Rockstud Capital Launches $36.4 Million Angel Fund To Back Indian Start-ups

Rockstud Capital, an Indian asset management firm, has announced the launch of its second fund, Rockstud Capital Investment Fund II, which will provide funding to pre-Series A and Series A-stage start-ups. The fund is worth Rs 300 crore ($36.4 million) and will invest between Rs 1 crore and Rs 10 crore in 25 start-ups in the digitalisation, sustainability, financial inclusion, consumption and health sectors. The angel fund will also offer a flexible ticket size for current and follow-on funding rounds.

The investment fund aims to help companies build an initial product-market fit, achieve scalability and raise a Series A round. The firm's founder and managing partner, Abhishek Agarwal, said in a media report that the fund will focus on identifying early-stage growth companies through a defined process and network to foster partnerships with founders building scalable businesses with a focus on profitability.

Rockstud Capital is an alternative asset management firm that focuses on Indian companies via SEBI-regulated products. Founded in 2017, some of its portfolio companies are Everest Fleet, BigHaat, Instoried, Smartvizx, Fabheads and NOTO. In 2018, the company launched its first fund, Rockstud Capital Investment Fund – Series I, which invested in Pre-Series A stage start-ups and NSE-listed equities.

The announcement of the fund comes as several institutional investors, such as venture capital and private equity firms, are setting up or closing their funds to back India’s troubled start-up ecosystem. In February, PeerCapital marked the first closure of its Rs 300 crore fund, while in January, Dallas Ventures set up Rs 350 crore India-focused fund for enterprisetech start-ups. In the same month, Z3Partners announced the closure of Rs 550 crore fund and 100X.VC committed about $4 million in 25 start-ups.

According to reports, as many as 126 VC funds raised over $18 billion to back domestic start-ups in India last year. Rockstud Capital's latest fund is designed to provide funding to promising start-ups in key sectors, including digitalisation, sustainability, financial inclusion, consumption and health. The angel fund will help companies in building an initial product-market fit, attaining scalability and raising a Series A round.