Jungle Ventures launches seed-stage programme for India, Southeast Asia

Singapore-headquartered venture capital firm Jungle Ventures has announced First Cheque@Jungle, an initiative to back startups at the pre-seed and seed stages, across India and Southeast Asia. 

Jungle Ventures' portfolio includes home renovation company Livspace, business-to-business marketplace Moglix, ticketing platform BookMyShow, and electric appliance maker Atomberg Technology. The sector-agnostic fund, which invests between $500,000 and $20 million in companies, will invest $2 million and upwards as part of this new initiative. 

“First Cheque@jungle introduces a first-of-its-kind investment structure that ensures right-sized early-stage capital to go after the big ideas but with limited early-stage dilution. The firm will invest a minimum of $2 million as 50% in equity and 50% as a no-cap convertible note,” said Amit Anand, Founding Partner at Jungle Ventures, in a post on LinkedIn. 

The firm has also elevated Rishab Malik to the role of Partner, Seed Investments, to lead the initiative. Apart from Malik, Ramakant Sharma, Co-founder of Livspace; Sayali Karanjkar, angel investor and Co-founder of PaySense; and Cameron Priest, Founder and CEO of Neu Ventures, will act as the venture builders for the initiative. They will work with the founders to help early-stage companies find a product-market fit and in hiring. 

Jungle Ventures says it has partnered with over 45 founders across diverse sectors, such as consumer brands, platforms, B2B and software. In May last year, the firm announced the final close of its $600-million fund focused on growth investments across B2B, fintech and edtech startups. 

Jungle Ventures joins the likes of Peak XV-backed Surge programme, which focuses on early-stage companies from India and Southeast Asia to bring them up to speed. Accel’s Atoms too focuses on the early-stage cohort,, though the cheque size goes up to $500,000.