8X Ventures Hits First Close Of INR 200 Cr DeepTech Fund

Early stage venture capital firm 8X Ventures has marked the first close of its INR 200 Cr (around $24 Mn) DeepTech fund, with an additional greenshoe option of INR 100 Cr.

The fund has secured commitments exceeding INR 60 Cr and aims to back 18-20 early stage deeptech startups with an initial ticket size of INR 2-5 Cr each and total investments of up to INR 20 Cr each in 8-10 startups.

As per 8X Ventures’ managing partner Chirag Gupta, the fund will invest in startups across sectors, including water sanitation and hygiene, industry 4.0, advanced computing, biotech and B2B enterprise SaaS.

Founded in 2021 by Gupta, Esha Arya, Ajay Singh Rajput and Vinod Agarwal, 8X Ventures is a deeptech focused VC firm which claims to invest in startups that create sustainable value. The firm seeks to invest in deeptech, cleantech, logistics, mobility, industry 4.0, artificial intelligence, big data, 3D printing, robotics, and IoT among sectors.

It claims to have registered a 40% IRR (internal rate of return) from its inaugural global fund in 2022. Notably, it deployed $20 Mn in the (Middle East and North Africa) MENA region’s climate tech and cleantech startups. 

Among its portfolio are startups like a robotics and sanitation innovator Solinas Integrity, a molecular diagnostics pioneer D-Nome, a next-gen computing company LightSpeed Photonics, an Industrial IoT enterprise XYMA Analytics and a social media listening AI ZENPULSAR. 

8X Ventures also aims to leverage its international presence in the Middle East and Europe, to help portfolio companies expand globally and attract regional investors for larger follow on rounds. 

Last year, it outlined its plans to help at least one-third of the startups in its portfolio to expand to the Middle East by 2024. 

This development comes close on the heels of a surge in deeptech and artificial intelligence with players betting across these sectors.

Just a day ago, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry was also reportedly mulling over the deeptech startup policy to provide long-term funds to companies operating in the sector.

Last year, deeptech venture capital fund also closed its INR 50 Cr fund, with participation from founders in the Indian startup ecosystem and high net worth individuals (HNIs) located in India, the Middle East, and the US.