AUM Ventures Closes First Funding Round at €225 Million for Deeptech Investments
Venture capital firm AUM Ventures announced the first close of its India Innovation Fund II at €225 million (approximately $23.6 million), focusing on deeptech and frontier technologies. The fund aims for a total corpus of €750 million.
AUM Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm specializing in deeptech, has successfully completed the first close of its India Innovation Fund II, raising €225 million (approximately $23.6 million). The fund has a target corpus of €750 million ($80 million) and will primarily invest in pre-seed and seed-stage companies within deeptech and frontier technology sectors.
The firm reported that over 65% of the commitments came from international limited partners (LPs) across the US, West Asia, and other global markets. Initial investments are expected to range from $750,000 to $2 million, with significant capital reserved for follow-on investments in Series A and B rounds. AUM Ventures anticipates investing in 25 to 30 startups throughout the fund's lifecycle.
This second fund builds on the performance of AUM Ventures' maiden fund launched in 2023, which achieved a gross multiple on invested capital (MOIC) of 2.23x and a gross internal rate of return (IRR) of 53%. Two of its portfolio companies have seen valuations increase more than 14 times from the firm's entry valuation. Notable investments include early backing of spacetech startup Skyroot Aerospace, India's first space-tech unicorn, as well as companies like Azimuth AI and Sully.ai. The firm also recently exited its investment in Sharang Shakti.
The launch of Fund II coincides with growing investor interest in India's deeptech and spacetech ecosystem. This trend is highlighted by other recent fund closures, such as Piper Serica's Bharat Tech Fund, which closed its first round at €300 million against a target of €800 million. Reports also indicate that co-founders of Groww are planning a new fund of €400-500 million for early-stage startups, including those in deeptech. The Indian government's support, including extended benefits for deeptech startups and significant outlays for semiconductor missions, further bolsters the sector's growth prospects, with the market projected to reach $30 billion by 2030.