SUMMARY
The target fund size is set at INR 300 Cr
The fund focuses on sectors, including digitalisation, sustainability, financial inclusion, health & safety and consumption
The firm launched an INR 300 Cr ($36 Mn) second fund to back pre-Series A and Series A-stage startups in March 2023
Asset management firm Rockstud Capital has marked the first close of its second alternative investment fund (AIF) at INR 68 Cr ($8.2 Mn).
With a target corpus of INR 300 Cr ($36 Mn), Rockstud Capital Investment Fund II aims to help companies fund their bridge rounds, scale products and raise capital from institutional investors.
The fund focuses on sectors, including digitalisation, sustainability, financial inclusion, health & safety and consumption. It invests between $0.5 and $1 Mn across startups at their Pre-Series A round.
The firm launched its INR 300 Cr ($36 Mn) second fund to back pre-Series A and Series A stage startups in March 2023.
In 2018, it rolled out its first fund, Rockstud Capital Investment Fund–Series I, which invested in Pre-Series A stage startups and NSE-listed equities.
This comes a few months after Rockstud Capital announced partial exit from Uber-backed Everest Fleet.
Back then, Rockstud Capital informed Inc42 that it had executed a partial exit by selling 50% of its stake in Everest Fleet. The transaction valued the startup at INR 1,600 Cr (approximately $192.23 Mn).
Founded in 2017 by Abhishek Agarwal, Rockstud Capital is an alternative asset management firm that focuses on Indian companies via SEBI-regulated products. Some of its portfolio companies are Everest Fleet, BigHaat, Instoried, Smartvizx, Fabheads, and NOTO.
The development comes at a time when several institutional investors including venture capital and private equity firms, are establishing or concluding funds to support India’s struggling startup ecosystem.
In February, Aroa Venture Partners launched a new fund called the Aroa Opportunities Fund, aiming for a corpus of INR 400 Cr ($50 Mn). This fund registered as a category II alternative investment fund (AIF) with the SEBI in October 2022, has received in-principle commitments surpassing INR 400 Cr thus far.
In the same month, Cactus Venture Partners announced the final close of its maiden early-stage fund at INR 630 Cr ($75.8 Mn). The first close of the fund took place in August 2022.
Dutch venture capital firm Orient Growth Ventures also marked the closure of its second India and Southeast Asia (SEA) fund at $90 Mn in February.