Investments | Page 3

The majority of the latest capital raise came through Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) and co-investments from family offices and HNIs. New lenders feature global impact investor GrayMatters Capital and a public sector financial institution, alongside repeat participation from three existing lenders.

According to its press release, the consortium will have a target corpus of INR 1000 Crore, which is an INR 500 crore plus a green-shoe option of INR 500 crore.

The round also saw participation from investors Rubamin, PI Industries Vice Chairperson Mayank Singhal, and India Quotient. Distil has raised a total funding of USD 10.8 million.

The company aims to integrate carbon science, digital monitoring, and community-driven execution to deliver high-quality, verifiable carbon removals to reduce carbon emissions and build resilience in India's food systems.

The motivations stem from a combination of market dynamics, growth ceiling concerns, and changing preferences among limited partners (LPs).

Among the changes is SEBI's decision to reduce the threshold for Large Value Funds (LVFs), which by definition cater exclusively to accredited investors, from INR 70 crore to INR 25 crore. According to the IVCA, this was a long-awaited ask.

While overall deal volumes have moderated, the size of individual investments has grown, underscoring the new mantra of 'fewer but bigger' bets.

The Bain India VC Report 2025 highlights a shift: venture funding jumped to USD 13.7 billion in 2024, a 1.4 times increase over the previous year, while deal volumes grew 45 per cent. Yet, nearly all of that growth came from small- and mid-ticket deals, with mega-rounds slowing sharply, a sign that investors are tightening standards.

The firm's Fund II has made nine investments so far, in tech-led firms across consumer internet, Bharat, fintech, B2B commerce, enterprise tech, and emerging sectors in India. According to Fundamentum, the portfolio has delivered nearly 80 per cent revenue growth over the last year.

According to Roadzen, the financing values the India subsidiary, which contributes less than 60 per cent of consolidated revenues, at approximately INR 740 crores (USD 84 million) pre-money, representing close to 25 per cent premium to the company's current Nasdaq market capitalization.

Cuzor Labs announced an INR 5 Crore seed round, marking a first angel-investment from Ramesh Kannan, Founder and Managing Director of Kaynes Technology India Limited, underscoring growing confidence in India's ability to build globally competitive hardware.

The company said in a release that the funding will be utilized towards R&D, accelerate product innovation, and strengthen manufacturing capacity, with an aim to build deeper market penetration through its direct-to-consumer (D2C) online presence.

The report said that the changes proposed to the new US tax bill could also drive fresh concerns over the period of next 3-6 months, with investors and startups taking guard to evaluate potential implications and incorporate them into their operations and deal-making processes.

India's private capital markets have witnessed a shifting landscape in 2025, with both venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) showing diverging momentum compared to the same period last year. Data from January to August 19, 2025, from Tracxn highlights both cautious deployment and sectoral rebalancing across the ecosystem.

Private equity and venture capital investments in India increased by 11 per cent in 1H2025 compared to 2H2024 in value terms, according to a new EY-IVCA report.

The fund will invest in both early-stage (Seed, Series A) and late-stage (Series D and beyond) startups, with a strong emphasis on deep-tech domains such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, robotics, genomics, aerospace/surveillance, and smart manufacturing.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Kerala Innovation Festival (KIF) organised by the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) in Kalamassery, Venkatesh noted that these efforts go beyond the financial support provided by the IT Ministry.

This investment will accelerate Roast Foods' global expansion, enhance its manufacturing capabilities and development of new products.

Mumbai retained its leadership as the top funding hub, with a notable share of 64 per cent, while the ecosystem also witnessed two IPOs and the creation of one unicorn during the period.

The company funded 21 startups during the fiscal year, of which 11 were led by entrepreneurs from smaller towns, with Nashik and Jaipur emerging as key innovation hubs.

The amount is significantly bigger than that of 2023 when BII invested GBP 245 million in Asian companies and a further GBP 225 million in businesses with operations spanning Asia and Africa.