Aavishkaar Plans to Launch 7th Fund in 2026 With a ₹2,000-Cr Target for Deeptech Bets

Aavishkaar Group is planning to launch its seventh fund next year, with a targeted corpus of around ₹2,000 crore and a focus on deeptech, said Vineet Rai, founder and chairman of the impact-led investment firm. The fund will majorly infuse fresh capital into defence-linked innovation and other capital-intensive sectors.  

“Our new fund will continue our focus on investing in businesses which employ deep technology and technology applications to deliver impact at scale. Sectorally, climate, agriculture, financial inclusion, advanced manufacturing, and essential services such as education, healthcare and other impact sectors will be our target sectors,” Rai told Outlook Business on the sidelines of Sankalp Bharat 2.0 last week. 

He said there are sovereign needs that are different from impact needs. Whether it is defence technology, data infrastructure or advanced manufacturing, according to Rai, these are areas where India has to build its own capabilities.

Primarily, the fund will back companies at the early growth stage, including Series A and B rounds. While the fund will focus on broad themes such as deeptech, Rai highlighted that the group’s investment approach will remain “sector-agnostic” and the capital allocation will be driven by the strength of individual opportunities. 

“The new fund will continue to strengthen our focus on impact and sustainability. Catalytic impact is achieved by leveraging technology to both deepen and broaden the ambit of impact on underserved populations and on climate, by directly impacting the population in the value chain of the businesses we invest in, and also creating systemic impact in the industries and ecosystems the businesses operate in,” he added. 

He also underlined the importance of domestic long-term capital in supporting such investments, pointing to pension funds, insurance companies and other Indian institutions as natural sources of patient money.

The upcoming fund comes at a time when most of Aavishkaar’s existing capital has already been deployed. The firm currently manages about ₹11,000 crore in assets under management, according to founder and chairman Vineet Rai.

So far, the group has invested in 87 start-ups and has exited over 50 of them in India and globally. It has backed several financial inclusion-focused institutions, including Suryoday Small Finance Bank, Utkarsh Small Finance Bank, CreditAccess Grameen and Equitas Small Finance Bank. 

Rai said the firm has delivered a gross internal rate of return of about 26% on its successful investments. He added that the group has been able to generate returns of 1.8-2 times on its investments since its inception 24 years ago. 

Meanwhile, he stated that Aavishkaar-backed microfinance lender ‘Arohan Financial Services’ is expected to launch its initial public offering (IPO) in the next 12-15 months. 

Founded in 2001, Aavishkaar has been among the earliest movers in India’s impact investing ecosystem, backing businesses across microfinance, agritech, financial inclusion and climate-linked sectors.

Over the years, it has incubated and supported several institutions that later scaled into mainstream financial and technology players.