Artha India Ventures Raises ₹250 Cr in First Close of Its ₹500 Cr Fund II

Venture capital firm Artha India Ventures has announced the first close of ₹250 crores for its second early-stage microVC fund called ‘Artha Venture Fund II (AVF II)’. The fund targets a total corpus of ₹500 crores with a ₹100 crore green-shoe option.

The company, in an official statement, said the fund has has already secured more than 50% of its target commitments. The fund will invest 36 seed-stage start-ups across categories. These include applied AI, fintech infrastructure, deeptech, and premium consumption.

It will deploy ₹4 crore initial cheques and doubling down with ₹8–16 crore follow-on investments under its proprietary 1–2–4 model. The fund targets 15-20% ownership in its top portfolio companies and will operate on a four-year deployment cycle.

“In the last 8 months, barring one, India has recorded fewer than 100 seed investments per month, the lowest in nearly a decade. The graduation rate from Seed to Series A, historically 1 in 9 start-ups or around 12–13% over 36 months - that rate has dropped to as low as 5-6% in recent months,” said Anirudh A Damani, managing partner, Artha Venture Fund.

The fund’s capital base will remain approximately 80% domestic and 20% global, with 90% of first-close commitments coming from Indian LPs, including family offices, and exited founders, and the remaining 10% from international investors.

Early backers of AVF II include the Shahi Group, Narendra Karnawat (Glance Finance), DSP Family Office, and several founders from Artha’s earlier investments who have since achieved successful exits.

“Our 2016 and 2017 portfolios demonstrated the power of investing in resilient founders during uncertain times — 7 out of 7 exits in 2017 with a 111% IRR and 16x multiple, while our 2016 portfolio delivered nearly 21x returns,” he said.

AVF I’s portfolio companies includes Agnikul Cosmos, Everest Fleet, LenDenClub, Daalchini, InstaAstro, and GetWork, many of which have gone on to become category-defining leaders.

“Our goal is to double down on companies showing deep founder conviction, efficient capital usage, and clear revenue visibility. AVF II is not chasing volume; it’s chasing velocity, i.e., concentrated capital behind exceptional founders,” Damani added.