Campus Fund is in the final stages of raising its third fund, a $100 million vehicle that was approximately ₹850 crore when the firm began raising it last year. According to reports from Mint, the fund is significantly larger than its previous two funds combined, with the firm having already completed its first close and building a portfolio of about 60 companies - all student-led startups. The fundraise comes as venture capital firms increasingly look to colleges and university incubators for early-stage opportunities, a shift that Campus Fund founder and CEO Richa Bajpai attributes to successful follow-on rounds from earlier student startup investments.
The fundraising surge reflects a dramatic increase in startup evaluation activity. As reported by Mint, Campus Fund assessed 4,300 companies in 2024 and 7,400 in 2025, with the firm meeting with 4,500 student-led startups so far this year. The firm's model differs from traditional venture capital firms by recruiting students to scout for startups rather than relying on their own networks or inbound pitches. Campus Fund currently has 90 scouts across 25 universities and plans to expand to 150 scouts including in the US with Fund III.
Several Campus Fund portfolio companies have achieved significant milestones, including EtherealX, Sarla Aviation and Digantara, which have raised sizeable up-rounds. Other portfolio companies include Banza, Expand My Business, Raaz, D-Nome and We360. According to Mint, the shift is also visible at college incubators, where venture investors are increasingly attending demo days showcasing student-run startups. At Masters' Union's demo day earlier this year, funds including Titan Capital, Kae Capital, DSG Consumer Partners, Trifecta Capital and 3one4 Capital were present, with 18 startups receiving cumulative commitments of ₹4 crore.
Campus Fund expects to close Fund III in the next few months and plans to invest in about 60 startups over the fund's 10-year lifecycle. As reported by Mint, the larger corpus will not mean substantially larger initial cheques, with Campus Fund expecting to continue writing first cheques of roughly ₹4-5 crore. The fund will invest across three broad categories: deeptech, consumer brands going global and consumer tech, and enterprise AI. Founder Richa Bajpai attributes the shift to the National Education Policy launched in 2020 and artificial intelligence, which has reduced the advantage once held by people with specialized knowledge.
