India’s A Junior VC (AJVC), led by solo general partner Aviral Bhatnagar, has closed its debut, Rs 100 crore ($12 million) venture fund, amid a difficult fundraising climate for first-time investors.
Bhatnagar, a former investor at Venture Highway, launched AJVC last year amid a downturn in India’s private capital markets, where first-time fund managers have struggled to attract institutional investors.
“The market has been challenging, but we were fortunate to have early supporters,” Bhatnagar told DealStreetAsia “We’ve taken a structured, technology-driven approach to investing, which has resonated with both founders and LPs [Limited Partners].”
The fund focuses exclusively on pre-seed investments, deploying Rs 1.5 crore for a 9% equity stake in early-stage startups. The firm is also considering exercising a greenshoe option to raise an additional Rs 50 crore.
