VC firm Prath Ventures raises Rs 50 Crore in first close of Rs 225 Cr Maiden fund

• ByStartupStory     |    January 19, 2023

Prath Ventures, a Mumbai-based early-stage venture capital firm focused on businesses serving India’s digital consumer segment, has raised Rs 50 crore in its first fund close. It hopes to raise a total of Rs 225 crore.

The funds were raised primarily by high-net-worth individuals and a few family offices. It expects to complete the transaction by the end of this year, with institutional investors expected to contribute the most.

Piyush previously worked with Tano India Advisors and has nurtured consumer brands from the early stages to the growth phase. Harmanpreet has worked for a number of investment firms, including ICICI Ventures, SBI Caps, and Multiples.

“Both of us have done early-stage investments, and we were very enthused by the opportunities in the early-stage consumer businesses. “We strongly believe that 2023 is going to be a great year for VC funds,” said Piyush, Founder and Managing Partner of Prath Ventures.

According to Prath Ventures, startup investments in the digital consumption space will cross industries and focus on businesses with products or services that directly reach the end consumer. The founders believe that now is a good time to invest in consumer-focused startups because valuations are reasonable and businesses are looking to build long-term ventures.

“The idea is to become, over a period of time, the partner of choice for consumer entrepreneurs,” said Harmanpreet.

Prath Ventures, one of the few consumer-focused funds, has added Saptarishi Senare to its team as part of its expansion. He previously worked at Wipro Consumer Ventures and Tano Capital, where he led consumer investments such as MyGlamm, TAC, Power Gummies, and Soulflower.

Prath Ventures, founded in May 2022 by Piyush Goenka and Harmanpreet Singh, aims to invest in approximately 20 startups with fresh capital, with an average check size of Rs 5–6 crore and some portion reserved for follow-on funding.

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