Fundamentum, To Invest $227 Mn In Indian Startups Over 5 Yrs

Infosys co-chairman Nandan Nilekani co-founded Fundamentum Partnership on Friday said it has raised USD 227 million (about Rs 1,793 crore) for its second fund to invest in early growth stage Indian startups. Fundamentum Partnership co-founder and general partner Ashish Kumar said the fund will be deployed over the next five years mainly in Series B, which is generally the second round of funding in a startup after it has met certain milestones and catches the growth trajectory.

"This is our second fund. We plan to lead or co-lead USD 25-40 million rounds and invest in 4-5 startups each year," Kumar said. Fundamentum's first fund, which was close to around USD 100 million, was deployed strategically in six early growth stage startups, including Pharmeasy and Spinny, which have attained Unicorn status.

After the fund's initial investment, Fundamentum's portfolio companies have collectively raised over USD 1 billion in follow-on rounds. Kumar said that Fundamentum will look at investing in Software-as-a-service (SaaS) firms -- Bharat Apps and healthcare. Amid the talk around economic slowdown, SaaS firms have good growth opportunities because enterprises may cut down on their fixed costs like human resources, but they may look at digitisation to lower their operational cost, he noted.

"We have a healthy pipeline and are seeing over 200 deals a year with an aim to invest in 4-5 startups every year. We are already in the process of investing in two startups. One deal is expected to close in about a month, and the second one should be completed a couple of weeks after that," Kumar said. Fundamentum has also invested in logistics SaaS firm Fareye, Ayu Health and Probo.

(PTI)