9Unicorns, an India-based early-to-growth stage accelerator fund, on Sunday announced the fifth closure of its maiden fund at $100 million.
9Unicorns said in a statement that it plans to invest $500,000 to $1 million in the idea stage and, up to $2 million in high-growth stage Series C and above startups this year with a focus on DeepTech, enterprise software as a service (SaaS), Web 3.0, FinTech, media, InsureTech, HealthTech, EduTech and direct to consumer (D2C) startups.
According to the statement, the fund has so far invested in 110+ idea and product startups including a few growth stage / series C players like Vedantu, ShipRocket, ShopKirana.
“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. 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 9Unicorns.
Backed by global LPs, 9Unicorns’ unique selling proposition (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 5500+ 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 $50 million to $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 2X 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.”
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