Funds Worth $9 Bn Launched For Indian Startups In 2025 So Far

With three months still remaining in 2025, India’s startup ecosystem has already seen more fund launches than in the entire previous year. In the first nine months, investors launched funds worth over $9 Bn, surpassing the $8.7 Bn number of 2024.

The third quarter alone accounted for over $2.5 Bn in new funds, spread across 25 investors, with 17 of these funds specifically targeting early stage startups, according to Inc42’s Indian Tech Startup Funding Report Q3 2025. Despite the surge in fund launches, startup fundraising remained muted in the same period, with Indian startups raising just over $2.1 Bn across 240 deals between July 1 and September 28, down 38% from $3.4 Bn raised in Q3 2024.

A closer look at the funding data in 2025 reveals a clear shift in capital allocation. The bulk of funding is moving toward early stage startups, while late stage primary investments have remained relatively subdued, indicating a focus on younger companies with high long-term growth potential.

Supporting this trend, 58% of the 80 investors surveyed by Inc42 for ‘Indian Startup Investor Survey, Q3 2025’ said they feel more optimistic about early stage ventures. Most respondents said they expect early stage startups to outperform other segments in 2026.

Accel India, A91 Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, and 360 ONE Asset are among the VC firms that launched early stage funds this year.

Speaking at the launch of its INR 500 Cr early-stage fund in May, Abhishek Nag, senior fund manager and strategy head at 360 ONE Asset, said, “With our early stage strategy, we aim to bridge the white space between India’s robust micro-VC ecosystem and the large global funds.”

Rising Investor Confidence In Early Stage Startups

In 2025, nearly 60% of new fund launches were targeted at seed and Series A rounds. This emphasis on early stage deals mirrored in the investor sentiment. As per the survey, angel, pre-seed, and seed stage startups are expected to capture 58% of investments in 2026.

Growth stage ventures are projected to account for 36%, while late stage and pre-IPO rounds are expected to remain marginal at around 3%. Investors cited the high-growth potential of young startups as a key driver, with backing extending beyond capital to mentorship, strategic guidance, and market access.

Recent fund launches highlight this trend. Rohit Bafna-led early stage accelerator 888VC launched its maiden INR 175 Cr ($19 Mn) alternate investment fund (AIF) to back startups in AI, deeptech, and sustainability.

Earlier, early and growth stage focused Atomic Capital closed its first fund at INR 400 Cr crore, while micro VC Zeropearl VC wrapped up its maiden fund at INR 159 Cr in September.

Data from Q3 2025 shows a 7% YoY jump in unique investor count to 676, with a sequential increase of 4.3% from the previous quarter, suggesting continued investor interest in India’s startup ecosystem even as broader funding trends moderate.

With that, here are the top 10 funds of 2025 as per their fund size:

A91 Partners Hits Final Close Of Third Fund At $665 Mn

Mumbai-based growth stage investment firm A91 Partners announced the final close of its fund that has the highest corpus among all the funds launched in the year.

The firm which counts Go Digit, Aye Finance, Sugar Cosmetics and Atomberg among its portfolio companies closed its third fund at $665 Mn in April.

With its third fund, A91 partners aimed to invest in small and mid-sized companies, including sectors such as consumer, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing and technology, International Finance Corporation (IFC) said last month.

For A91 Partners third fund, it said that the fund is expecting to invest between $10 Mn and $50 Mn in 15 companies.

Founded in 2018, A91 Partners is an investment firm that focuses on India’s consumer, technology, financial services, and healthcare sectors.

Accel Secures $650 Mn For Its New India Fund

US-based VC firm Accel raised $650 Mn for its eighth India fundat the start of the year. The firm said that the capital was secured from 131 undisclosed investors.

The Silicon Valley-based investment firm, which counts Moneyview, Flipkart, Swiggy and Moglix among its unicorn portfolio, previously raised $650 Mn in its commitments towards the seventh fund, the Accel India VII, in March 2022.

Accel first arrived in India in 2005, starting with the Accel India Venture Capital Fund in 2008 worth $10 Mn.

PE Firm Multiples Marks Final Close Of $430 Mn Continuation Fund

Multiples Alternate Asset Management (Multiples)marked the final close of its $430 Mn continuation fund in one of India’s largest-ever portfolio transactions in private equity space in May.

According to the firm, the deal was “oversubscribed” and was led by four global institutional investors – HarbourVest Partners, Hamilton Lane, LGT Capital Partners and TPG NewQuest.

Founded in 2009 by Renuka Ramnath, Multiples claims to control over assets under management (AUM) worth $3 Bn and has invested in about 35 private companies till date.

It has backed the likes of ACKO, Delhivery, Dream Sports and MoEngage including others. The PE firm aims to invest in growth and late stage startups with an average ticket size between $15 and $50 Mn.

