Mindtree founders' Mela Ventures raises Rs 320 crores

Targets to make 16-18 investments in early-stage startups.

Mela Ventures announced the final close of its maiden fund MV Core Tech Fund – I. The SEBI-approved Category-2 AIF fund for early-stage companies was closed at INR 320 Crores. The capital commitments were made by diverse group of global investors, Government institutions, tech professionals and family offices – including investments from Nippon India Digital Innovation AIF (NIDIA) and SIDBI Fund of Funds for Startups.

Commenting on the final close, Krishnakumar Natarajan, Managing Partner, Mela Ventures, said, "“We’ve made great progress towards our mission to build next-generation entrepreneurs out of India. In 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.”

Sharing his approach for the future, Parthasarathy N.S, Managing Partner, Mela Ventures, said, “The last eighteen months showed us how much entrepreneurial talent India has and how fearless they can be when it comes to pushing technology and business boundaries. We have a broad footprint of opportunities in front of us and we believe that we are on the path to enable more category leaders. Beyond investments, our initiatives such as FoundrPwr aim to inspire the existing and future entrepreneurs to think beyond the usual.”

Mela Ventures’ focusses on investing in early-stage B2B startups, and a select few Series A/B stage startups. Mela Ventures has invested in four startups as of date and will make three more investments in the next 45-60 days.