AngelList India’s Utsav Somani launches iSeed II micro-fund

Angel investor Utsav Somani, who is responsible for bringing AngelList to India, is launching iSeed II, a new $15 million micro-fund to support early-stage Indian tech startup founders.

Friday April 16, 2021 , 4 min Read

Good morning!

Utsav Somani tells YourStory,

"The next decade belongs to Indian tech startup founders. I think the ecosystem is robust. There is quality talent. There is liquidity that is coming in now across IPOs and late-stage startups."

Less than a year after the launch of iSeed I, the head of AngelList India is launching iSeed II, a $15-million micro-fund to support over 50 Indian tech startup founders with “smart, connected, knowledge capital,” with investments to be made over the next couple of years.

The fund will help early-stage entrepreneurs get access to Silicon Valley-based investors entrepreneurs, and venture capital fund managers.

iSeed, Utsav Somani, AngelList India — (Graphics: Aditya Ranade)

Calling himself a 'realistic optimist', Utsav says iSeed II is on a mission to help companies stay ahead of the crowd by leveraging technology.

As India’s largest solo GP-micro fund, it is designed to offer founders the trust and confidence of its LPs in the form of capital as well as their commitment in the form of time dedicated for knowledge-sharing sessions with the startups.

"I want to bring the era of solo-capitalists and emerging fund managers or micro-VCs to India to better serve our Indian startup founders. The goal is to have the weight and heft of an institution like seed-stage VC firm First Round Capital at the earliest stages for Indian founders with the size of an angel cheque," says Utsav.

Launched in May 2020, iSeed I has invested in over 35 founding teams of startups across various sectors, including healthcare, fintech, logistics, SaaS, ecommerce, hardware, and real estate.

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