VentureSoul Eyes Close Of INR 600 Cr Debt Fund By February

SUMMARY

VentureSoul has already received about 72% of the funds from the INR 300 Cr commitment, its cofounder Anurag Tripathi told Inc42

The cofounder said that the fund has secured commitments from high-profile investors such as Micro Labs, Rupa Group, Glen Appliances

It has deployed capital from the fund into 15 startups so far, including PlayShifu, Zolo, Captain Fresh, HomeLane, Vegrow, Sukkhi, and Metalbook, among others

Venture debt fund VentureSoul Partners is looking to close its maiden debt fund at INR 600 Cr by February 2026. The firm has received commitments for its base target of INR 300 Cr and is now looking to raise INR 300 Cr as part of its greenshoe option.

VentureSoul has already received about 72% of the funds from the INR 300 Cr commitment, its cofounder Anurag Tripathi told Inc42.

The cofounder said that the fund has secured commitments from high-profile investors such as Micro Labs, Rupa Group, Glen Appliances, and individual founders and executives, including Baazar Kolkata CEO Abhishek Khemka, KreditBee founder and CEO E Madhusudan, and Perfios CPO Omkar Shirhatti.

The firm launched its maiden debt fund in June 2024, and marked its first close at INR 146 Cr in September last year. It has deployed capital from the fund into 15 startups so far, including PlayShifu, Zolo, Captain Fresh, HomeLane, Vegrow, Sukkhi, and Metalbook, among others, with ticket size of INR 10 Cr to INR 25 Cr.

Founded in 2023 by ex-HSBC bankers Tripathi, Ashish Gala, and Kunal Wadhwa, VentureSoul specialises in structured credit, including M&A and ESOP financing, for “new-economy” tech startups of India.

In contrast, most other debt VC firms primarily infuse capital for growth purposes.

The development comes at a time when debt funding is gaining traction among startups, as it enables founders to retain ownership without equity dilution amid cautious equity markets in 2025.

In the first half of 2025, debt funding accounted for around 7.6% of the total capital worth $5.7 Bn raised by Indian startups. During this period, Stride Ventures emerged as the most active debt investor with 47 deals, followed by Alteria Capital with 42 deals, and We Founder Circle with 41 investments.