Deeptech-focused venture capital firm Unicorn India Ventures has closed its third fund at Rs 1,200 crore, surpassing its initial target of Rs 1,000 crore.
LPs in Fund III include HNIs, UHNIs, family offices and institutions. Backers include Sidbi, SBI, Nabard and the state governments of Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.
According to Unicorn India Ventures, the fund focuses on investments in semiconductors, spacetech and AI infrastructure. The VC firm claims to have already seen strong early traction, with seven to eight portfolio companies witnessing substantial follow-on rounds.
The fund will make 20 investments with an average ticket size of 10-15 crore. It plans to announce four investments in the coming months across quantum sensing, agritech and spacetech. Across its three funds, the VC firm has built a portfolio of nearly 50 companies, with a total portfolio valuation of about $5 billion.
The firm says that it is largely staying away from AI applications (SaaS) and focusing on AI infrastructure such as semiconductors, data centres, power and enabling technologies. It is also actively exploring nuclear micro power generation as an enabler for AI.
Another major trend playing out in the fund is the growing presence of academicians as startup founders. Four to five companies in Fund III are led by academicians, with one of them being a teaching academic.
Unicorn India Ventures (UIV) is a Mumbai-based, SEBI-registered Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) launched in 2015 by Bhaskar Majumdar and Anil Joshi. It acts as an early-stage venture capital firm investing in technology-led startups, focusing on seed to pre-Series A rounds with investments ranging from Rs 1 to 10 crore. The firm supports B2B, SaaS, and DeepTech sectors, aiming to build, support, and scale companies, with over 60 investments to its credit.
