35North Ventures raises Rs 100 Cr in first phase of newly launched AIF

Mumbai-based venture capital firm 35North Ventures has raised Rs 100 crore in the first phase of its newly launched CAT-I alternative investment fund (AIF), India Discovery Fund II.

India Discovery Fund – II succeeds 35North’s first CAT-I AIF, having a total corpus of Rs 500 crore and a Rs 100-crore greenshoe option.

“We have closed subscription for India Discovery Fund-I with over 130 crores in March, this year. The investment theme in the India Discovery Fund-II will be similar to the IDF-I. 35North has invested in 16 companies across 10 sectors, mostly across pre-Series A rounds. We will be investing in a few more businesses around the same thesis,” said Milan Sharma, Founder & MD, 35North Ventures, in a statement.

Sunil Gurbaxani, former MD and CEO of Dhan Laxmi Bank and operating partner with 35North Venture Capital, will manage the fund, which has already secured Rs 100 crore in commitments from limited partners, including high-net-worth individuals in India and abroad and some corporate family offices.

“Post the inception of our second fund in June this year, our focus will be on companies with scalable business models and foreseeable growth. It seeks to provide growth capital to companies across categories such as energy, consumer brands, fintech, and defence, amongst others," said Gurbaxani.

"The average cheque size would be in the range of Rs 5 crore-10 crore, across 30-40 companies, given the large corpus,” he added.

Founded in 2021, India Discovery Fund invests in asset-light, tech-enabled business models.

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35North Ventures uses its own proprietary investment models and algorithmic approach to provide risk-adjusted targeted returns to its investors, said the firm in the statement.

The early-stage VC firm obtained SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) approval for the launch of its second fund in June this year.

The firm’s portfolio includes companies from sectors such as edtech, fintech, military tech, fashion, and food & beverages, with investments in CloudTailor, SpeEdLabs, Big Bang Boom, New Space Research and Technology, Explurger, Stupa Sports Analytics, among others.