Early-stage venture capital firm JSW Ventures is preparing to raise its third fund, targeting a corpus of ₹400-500 crore as it looks to back a concentrated portfolio of startups and write larger cheques in a competitive funding market. According to reports from Mint, the firm is currently seeking the necessary approvals before beginning fundraising, with the fund expected to launch over the next quarter and reach a final close within 18 months. Managing partner Sachin Tagra indicated that the firm plans to build a concentrated portfolio of 14-16 companies at Pre-series A to Series A+ stages.
The firm has significantly increased its investment amounts, with initial investments now ranging from ₹10-20 crore per startup, up from the previous range of ₹8-15 crore. As reported by Mint, JSW Ventures will write larger cheques and add capital in follow-on rounds based on the requirements of its portfolio companies. The firm continues to invest in consumer and consumer-tech, enterprise tech, health tech and deep tech sectors, while increasing its focus on fintech and sustainability. Tagra emphasized that returns and exits are core to their investing ethos, believing their fund size is optimal to deliver this in India's startup ecosystem.
According to Mint reports, JSW Ventures' investment focus has remained largely unchanged, with the firm continuing to invest in consumer and consumer-tech, enterprise tech, health tech and deep tech sectors. The firm has expanded its focus on fintech and sustainability technology, with Tagra noting that financial services have transformed how India transacts, borrows, and invests, and they see significant opportunity across FinTech segments. Earlier this month, the firm appointed former CRED executive Vikas Chandak as partner to co-lead investment strategy, fundraising, investments, portfolio management and exits in the fintech and enterprise-tech sectors.
As reported by Mint, artificial intelligence (AI) and sustainability technology are emerging as the next major themes across the firm's investment areas. Tagra stated that the firm is bullish on AI's transformative potential across industries and will invest in vertical AI themes that can reshape how businesses operate at scale. He noted that sustainability-tech is benefiting from favourable tailwinds, driven by regulatory compliance requirements and a broader global push toward cleaner technologies. The firm's first fund has already returned three times its initial corpus to investors.
Backed by the JSW Family Office, the fund plans to source most of the new corpus from external investors, including large domestic institutions, family offices and senior industry executives. According to Mint reports, while its investor base has broadened, JSW Ventures' investment focus has remained largely unchanged. The firm has delivered liquidity by fully exiting IndusOS, LimeTray and Overcart, and has partially monetized its stakes in Purplle and HomeLane. JSW Family Office will remain the anchor limited partner in the third fund, with the firm having a few more exits from past funds slated to happen by later this year.
