Blume Venture announces first close of Fund 1Y

Blume Ventures on Thursday announced the first close of its new Opportunity Fund, Fund 1Y, where it has already raised Rs 200 million of its Rs 400 million target.

This is the third growth fund from Blume and follows Fund IV it raised last year, worth $290 million.

It will use part of the capital to "buy out strong winners" including IntrCity, Cashify, Carbon Clean Solutions and Zopper, from its previous Fund I and allied investment vehicles. It would invest the remaining amount in companies in its other funds.

"It's a global practice for fund managers like us to provide exits for existing LPs by finding new investors to buy a combination of assets from the original fund," said Karthik Reddy, Co-founder and Partner, Blume Ventures.

"The current environment and our unique strategy enable us to balance the interests of our current and new investors, hold the best of our companies for another three to four years before a potential IPO, and create wealth for the local ecosystem," he added.

Fund 1Y is backed by an LP base, with existing LPs from Blume Ventures' other funds returning to the fund. According to the VC firm, the LPs in its Fund I have begun to see meaningful returns on their capital, and having gone through a full capital cycle, many of them are confident in coming back as investors in Fund 1Y.

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The VC firm raised a similarly sized Opportunity Fund in 2021. The majority of the underlying metrics of the portfolio have grown at a CAGR of more than 35%, resulting in follow-on rounds during a funding winter.

It has also doubled down on investing in category leaders such as Exotel, GreyOrange Robotics, Smallcase, Slice, Unacademy and WebEngage by raising Opportunity Funds in 2018 and 2022.

"We believe in the power of public markets and are confident that businesses such as Purplle, Zopper, Cashify, and others in this portfolio are well entrenched on the path," said Vikram Gawande, Vice President of Growth Investments at Blume Ventures.