IXP Launches INR 200 Cr Early Stage Fund For Life Sciences Sector

PE firm JV Ventures’ life sciences-focussed arm Innovation Acceleration Platform (IXP) has launched its first fund to invest in early stage startups.

The fund, IXP Lifesciences Catalyst Fund, has a target corpus of INR 200 Cr, with a greenshoe option of INR 100 Cr.

It aims to invest in B2B companies at pre-seed to Series A stages, and build a portfolio of 20-25 startups focussed on both products and services in the life sciences sector. The key investment areas will include pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical technology, speciality chemicals, agrotechnology, and nutraceuticals.

“IXP was born out of a need we saw in the Indian startup ecosystem. In fact, we conducted a pan-India survey to understand the pain points of biotech for an outside-in perspective. The sector is nuanced, and requires investors with scientific expertise, industry knowledge, and operational experience to help biotech’s succeed,” said Ketki Tulpule, CIO of IXP. 

Founded in 2015 by Vishal Goel and Jasmeet Singh Chhabra, JV Ventures is a Hyderabad-based PE firm which primarily focuses on investing in early-stage, high-growth startups, often within specific sectors like healthcare, education, and real estate. 

The fund announcement comes at a time when the healthtech and medtech sectors have been witnessing significant funding activity. 

In January this year, healthtech unicorn Innovaccer raised $275 Mn in its Series F funding round. Pristyn Care was also reported to be in preliminary discussions to raise between $50 Mn to $100 Mn in a fresh funding round. 

In October 2024, Bengaluru-based Healthify (formerly HealthifyMe) secured an additional $20 Mn in its pre-Series D round at a valuation of $45 Mn. In September 2024, Qure.ai reportedly raised $65 Mn (INR 543 Cr) in a Series D round co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and 360 ONE Asset Management. 

The announcement also comes at a time when new fund launches for Indian startups are picking up pace after the funding winter of 2022 and 2023. A total of 81 new funds worth over $8.7 Bn were launched in 2024 for startups. 

Earlier today, Inc42 reported that White Whale Ventures has received SEBI nod for INR 250 Cr secondaries fund.