How San Francisco-based Arise Ventures helps Indian tech startups break into the US market
Ankita Vashistha-led Arise Ventures aims to help Indian tech startups get a meaningful entry into foreign markets, especially the US, through its networks of partners and industry experts.
Startups aspire to have marquee clients and a meaningful presence in larger economies. However, it is easier said than done. To help early-stage Indian startups in this journey, Arise Ventures is building an India-US corridor.
Founder Ankita Vashistha, who has been associated with the venture capital and private equity space since 2008, believes a lot can be done to accelerate the growth trajectory of Indian tech startups.
In an interaction with YourStory, Vashistha says, “Our focus is how we help startups build for the global markets, especially the US, with a clear go-to-market strategy.”
As the world’s largest economy, the United States presents a large opportunity for Indian tech startups, but they face challenges for a credible entry point—in terms of bagging customers or having the right personnel on the ground.
“A lot of startups can do much better if they get the right tools at the early stage, and then the acceleration becomes faster,” Vashistha remarks, who has worked globally in the US, Singapore, and India markets.
Bengaluru- and San Francisco-based Arise Ventures brings its well-connected network of industry experts to Indian startups that help open the door for them to enter key markets. For example, Streamingo—a deep tech startup with expertise in video analysis and Arise Ventures’ portfolio company—bagged a marquee US FMCG corporation as its client, resulting in a 5X rise in revenue for the startup.
According to Vashistha, once a tech startup gets its first few orders in India, Arise Ventures can help it unlock newer customers in the US. It also helps startups raise VC funds from the US market. “The way one sells or prices in the US is very different from other markets, and we do a lot of handholding exercise,” she adds.
Arise Ventures is Vashistha’s third VC firm; the other two are Tholons Capital, which has invested in the US and India, including in meat delivery startup Licious, and Saha Fund — perhaps the first VC fund in India that focused on women entrepreneurs or businesses catering to women.
The Saha Fund, which Vashistha has exited, raised Rs 100 crore and made 11 investments having fully exited while providing 3X returns to its investors.
These early experiences changed how Vashistha approached startup funding. While the previous two funds largely invested in seed to Series A stages, Arise Ventures focuses on the pre-seed funding stage. “We thought of doing pre-seed because the market is much more mature, and one can find better startups very early on.”
By the end of 2025, the VC firm plans to raise Rs 500 crore, and it has already made the first close. It plans to invest in 15-20 startups in the enterprise tech, deep tech, SaaS and consumer tech sectors, with cheque sizes ranging from $250,000 to $2 million. It has already invested in 10 startups, including Assiduus, Velmeni, Streamingo, and CoreFactors.
As a startup investor, Vashistha says there have been a few definite changes in the ecosystem over the years, including a greater depth in terms of founder quality and a wider category of investors.
Earlier, Indian startups mimicked what was done in the US, but now, it is about trying to build a global product out of India. Further, newer segments and a lot many serial entrepreneurs are emerging in the ecosystem.
At the same time, Arise Ventures aims to support women startup founders with its accelerator programme that sees 50% women participation. So far, 400 startups have participated in its programme.
As part of its future plans, Vashistha says that Arise Ventures will be a value-addition investor having deep relationships with its portfolio companies. It is also looking at supporting Indian startups in the growth and late funding stages.
Edited by Suman Singh