Team Startupcity

• Elev8 Venture Partners closes first India-focused fund at Rs 1,400 crore ($160M) despite global VC slump.
• Backed by sovereign wealth funds, family offices, unicorn founders, and Venture Catalysts.
• Already invested one-third in Astrotalk, IDfy, Smallcase, Porter & Snapmint; rest to be deployed in 12-18 months.

Elev8 Venture Partners raised its first fund at Rs 1,400 crore ($160 million), with backers ranging from Korea to Hong Kong supporting the India-dedicated fund in the face of a multi-year worldwide slump in venture capital.

The fund, backed by Venture Catalysts, raised sovereign wealth funds, family offices and unicorn founders. The Rs 1,400-crore financing puts Elev8 in the position of targeting Indian startups looking for growth capital.

"Despite a tough global fundraising climate, Elev8 has raised the support of institutions, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and founders who share our belief in India's growth story. Our attention now turns to deploying the balance capital with discipline and backing our portfolio companies on their path to IPOs and global leadership", said Navin Honagudi, managing partner at Elev8 Venture Partners.

Also Read: GameRamp Secures $5.4Million in Funding Led by BITKRAFT Ventures

Launched in 2023, Elev8 has already invested one-third of its corpus in five companies Astrotalk, IDfy, Smallcase, Porter, and Snapmint with cheque sizes between $8-14 million. In certain investments, Elev8 has co-invested with its LPs, which include family offices and HNIs, further confirming the deal quality and increasing Elev8's cheque size and capital flowing into its portfolio companies.

The other two-thirds of the fund will be invested over the next 12-18 months into high growth companies that fit Elev8's strict investment criteria.

Having invested together with star venture capital and private equity firms, Elev8's early performance speaks well both of the quality of its deal-making and the validity of its strategy. Every one of the companies Elev8 has invested in is growing quickly at over 30 per cent a year and still turning a profit.