Venture debt firm VentureSoul Partners has marked the first close of its ₹600 crore maiden fund, raising ₹146.5 crore.

With a target corpus of upto ₹300 crore plus an additional ₹300 crore greenshoe, the SEBI-registered Category II AIF has so far received commitments from a mix of family offices, corporates, HNIs, professionals and other eminent investors.

It aims to invest in around 20-25 startups with an average ticket size of ₹25-30 crore. The maximum amount will be capped at ₹60 crore.

The firm will aim to make debt investments in companies that are generally at Series A stage or beyond, with a demonstrated business and revenue model. The sector agnostic fund will have a positive bias towards diversified Fintech, B2C, B2B & SAAS companies.

Founded by three ex-HSBC bankers – Gala, Anurag Tripathi, and Kunal Wadhwa - VentureSoul is a value-based enterprise.

The venture debt firm aims to differentiate itself by blending prudent banking principles with new-age credit evaluation technology, adopting a partnership approach towards its portfolio companies, and specialising in providing tailor-made solutions.

“We are sincerely grateful to each and every individual and institution that has backed us, as also those who have been our guiding light in our maiden fund foray. We now intend to augment the scale and size of VentureSoul’s operations by working further with the broader ecosystem – undertaking disciplined deployment as also continuing to reach out wider for our subsequent fund raise rounds,” the founders said in a joint statement.

Published on September 6, 2024