Venture Capital Firm Merak Ventures, an early-stage sector-agnostic venture capital firm, has launched a new fund with a target corpus of $100 million. Over the next three to four years, the firm intends to invest in up to 20 startups.
According to a press release, Merak will invest seed capital in B2B and emerging technology companies. The new capital is sector agnostic but will focus on climate technology, agritech, mobility, climate finance, digital solutions, and insurtech.
Merak Ventures, based in Delhi-NCR, was co-founded by fund managers Manu Rikhye and Sheetal Bahl. It will offer proactive assistance with strategy, business development, and fundraising.
GrowX, which focuses on deep tech companies, was where the duo invested in early-stage companies. They continue to manage 16 GrowX portfolio companies, including Progcap and Cynlr.
“There are passionate founders who want to solve real-world problems, and we want to empower them, not just with capital but as a mentor-partner. At Merak, we firmly believe businesses that solve authentic problems will always make for a sound investment,” said Manu Rikhye, Partner, Merak Ventures.
Early-stage startups are in for funding galore
According to data, from January to July 2022, early-stage startups received 15% of total funding. During the first seven months of the current calendar year, early-stage startups received $3.1 billion in funding across 688 transactions, while funding totaled $21 billion across 1,062 transactions.
Sheetal Bahl, Partner, Merak Ventures, added, “Merak is the culmination of a decade of thinking, learning, and investing in the Indian startup ecosystem. It represents our strong belief that financial gains and impact, whether on the industry, people, or the planet, are not mutually exclusive. And it is built on the foundation of our passions – B2B and emerging technologies, and our values: boldness, empathy, fun.”
There has recently been a surge in investors entering the small ticket segment. According to reports, Tiger Global recently led a $15 million funding round in a Fintech startup, marking its twelfth such investment in 2022, a threefold increase from the previous year.
Merak’s announcement comes at a time when global funds such as Sequoia, Accel, Lightspeed, and Matrix Partners have either launched new funds or are raising funds to invest in the Indian market, making it both profitable and competitive.
