Capital-A, an operator-led venture capital firm focused on manufacturing, on Monday announced the first close of its second fund at nearly $17 million (Rs 160 crore).
The firm is targeting a base corpus of $31.8 million (Rs 300 crore) for Fund II, with a greenshoe option that could see the total size expand to Rs 400 crore.
The fund has attracted participation from a predominantly domestic investor base, including family offices, high-net-worth individuals, industrialists, and seasoned corporate leaders.
Notable backers include the Chamaria Group, Steel House Family Office, Avyay Jhunjhunwala, MP Family Office, Siddharth Bafna, Partner, Lodha & Co. Srikar Reddy, Sekhar Boddu, the family office of Sri Vijayalakshmi Agarbathi Works, Manjushree Ventures Family Office, and Deven Bhandari, amongst others.
The fund also includes participation from domestic institutional platforms such as Anand Rathi Group, adding to the depth of its investor base.
Capital-A’s Fund II will back 15-18 early-stage companies across sectors such as advanced manufacturing, AI, robotics, defence and aerospace components, semiconductors, and hardware technologies.
The firm has already begun deploying capital, with seven investments to date, including Manastu Space, Agrileaf, Misochain, and CraftifAI, while three additional deals are currently in advanced stages of closure.
“We are seeing a clear shift in how both founders and investors are approaching manufacturing and deep tech in India. These are businesses that require patience, strong execution, and deep operating involvement. Having spent years building and scaling manufacturing businesses at Manjushree Technopack, our focus at Capital-A has been on partnering early with founders solving real industrial problems and working alongside them to build enduring companies,” said Ankit Kedia, founder and lead investor, Capital-A.
Founded in 2021, Capital-A invests at the seed and pre-Series A stages and works closely with founders on execution, operating discipline and scaling.
