Aum Ventures launches second fund with ₹750 crore target corpus
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Early-stage venture capital firm Aum Ventures has launched its second fund, India Innovation Fund II, with a target corpus of ₹750 crore (approximately $80 million) to invest in Indian founders building IP-driven and innovation-led companies.
The fund is a Sebi-registered Category II AIF and will focus on sectors such as spacetech, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, defence technology and other frontier technologies.
"India is at a unique inflexion point where policy support, talent, and capital availability are converging to create unprecedented opportunities for deep tech and innovation," said Chetan Mehta, founding partner, Aum Ventures.
Founded in 2022, Aum Ventures said it has deployed around $30 million across 24 early-stage companies. The firm was an early investor in Skyroot Aerospace, which recently became India's first spacetech unicorn. Its portfolio also includes space tech companies Cosmoserve Space and Sanyark Space.
In the semiconductor space, Aum Ventures was the first investor in Azimuth AI, which is building custom system-on-chip (SoC) solutions. The firm has also invested in artificial intelligence and defence technology startups. Sharang Shakti, one of its defence technology investments, was recently acquired by LAT Aerospace.
Fund to back 25-30 startups
The new fund will primarily invest in pre-seed and seed-stage startups, with initial cheque sizes ranging from $750,000 to $2 million. Aum Ventures said it will also provide follow-on capital up to Series A and Series B rounds. Over the life of the fund, it expects to invest in around 25-30 portfolio companies.
The firm said it evaluates technology and IP-led businesses on their ability to compete globally from an early stage. It also draws on networks across India, the United States and Israel and has built a team of advisors across sectors including semiconductors, aerospace, defence, spacetech and AI.
Aum Ventures has also appointed Nisha Shah as general partner for Fund II. Shah has previously held leadership roles at a large family office and has worked with venture capital, private equity and consulting firms.
"The companies building in deep tech need to think global from day one," said Mehta, adding that long-term strategy, milestone-based fundraising, global go-to-market plans and strong leadership teams are important for building companies in the sector.
The launch comes as India's deep tech ecosystem continues to see support from government initiatives including the Semiconductor Mission, Production Linked Incentive schemes, iDEX, DLI and other programmes aimed at promoting innovation and commercialisation in strategic sectors.