Cornerstone Ventures launches $200M fund to invest in B2B enterprise-tech firms

Mumbai-based VC firm Cornerstone Ventures has launched its second fund to invest $200 million in B2B enterprise-tech startups, following the closure of its first fund.

The VC firm is looking to invest $5 million to $15 million in a mix of early-growth stage and scaled startups.

Cornerstone Ventures's second fund will focus on backing up-and-coming B2B tech prospects in sectors such as finance, retail, healthcare, distribution and supply chain, consumer goods, and e-commerce.

"We aim to back some of the largest value creators in this space of ‘next generation enterprise technologies’, whether building in India for the world or building exclusively for the domestic market," said Abhishek Prasad, Managing Partner at Cornerstone Ventures, in a statement.

"We particularly like innovations that catalyse core business processes, tend to engage multiple stakeholders across the value chain thus building multiple revenue streams, and have demonstrable account-level profitability. Such businesses do not require capital for sustenance but really to drive growth," he added.

The VC firm's first fund, launched in mid-2019, invested $50 million in 21 companies, all mostly focused on B2B enterprise SaaS. Fund I was supported by the DPIIT Fund of Funds, overseen by SIDBI, as well as the Self-Reliant India Fund managed by SBI.

The fund generated a growth multiple of over four times on investments made, within four years.

For the second fund, the company is onboarding several large institutional investors, marquee backers, founders, and renowned business leaders, it said.

Cornerstone Venture's portfolio companies include Dealhub, Gravitas.io, DBMaestro, and Squaretalk.