Mumbai-based 8i Ventures raising $50M for its Fund II
8i Ventures, based in Mumbai, said today that it is raising $50 million (about Rs 374 crore) for its Fund II, which would invest in fintech firms. This fund’s corpus is nearly four times that of its predecessor.8i Ventures is an early-stage investment business based in India that predominantly invests in fintech and consumer category entrepreneurs. It was founded in 2019 by Vikram Chachra and Vishwanath V.
The cash raised will be used to invest in fintech firms that make money easier, according to a release. Slice, a credit card issuing business; M2P, a card-issuing platform; and Difenz, a startup that focuses on digital risks and fraud management solutions, are among the fintech startups it has lately invested in.
The new fund is larger than 8i Ventures’ first fund, which closed in 2020 with a total of $13 million.The larger fund will provide 8i Ventures the resources to lead seed and Series A investments and assist its firms until they break out and attract late-stage investors, according to Vikram Chachra, founding partner.The fund’s typical check size will range from $500,000 to $5 million.Chachra and Vishwanath V. formed 8i Ventures in 2019. The initial fund will invest in 10-12 startups, with a portion of its funds set aside for follow-on investments in existing portfolio companies.
Slice, a company in its portfolio, joined the unicorn club earlier this week after raising $220 million in a Series B round spearheaded by New York-based investment firms Tiger Global and Insight Partners. Unicorns are private enterprises with a market capitalization of $1 billion or more.Card issuing platform M2P, digital risk and fraud management startup Difenz, payments service Easebuzz, and supplement brand Bbetter are among the other portfolio companies in the inaugural fund.In the last 18 months, three out of six firms seeded by its inaugural fund have increased their gross merchandise value (GMV) by 7x to 28x, according to the statement. Several of the venture firm’s Fund I companies are expected to reach initial public offering (IPO) magnitude in the next 24-36 months.
Several venture capital companies have reported fundraising milestones or launched funds this year.VCCircle announced last month that WaterBridge Ventures had raised $150 million for its second fund, which was greater than the original target of $100 million.This year, several venture capital firms such as Chiratae Ventures, A91 Partners, and Stellaris Venture Partners saw their funds close with an oversubscription.Blume Ventures closed its fourth fund at $105 million last month, barely months after creating it.
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