Zero To One Sets Up INR 300 Cr Fund To Back Early-Stage Indian Startups

Investment firm Zero To One (ZTO) has received regulatory body SEBI’s approval to set up an INR 300 Cr Category-1 Alternative Investment Fund (AIF).

The fund will invest in Pre-Seed and Series A tech-enabled startups working in edtech, healthtech, agritech, medtech and cleantech sectors.

“The new age investors are breaking the myth of ‘Indians being risk-averse investors’ and rewriting investment scenarios. This is the same set of investors who believe that technology would change society and are bullish on entrepreneurs who can lead the disruption through technology-led innovation,” said Praveen Kaushik, founder and director of Zero To One.

Founded in May 2022 by chartered accountant-turned-investment banker Praveen Kaushik and Rahul Massey, ZTO claims to have a network of more than 500 angel investors, high net-worth individuals (HNIs) and VCs across India, Singapore, Dubai, the US and the UK. 

According to ZTO, its in-house screening mechanism helps identify suitable startups for investments. It offers investors an investor syndicate to share their risks and diversifies their investment portfolios to get maximise returns.

“The idea behind founding Zero To One is not only to fund startups but create an ecosystem that can assist and support startups to achieve new heights. The management team of Zero To One comprises seasoned professionals such as CAs, HR Leaders, Business Strategists, CXOs, merchant bankers who can play pivotal roles in the journey of startups,” Kaushik added.

The firm shared that it has recently onboarded Anurag Agrawal as its chief analyst and investment officer. 

The fund announcement comes at a time when India’s investment space has been growing by leaps and bounds. Earlier today, investment firm Mumbai Angels launched two funds ‘Category 1 Venture Capital Fund- Angel Fund’ and ‘Category 1 Venture Capital Fund’ (VCF).

This month, Lighthouse Canton and Dallas Venture Capital too have marked the first close of INR 550 Cr venture debt fund and INR 350 Cr fund separately. 

Interestingly, in the calendar year 2022, 126 funds including CVCs, VC, angel and debt funds, among others concertedly raised more than $18 Bn to back the country’s startup ecosystem.

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