Elevation Capital Launches $400 Mn Fund for IPO-Bound Startups

VC firm Elevation Capital launched a late stage fund, Elevation Holdings, with a corpus of $400 Mn to back startups looking to go public in August.

The firm, which counts the likes of FirstCry, ixigo, Meesho, and Paytm in its portfolio, aims for long-term partnership with companies that have the potential to perform well in the public markets post listing.

It plans on backing 10 to 15 startups which are eyeing a public listing in the next 3 years. The ticket size is between $20 Mn to $50 Mn. The new fund has already made investment in used-car marketplace Spinny.

L Catterton’s India-Focussed Consumer Fund Marks First Close At $200 Mn

L Catterton’s India-focussed consumer fund marked itsfirst close at $200 Mn last month and plans on investing in mid-market consumer businesses in India.

The VC firm intends to mark the final close of the fund at $400 Mn, with an additional greenshoe option of $200 Mn.

It is said to have received commitments from World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and some clients of Kotak Private, the private banking and wealth management division of Kotak Mahindra Bank.

While Sanjiv Mehta is currently the executive chairman of L Catterton of India, Anjana Sasidharan and Vikram Kumaraswamy are the co-heads of India arm operations.

HealthKois Launches $300 Mn Fund For Growth Stage Startups

Healthcare-focussedHealthKois launched a $300 Mn fund in June to back early and growth-stage startups with an additional green-shoe option of $100 Mn.

With the fund, the VC firm is targeting investments in sectors like healthtech, life sciences, medtech, healthcare delivery and climate health sectors. It aims to back 13 to 16 companies with an average ticket size of $7-25 Mn.

Founded in 2016, the VC firm operates two two investment vehicles namely, HealthQuad Fund I and HealthQuad Fund II. It counts the likes of HealthifyMe, BeatO and Medikabazaar among its portfolio.

Bessemer Closes Second India-Focussed Fund At $350 Mn

US-based venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners closed its second India-focussed fund with a corpus of $350 Mnto support early stage startups in March.

With the fund, the VC firm plans to invest in startups across sectors like AI-enabled services and SaaS, fintech, digital health, consumer brands and cybersecurity. Vishal Gupta and Anant Vidur Puri, partners at Bessemer’s Bengaluru office, will be at the helm of the investment strategy and invest in the most promising entrepreneurs, the firm said.

Commenting on the new fund, Gupta told Inc42, “Our initial investments are primarily at the early stage, and we allocate a portion of our funds to participate in follow-on rounds in our portfolio companies as we continue to support them through their growth.”

Avendus’ Third Future Leaders Fund Raised INR 850 Cr In First Close

Avendus’ Future Leaders Fund III (FLF III) marked its first close in January, securing INR 850 Cr from leading domestic family offices and institutions. Registered as a category-II AIF with SEBI, the fund targets INR 1,500 Cr, with an additional green shoe of INR 1,500 Cr.

FLF III plans 12–14 investments in sectors including financial services, healthcare, technology, consumer goods, and manufacturing, with average ticket sizes of INR 150–300 Cr.

Following the success of FLF I and II—which backed companies like Lenskart, Juspay, and SBI General Insurance—the fund is finalising its first healthcare investment, continuing its strategy of backing high-growth, market-leading businesses.

Quadria Group Launches $300 Mn HealthQuad Fund After Split With KOIS

Healthcare-focused private equity firm Quadria Group launched HealthQuad Fund III with a target corpus of $300 Mn including a $100 Mn green shoe option in June.

HealthQuad was launched in 2016 as a separate investment vehicle within Quadria to focus on early-growth healthcare innovations.

The fund will back 13-15 startups operating in the healthtech sector, including AI- based healthcare models, digital therapeutics , ambulatory care models, enterprise SaaS models and point of care devices, among others, HealthQuad founder and investment committee member Sunil Thakur told Inc42.

“HealthQuad Fund III will predominantly invest in India, with small discretionary allocation to Southeast Asia,” Thakur said.

Bharat Value Fund Marks First Close Of Third Fund At INR 1,250 Cr

Pre-IPO investment opportunity focussed Bharat Value Fund (BVF) announced the first close of its third investment fund at INR 1,250 Cr(around $144 Mn) in January.

The fund, with a target corpus of INR 2,500 Cr (around $289 Mn), includes a greenshoe option of INR 1,000 Cr and is expected to be closed by mid this year.

The fund is being managed by The Wealth Company Pvt Ltd. It claims to have marked the first close of its third fund within 45 days while building on its fund raising trajectory.

BVF aims to allocate the raised capital across various sectors and also plans to invest in resilient and asset backed businesses.

Through BVF, the fund will target mid-market, high-growth enterprises with revenues between INR 300 Cr and INR 1,000 Cr, the statement added.

[Edited by Akshit Pushkarna]

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