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Mela Ventures Closes First Fund at $42 Million

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Mela Ventures, an early-stage venture capital company created by former Mindtree founders Krishnakumar Natarajan and Parthasarathy NS, has secured around $42 million (Rs320 crore) for its first fund, the MV Core Tech Fund-I.

Nippon India Digital Innovation AIF, a subsidiary of NSE-listed Nippon Life India Asset Management, and SIDBI Fund of Funds for Startups have committed money to the SEBI-approved category-2 AIF fund. A collection of international investors contributed as well, including government institutions, technical specialists, and family offices.

The fund was oversubscribed by 1.6X times the initial closure objective, according to a business statement. MV Core Tech Fund – I closed the first round of funding in August 2020, raising Rs 130 crore from investors.

Mela Ventures invests in early-stage B2B enterprises, as well as a few Series A/B stage companies. The firm is also open to higher check sizes of up to $2 million due to shifting VC dynamics and improved traction in the B2B industry.

The statement said, “The fund is targeting to make 16-18 investments in early-stage startups in areas such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, virtual reality, internet of things, cloud migration and deep technologies. Mela Ventures has invested in four startups so far and will make three more investments in the next 45-60 days”.

Krishnakumar Natarajan, managing partner of Mela Ventures, said, “In the last 18 months, we’ve invested in four futuristic organizations, onboarded a coveted team of advisors, and set up strong governance mechanisms. This is the primary reason for us to get an overwhelming response to the fund even in these challenging times. We continue to focus on our strategy of investing in B2B startups to capitalize on our extensive domain expertise across markets.”

Prime Venture Partners, which completed its fourth fund at $120 million, is another venture capital company that just announced a fund closing (Rs 900 crore). IvyCap Ventures announced the first closing of its Fund 3 last month, raising Rs 1608 crore ($214 million).

Pi Ventures, which invests in AI and deeptech firms, announced the first closing of its second fund in January, raising $40 million (Rs300 crore).