Anicut Capital has debuted the Grand Anicut Seed Fund, aimed at early-stage startups, with a target corpus of Rs 175 crore and a Rs 75 crore greenshoe option.
The fund is registered with SEBI as a Category I Alternative Investment Fund and will invest across pre-seed to Series A stages in deep-tech, enterprise-tech, consumer and financial services startups.
Anicut intends to back more than 20 startups through the fund, with cheque sizes typically between Rs 5 crore and Rs 8 crore.
Three deals have already been closed, and the fund is targeting a first close of roughly $10 million in the coming month, backed by institutional investors, high-net-worth individuals and family offices.
This is Anicut Capital’s second early-stage fund, following the Grand Anicut Angel Fund, which has invested in 68 startups since 2021.
Companies from that earlier portfolio have together raised more than Rs 6,000 crore in follow-on funding, with portfolio revenue growing tenfold on average.
Ajay Anand, Partner at Anicut Capital, said the firm’s early-stage strategy had been validated by the previous fund and that the new one builds on that proven track record.
The launch comes as Indian early-stage investors increasingly diversify beyond artificial intelligence into sectors such as manufacturing, deep-tech and enterprise software.
The launch comes in a week that saw Indian startups raise $209 million in aggregate funding, with manufacturing, aerospace, enterprise software and healthtech leading the investment themes.
The fund’s deployment is expected to span roughly three years, with about 70 per cent going toward new investments and 30 per cent held back for follow-on rounds.
(Image: Photo by Libreravi, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
