Whiteboard Capital Hits Close Of Second Fund At INR 300 Cr, Doubles Initial Target

Early stage VC fund Whiteboard Capital, which counts CRED, Jupiter and NatHabit among its portfolio companies, has reportedly marked the final close of its second fund at INR 300 Cr, doubling the initial target of INR 150 Cr.

As per an ET report, the fund includes several family offices and domestic institutions as limited partners (LPs). It aims to invest in approximately 50 companies, with a focus on follow-on investments in its current portfolio.

Whiteboard Capital, founded in 2017 by Freecharge’s Sandeep Tandon, is sector-agnostic fund which invests in startups operating across consumer, financial and healthcare sectors.

The firm claims to have returned 1X to its investors and holds an unrealised gain of around 6X from its first fund, which invested $10 Mn in approximately 45 startups. 

Anshu Prasher, a partner at Whiteboard Capital, told ET that the first fund made exits from eight startups, either partially or fully.

Whiteboard Capital sets itself apart from other VC firms by merging the functions of an incubator with those of an early-stage fund.

The launch of the fund coincides with growing investor optimism about a revival in the Indian startup ecosystem. 

According to an Inc42 survey, “India’s Top Startup Investor Ranking H1 2024,” about 93% of over 50 startup investors view 2024 as a pivotal year for improved funding in Indian startups, while only 7% believe that funding challenges will persist.

Meanwhile, investment firm Pantomath Capital Management launched its second Category II Alternative Investment Fund, Bharat Value Fund (BVF).

Micro venture capital firm Gemba Capital launched its second fund in July with a target corpus of INR 250 Cr, including a green shoe option of INR 50 Cr.

Earlier in the same month, Next Bharat Ventures launched an INR 340 Cr fund and a residency programme to catalyse the growth of the social impact startup ecosystem in India.