India-based angel syndicate Indian Angel Network (IAN) today closed its inaugural fund at Rs3.75bn ($53m) with limited partners including carmaker Hyundai and conglomerate Max Group, according to the Economic Times.
Financial services firms India Infoline and Yes Bank, as well as development financial institution Small Industries Development Bank of India’s Fund of Fund for Startups have also backed the fund.
Other limited partners include impact investment firm Gray Matters Capital and philanthropic organisation Wadhwani Foundation, as well as private investors such as Kris Gopalakrishnan, Sunil Munjal, Rajan Anandan and Kanwal Rekhi.
The final close is $3.5m above target. The vehicle had achieved an initial close of $27m in April 2017.
The IAN Fund is sector-agnostic, but is particularly interested in the healthcare, software-as-a-service, marketplaces, fintech, big data, artificial intelligence and hardware segments. It invests between $35,000 and $7m per startup.
The vehicle has already been investing and its portfolio includes waterless solar panel cleaning technology developer Nocca Robotics, data analytics technology producer Clootrack and e-commerce platform Little Black Book.
Founded in 2006, IAN operates an angel syndicate that primarily focuses on India, though it has grown to more than 120 portfolio companies across seven countries to date.
Padmaja Ruparel, founding partner of the IAN Fund, said: “We are pleased to announce the closure of our fund at $53m.
“The fact that we have achieved and exceeded our capital target underlines our impressive growth trajectory and highlights the faith that investors have in our vision.
“Moving ahead, we aim to scale newer heights and play a bigger role in transforming and nurturing India’s entrepreneurial landscape.”
