Sharma plans to launch second fund
India’s leading early-to-growth stage accelerator fund, 9Unicorns, has announced the fifth closure of its maiden fund at US$100 million with plans to focus on DeepTech, Enterprise SaaS, Web 3.0, FinTech, Media, InsureTech, HealthTech, EduTech & D2C startups.
The fund has so far invested in 110+ idea and product startups including a few growth stage and series C players like Vedantu, ShipRocket, ShopKirana.
For this year, it plans to invest US$500,000 to US$1 million in the idea stage and up to US$2 million in high-growth stage Series C and above startups.
“We invested in 101 deals in 2021 and plan to double that amount this year. We will finish deploying the fund by mid-next year, post which we plan to launch our second fund,” said Dr. Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, Managing Director and Founder of Mumbai-based 9Unicorns.
“Our unique approach to redefine idea-stage funding has led to an increased fund size with several leading Limited Partners (LPs) believing in our strategy. Besides, last year was one of the best times for the startup ecosystem with a funding rush,” he said on 8 May 2022.
Backed by global LPs, 9Unicorns’ USP lies in the fact that it allows the startups to tap into its vast Indian business communities in cities beyond the metros immediately enabling them to go pan-India.
It directly allows getting early customers, distribution partnerships, cross-portfolio synergies for startups leveraging the pre-existing network of over 5,500+ investors, founders and executives in its ecosystem.
One of the portfolio and Klub Founder, Anurakt Jain, said, “9Unicorns has been a key supporter from Day 0 for Klub. 9Unicorns team is more like founders turned entrepreneurs.
“The latest fundraise from US$50 million to US$100 million has enabled them to double down in portfolio significantly in subsequent rounds of financing. In current markets, it has become extremely crucial to have a long-term committed partner like them in any startup.”
Another portfolio founder, Dr. Arbinder Singal, a pediatric surgeon and a two times successful entrepreneur, said, “Chemistry of 9Unicorns’ to co-invest with top Tier funds is remarkable.
“One of the most founder-friendly teams in the VC ecosystem. As we build fitterfly into the largest digital healthcare platform, their partnership and pace of decision making in multiple rounds is something I would always recognize as the most important quality.” fiinews.com
