Multiply Ventures, an early-stage VC fund, has announced closure of its maiden fund at ₹260 crore.
The fund closed above the target of ₹250 crore. It will focus on early-stage deals across four core sectors: fintech, edtech, retail, and health.
The majority of the investors are Indian family offices and digital-first entrepreneurs. About 95 per cent of the investors are from India. Multiply Venture has invested in 15 companies to date and plans to invest in 8 to 10 more start-ups in the next 12 months.
“Multiply Ventures will invest very early, and ideally, be the first institutional investor, and in most cases, lead the round. Our average first cheque is ₹4 crore and we will invest up to ₹20 crore in efficiently run businesses till series A,” said Raveen Sastry, Partner at Multiply Ventures. Beyond capital, the Multiply team brings in decades of digital space experience & connects from domestic and global markets, he added.
The fund’s vision is to be one of India’s most impactful early-stage VC funds over the next five years. If a majority of the good founding teams in the country have Multiply in their consideration set when they raise their seed round, it will be a good start for the fund, said the firm.
Sanjay Ramakrishnan, Partner at Multiply said “we are thesis-driven in our investment and the broad thesis is that - India will see the emergence of trusted brands improving access to quality education, transparent financial services, affordable healthcare & authentic retail experiences.”
In 2020, it had received SEBI’s nod for launching the fund and completed its final close recently.