepreneurs can raise larger Series A rounds from the IAN Alpha Fund. He added that Indian Angel Network would also support startups from Tier 2+ cities as well.

Many of the names from the first fund are returning to the second fund’s board of advisors. These include Kris Gopalakrishnan, cofounder of Infosys, Sunil Munjal, chairman & MD, Hero Mindmine & Hero Corporate Services and CP Gurnani, MD and CEO of Tech Mahindra.

IAN’s fund launch culminates a week full of increased investor activity. In total, IAN’s fund takes the total funds launched this week to INR 8,000 Cr ($966 Mn).

Earlier this week, Edelweiss Wealth Management launched a venture debt fund, the Edelweiss Crossover Yield Opportunities Fund (ECYOF) worth INR 3,000 Cr ($361 Mn).

Avataar Venture Partners launched a new fund with a target size of $350 Mn on October 17. On the same day, Alteria Capital announced the first close of its INR 1,000 Cr debt fund.

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