Transition VC Closes Maiden Fund At INR 700 Cr

Energy transition-focussed venture capital (VC) firm Transition VC has closed its maiden fund at INR 700 Cr over two years after its launch. The SEBI category-II fund would focus on cleantech startups operating in sub-sectors like e-mobility, green hydrogen, energy storage and climate tech. 

Till date, the VC firm has invested in 17 startups including CIMware, Comminent, Matel, EMO, HYDGEN, Dynolt, and Promethean. Typically, its average ticket size per investment is in the range of $500K to $1 Mn. 

While half of the fund’s corpus has already been deployed, it plans on backing eight more startups to take its final portfolio count to 25.

Speaking about its portfolio, the firm said that five of its portfolio startups are cumulatively on track to cross $8-10 Mn in revenue and four have reached EBITDA positivity.

“Two up rounds have closed, and two additional Series A+ term sheets are currently under negotiation, signalling significant market validation for the fund’s early bets,” the VC added.

Transition VC was established in 2022 by Raiyaan Shingati, Mohammed Shoeb Ali, Mustafa Wajid, Naresh V Narasimhan, Tejas Goenka, Saif Qureishi, and Rajesh Doshi. The cleantech focussed VC rolled out its maiden fund later that year with a target corpus of INR 400 Cr and a green shoe option of INR 200 Cr.

Important to note that Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) also invested INR 15 Cr in Transition VC’s fund earlier last year to boost development of startups in clean energy and decarbonisation in the region.

Moving forward, the VC said that it has received initial commitments for its Fund II. Details of the fund are yet to be disclosed. 

The development comes at a time when VC firms are increasingly rolling out dedicated funds aimed at green energy, climate tech and sustainability-focused innovations as the global push for decarbonisation accelerates. 

These funds are targeting startups working on clean power, energy storage, EV infrastructure, carbon management, and other climate solutions, reflecting investors’ belief that the next wave of large-scale value creation will emerge from climate-positive technologies. 

For instance, Theia Ventures in October announced the first close of its maiden fund with a target corpus of $30 Mn (INR 266.2 Cr). It will invest in startups in deeptech, energy transition and decarbonisation among others.

Prior to that, sustainability-focussed Caret Capital marked the first close of its second venture capital fund at INR 160 Cr (around $18.70 Mn), which has a target corpus of INR 400 Cr ($46.75 Mn).