Key Takeaways
- • Brigade Group and Gruhas have jointly launched Earth Fund, a Rs 300 crore (USD 36 million) Sebi-registered Category II Alternative Investment Fund with an additional Rs 100 crore green-shoe option, targeting early-stage PropTech and sustainability startups in India.
- • The fund will deploy $1-2 million per investment across a portfolio of 10-15 companies at pre-Series A and Series A stages, focusing on proptech, construction tech, asset utilization, smart mobility, energy solutions, and clean technology.
- • Brigade Group brings 80+ startups mentored through its REAP Accelerator over eight years, while Gruhas (backed by investors Nikhil Kamath and Abhijeet Pai) contributes experience from 50+ invested startups in proptech, climate tech, and sustainability sectors.
- • The fund addresses a structural gap in India's real estate technology ecosystem by providing quality capital and market access to mature early-stage ventures, with Brigade's strategic fundraising support and industry integration capabilities complementing Gruhas's deal identification expertise.
- • Key motivation centers on India's 1.5 billion population-scale demand for home improvements, energy efficiency, and carbon reduction solutions, positioning the fund to capitalize on substantial addressable market in built environment innovation.
Summary
Brigade Group, the Bengaluru-based real estate major, and Gruhas, an investment venture founded by Nikhil Kamath and Abhijeet Pai, have established Earth Fund, a Rs 300 crore investment vehicle dedicated to early-stage startups transforming real estate through technology and sustainability. The fund is structured as a Sebi-registered Category II Alternative Investment Fund with Rs 200 crore in committed capital and an additional Rs 100 crore green-shoe option, collectively representing USD 36 million in deployment capacity.
The fund's investment thesis targets pre-Series A and Series A stage companies with deployment of $1-2 million per company, with a portfolio target of 10-15 investee companies. Focus areas span proptech, construction technology, asset utilization, smart mobility, energy solutions, and clean technology sectors. Abhijeet Pai, co-founder of Gruhas, emphasized the fund's differentiation: bringing institutional-quality capital into PropTech and sustainability investments while providing portfolio companies with market access at scale—critical for early-stage ventures addressing India's substantial built environment challenges across its 1.5 billion population.
Brigade Group's contribution extends beyond capital. The company has mentored and invested in over 80 startups through its REAP Accelerator program over the past eight years, positioning it to offer investee companies strategic market access, fundraising support, and deep industry integration. Gruhas, with experience investing in 50+ startups across proptech, climate tech, and sustainability, will lead deal identification and selection. Nirupa Shankar, joint managing director of Brigade Enterprises, highlighted Earth Fund's role in addressing ecosystem gaps by backing more mature early-stage companies—a structural gap where quality capital and operational support have historically been constrained in India's real estate innovation sector.
The partnership reflects broader institutional capital allocation toward PropTech and climate-focused real estate innovation in India, where regulatory momentum, infrastructure modernization, and sustainability mandates are driving demand for technological transformation across residential construction, energy efficiency, and carbon reduction domains.
The fund's investment thesis targets pre-Series A and Series A stage companies with deployment of $1-2 million per company, with a portfolio target of 10-15 investee companies. Focus areas span proptech, construction technology, asset utilization, smart mobility, energy solutions, and clean technology sectors. Abhijeet Pai, co-founder of Gruhas, emphasized the fund's differentiation: bringing institutional-quality capital into PropTech and sustainability investments while providing portfolio companies with market access at scale—critical for early-stage ventures addressing India's substantial built environment challenges across its 1.5 billion population.
Brigade Group's contribution extends beyond capital. The company has mentored and invested in over 80 startups through its REAP Accelerator program over the past eight years, positioning it to offer investee companies strategic market access, fundraising support, and deep industry integration. Gruhas, with experience investing in 50+ startups across proptech, climate tech, and sustainability, will lead deal identification and selection. Nirupa Shankar, joint managing director of Brigade Enterprises, highlighted Earth Fund's role in addressing ecosystem gaps by backing more mature early-stage companies—a structural gap where quality capital and operational support have historically been constrained in India's real estate innovation sector.
The partnership reflects broader institutional capital allocation toward PropTech and climate-focused real estate innovation in India, where regulatory momentum, infrastructure modernization, and sustainability mandates are driving demand for technological transformation across residential construction, energy efficiency, and carbon reduction domains.
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