Sixth Sense Ventures is planning to close a Rs 2,500 crore fund from domestic investors reflecting the startup funding boom in India.

Founded by former IDFC executive Nikhil Vora, Sixth Sense is finalising commitments from large institutions, including listed pharma and consumer companies. Vora said the fund will be closed soon.

“We would be the largest domestic fund raised in India. I really didn’t expect this kind of response and fundraising environment,” Vora said.

The company plans to make about 35 investments from the new fund, with an initial cheque size of Rs 40-50 crore, which can go over Rs 100 crore, including follow-on rounds.

Sixth Sense’s portfolio comprises beer-maker Bira, Sachin Tendulkar-backed entertainment arena Smaaash, Bombay Shaving Company and sauce-maker Veeba Foods.

Compared to investing Rs 500 crore over three years from its previous fund, Sixth Sense has committed Rs 500 crore in the last three months, Vora said.

“Demand for domestic VC funds is crazy. The age-old institutions-listed companies and corporates really want to tap into the new economy,” said a fund manager.

“Top VCs-Sequoia and Accel, and PE funds, say Kedaara or ChrysCapital-raise money only from foreign investors. So if a domestic LP (limited partner, who backs funds) wants exposure to the new economy, this is the ideal vehicle,” the person said.

Founded by Vora and japan Vyas, Sixth Sense raised its debut fund of Rs 118 crore in 2016. In 2018, Vyas left the firm to launch his own consumer-focused VC fund, Root Ventures.

Vora recently said in a LinkedIn post that both of the Sixth Sense’s funds are among India’s top-performing funds from 2010-18, citing numbers from financial data platform Preqin.