Kae Capital to raise second fund of $40 mn

The fund plans to do 25 investments through this fund in companies born in India with plans to going global.

Kae Capital, a seed-stage fund, is set to raise $40 million in its second round of funding by early next year. For the funding, it is in discussions with traditional limited partners, family offices, technology entrepreneurs, investments bankers, private equity funds a large strategic investor.

“We have a nice basket of potential investors we are speaking to. We are in the process of raising $40 million, with a hard stop at $45 million,” said Sasha Mirchandani, founder and managing director, Kae Capital.

The fund plans to use the proceeds to make 25 investments in Indian companies planning to go global. “The investments would be tech-based but sector-agnostic. India is too nascent to chose a segment. Still, it’s a large-market opportunity. There is enough headroom to build a firm that is currently sector-agnostic. It is more focused on the best entrepreneurs we want to back,” said Mirchandan In 2012, Kae had raised $25 million, its first round of funding. The funds were raised from three limited partners —  Axim, Quadron Investments, and Morgan Creek.

Kae Capital invests in the mobile, e-commerce, education, health care, consumer internet segments, etc. Some ventures the fund has invested in are InMobi, Greendust, Fractal Analytics, Healthkart, TrulyMadly, Canvera, Clink, CloudByte and CultureAlley.

“I would bet on the entrepreneurs of today. They have quit promising jobs to take up something they believe in and a lot of them are hungry to build large companies. I am ready to back such entrepreneurs,” says Mirchandani. “India is one of the few markets that are growing. My advice to people in India is to have a long-term bet…India is the best market to invest in.” The fund is considering expanding its staff count from 10 to 13 by the end of this year.