Vcats-backed Elev8 announces $200 Mn growth stage fund

Growth stage focused fund Elev8 Venture Partners has announced the forthcoming launch of its $200 million India-focused sector agnostic fund. The maiden fund intends to invest in growth-stage, technology-driven companies with a ticket size of $5-15 million.

The fund will invest in Series B and C rounds in fast-growing tech companies and it has received an AIF Cat II license from SEBI and includes a green-shoe option, Elev8 said in a press release.

The fund will also focus on partnering with India's leading seed funds, which have missed out on investing over $500 million of pro rata capital in 2021 alone for their successful portfolio companies. While similar successful structures exist in the US and Europe, Elev8 claims that this will be India's first pro-rata fund.

The new fund is being led by Navin Honagudi who was a partner at Kae Capital for over a decade. He has invested in over 50 companies in sectors including consumer internet, enterprise, fintech, edtech and healthtech. 

According to Honagudi, Elev8 is in an advanced stage of discussions to establish several global partnerships that will help its portfolio companies expand beyond India during their growth phase.

Venture Catalysts, an early-stage investment platform, is an institutional backer of Elev8.  The Mumbai-headquartered group also includes 9Unicorns accelerator fund and Beams Fintech and has a more than 5,000 member angel network with a portfolio of over 300 companies.