AUM Ventures Marks First Close Of ₹750 Cr Deeptech-Focused Fund At ₹225 Cr

AUM Ventures has successfully closed its India Innovation Fund II, a deeptech-focused fund, at ₹225 Cr ($23.6 Mn) - marking the inaugural close of the ₹750 Cr ($80 Mn) target corpus. The majority of commitments were sourced from international limited partners (LPs) across the US, the West Asian region, and other global markets. The fund will primarily invest in pre-seed and seed-stage startups, with initial investments typically ranging from $750K to $2 Mn.

Plans are in place to reserve significant capital for follow-on investments through Series A and Series B stages. Over its lifecycle, the fund is expected to invest in 25-30 startups. AUM Ventures' second fund builds upon the success of its maiden fund, which delivered a gross multiple of investment (MOIC) of 2.23X and a gross internal rate of return (IRR) of 53%.

The firm has a strong track record with notable portfolio companies such as Skyroot Aerospace, which became India's first space tech unicorn, and investments in startups like Azimuth AI, Cosmoserve Space, Sanyark Space, Sully.ai, and Latentai. The launch of Fund II comes at a time when institutional investors are increasingly backing innovations in the Indian deeptech and space tech ecosystem, which is experiencing exponential growth.

The Centre's support, including extending Startup India benefits for deeptech startups for 20 years and approving the India Semiconductor Mission 2.0, has further strengthened the ecosystem. Projections suggest that India's deeptech market will grow 2.5X from $9 Bn - $12 Bn in FY25 to approximately $30 Bn by 2030, driven by increasing defense innovation and advancements in robotics.