Team StartupCity

• IAN Group closes its IAN Alpha Fund at US$100 million, the largest fund in its history, dedicated to early-stage startups and MSMEs solving real-world problems through technology.
• The fund focuses strongly on deep tech, targeting domains like AI, space tech, semiconductors, biotech, climate tech, cybersecurity, and healthcare, with a balanced risk-mitigation strategy.
• Backed by major institutional and government-linked investors, the fund has already invested in 10-12 startups many from Tier II & III cities advancing IAN’s mission to democratize access to capital and support innovation-led entrepreneurship across India.

Early-stage investment platform IAN Group has formally announced the final close of its second venture-capital fund, IAN Alpha Fund, at US$100 million, marking the largest fund in the platform's history. The firm said the corpus will be deployed mainly into early-stage companies and MSMEs led by strong founders working on real problems with emphasis on leveraging technology and innovation towards long-lasting impact.

Deep tech remains central to the fund's investment thesis: the Alpha Fund is targeting frontier areas such as artificial intelligence, space technology, semiconductors, biotech, climate tech, healthcare, cybersecurity, manufacturing, and other sectors that align with India's strategic developmental priorities.

Importantly, the fund adopts a structured risk-mitigation strategy: it balances high-potential, long-gestation deep-tech investments with shorter-cycle, revenue-oriented ventures to ensure liquidity and deliver a compelling return proposition for investors.

In the short time since its launch, IAN Alpha Fund has already invested in 10-12 pioneering startups, many of them led by first-generation founders based in Tier II and Tier III cities across India. With these investments, IAN hopes to move beyond the traditional startup hubs in metropolitan cities and democratize access to capital and mentoring for entrepreneurs in smaller cities, enabling them to create technologically sophisticated ventures that solve real-world problems and are nationally relevant.

Backing for the fund comes from a mix of institutional, government-linked and family-office investors, reflecting strong confidence in IAN's vision and track record. Notable contributors include government-supported vehicles such as SIDBI's Fund of Funds for Startups, the Self Reliant India Fund, ACE Fund, the Odisha Startup Growth Fund, as well as private institutional investors like HDFC Life, and select family offices, some even based abroad.

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A significant portion of the corpus has come from returning investors, underlining continued conviction in IAN's ability to identify and nurture high-potential ventures. The Alpha Fund also draws from the larger legacy of IAN Group: over its two-decade history, IAN has backed a portfolio of more than 250 companies now collectively valued at close to US$10 billion across space tech, biotech, AI/ML, SaaS, robotics, health tech, fin-tech, manufacturing tech, and consumer tech.

Through this new fund, IAN aims to bring much more than capital to the table, adding mentorship, governance support, strategic guidance, and market access to give founders that critical support toward scaling from idea to growth.

According to IAN, the full $100 million will be deployed by 2027, indicating more of a paced and deliberate investment strategy, rather than a rush to deploy capital. The move underlines IAN's commitment to backing 'India-first' innovations - technology built in India for Indian problems and global markets - and reflects its belief that deeptech and frontier-tech ventures will be at the forefront of shaping India's growth and future capabilities.

IAN Group further reinforced its ambition of democratizing access to capital, supporting innovation-led entrepreneurship across geographies, and enabling the next generation of founders to build high-impact and scalable businesses that bridge the gap between early promise and long-term realization.