Key Takeaways
- • AUM Ventures is raising a ₹750 crore fund (Fund II) and targets March 2027 to complete the fundraise, according to Business Standard.
- • The pre-seed and seed-stage firm has completed a first close of ₹250 crore (Business Standard), while other reports cite a ₹225 crore first close, indicating a discrepancy in reported figures.
- • AUM Ventures plans six to seven investments from the fund this year, focused on space-tech and other deep-tech sectors.
- • The firm's latest deal was a ₹17 crore round led in Bengaluru-based OXG Space, which is building edge cell towers in space for Earth-observation satellites.
- • Fund II will seek institutional LPs in India and overseas, including SIDBI's Fund of Funds for Startups and the RDI Fund, after a maiden fund of ₹200 crore that backed 24 companies.
Summary
AUM Ventures, a pre-seed and seed-stage venture capital firm, is raising a ₹750 crore fund and is targeting March 2027 to complete the fundraise, according to Business Standard. The firm has recently announced a first close and has raised ₹250 crore so far. Other coverage of the same first close reports ₹225 crore, with one report noting over 65% of commitments came from international investors and another converting the figure to $23.6 million.
The Mumbai-linked firm, founded in 2022, launched its investment journey with a ₹200 crore first fund and has backed 24 companies from that vehicle. Portfolio companies include Skyroot Aerospace, its first investment, along with Cosmoserve, Sanyark Space, Gimbal Space, Latent AI and Helogen. The firm backs intellectual property-based, innovation-led businesses across space-tech, semiconductors, defence-tech, artificial intelligence, robotics, advanced manufacturing and energy transition.
AUM Ventures plans six to seven investments from the new fund this year. Its latest deal is a ₹17 crore round led in OXG Space, a Bengaluru-based company developing edge cell towers in space for Earth-observation satellites. Founding partner Chetan Mehta said the firm was established to support Indian innovation at the pre-seed stage. His thesis draws partly on his prior experience running a global single-family office that invested in deep-tech ecosystems in Israel, the United States and elsewhere, including SpaceX.
The maiden fund was backed largely by global family offices, technology entrepreneurs who had built and sold billion-dollar businesses in the US, and high-net-worth individuals. For Fund II, the firm is seeking to broaden its limited partner base to institutional investors in India and overseas, including government-backed programmes and fund-of-funds vehicles such as SIDBI's Fund of Funds for Startups and the RDI Fund. Mehta said the firm did not apply to the RDI Fund in its initial window but intends to apply when the next window opens.
The Mumbai-linked firm, founded in 2022, launched its investment journey with a ₹200 crore first fund and has backed 24 companies from that vehicle. Portfolio companies include Skyroot Aerospace, its first investment, along with Cosmoserve, Sanyark Space, Gimbal Space, Latent AI and Helogen. The firm backs intellectual property-based, innovation-led businesses across space-tech, semiconductors, defence-tech, artificial intelligence, robotics, advanced manufacturing and energy transition.
AUM Ventures plans six to seven investments from the new fund this year. Its latest deal is a ₹17 crore round led in OXG Space, a Bengaluru-based company developing edge cell towers in space for Earth-observation satellites. Founding partner Chetan Mehta said the firm was established to support Indian innovation at the pre-seed stage. His thesis draws partly on his prior experience running a global single-family office that invested in deep-tech ecosystems in Israel, the United States and elsewhere, including SpaceX.
The maiden fund was backed largely by global family offices, technology entrepreneurs who had built and sold billion-dollar businesses in the US, and high-net-worth individuals. For Fund II, the firm is seeking to broaden its limited partner base to institutional investors in India and overseas, including government-backed programmes and fund-of-funds vehicles such as SIDBI's Fund of Funds for Startups and the RDI Fund. Mehta said the firm did not apply to the RDI Fund in its initial window but intends to apply when the next window opens.
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