Hitesh Ahuja’s PixelSky Launches INR 400 Cr Secondaries Fund

SUMMARY

The fund will focus on late-stage tech and consumer companies, which are expected to go public in the next three to four years

The fund is eyeing investments from domestic family offices and startup founders and is expecting a final close by March 2026

In 2024 alone, secondary deals accounted for over $5 Bn in exits

Bengaluru-based investment bank IndigoEdge and entrepreneur Hitesh Ahuja have launched their maiden secondaries fund, PixelSky Capital, with a target corpus of INR 400 Cr.

The fund will focus on late stage tech and consumer companies, which are expected to go public in the next three to four years, ET reported.

Notably, PixelSky has already invested in beauty platform Purplle and aims to close a second deal by June. It plans to back eight companies in total, writing cheques of INR 40-50 Cr each.

A secondary deal involves existing shareholders selling their stakes to new investors, without the company issuing new shares. This provides liquidity to early stakeholders and allows new investors to participate in the company’s growth trajectory.

As per the report, the fund’s founders have already infused INR 10-15 Cr in PixelSky. Additionally, the fund is eyeing investments from domestic family offices and startup founders. Its final close is expected by March 2026.

Ahuja, who sold his foodtech venture Yumlane to Curefoods in 2023, is helming the fund alongside IndigoEdge cofounder Zerin Rahiman.

“IndigoEdge has been making proprietary investments from its balance sheets and has been a limited partner in 8-10 venture capital funds, having invested INR 25-30 Cr so far. With PixelSky, IndigoEdge aims to have product offerings in addition to services that it provides, having facilitated over 150 transactions worth around $3 Bn,” a source told the publication.

The Secondaries Deal Mania

With this, PixelSky has joined the growing list of secondaries-focussed funds launched in the past year. In May last year, 360 ONE Asset announced a new Special Opportunities Fund-12 with a total corpus of INR 4,000 Cr.

Following this, Silicon Valley-based VC firm Tribe Capital partnered with homegrown investment firm Oister Global to launch its maiden $500 Mn fund dedicated to secondary transactions in the Indian startup ecosystem.

In February this year, Mumbai-based VC firm White Whale Ventures also received SEBI’s approval to float an INR 250 Cr secondaries fund.

In 2024 alone, secondary deals reportedly accounted for over $5 Bn in exits. Some of the notable startups which have done secondary funding rounds recently include Urban Company, Porter, and Pocket FM.

The rise in secondary deals is also influenced by the increasing number of startups preparing for public listings. As of early 2025, 23 startups were in various stages of IPO preparations. This pipeline has created opportunities for secondary transactions as early investors look to offload their stakes ahead of potential public offerings.

Further, from a limited partner (LP) perspective, secondaries have become an attractive route as the long-term primary investment cycle continues to underperform. Funds nearing the end of their lifecycle are increasingly offloading their best-performing assets through secondaries.

Notably, one of the most intriguing aspects of these secondary deals is deep discounting. With many startups unable to sustain their 2021 peak valuations, current secondaries often come with markdowns, particularly for late-stage assets. Recently, Meesho raised $250-270 Mn at a 20% valuation cut.