Sistema Asia Fund in process of expanding first fund to $120 million

Of the top-up, up to $40 million will be invested by Sistema, while the rest will be raised from external investors, including limited partners and high net worth individuals

Sistema Asia Fund (SAF), the venture capital fund floated by Russian conglomerate Sistema PJSFC, is in the process of expanding its first fund to $120 million. 

It plans to do so by adding up to $80 million more as the company looks to invest in Indian start-ups. 

Of this, up to $40 million will be invested by Sistema, while the rest will be raised from external investors, including limited partners and high networth individuals (HNIs). 

“Seeing how our company’s portfolio has shaped up, Sistema has decided to double down on its investment in India. We are also going to broad base our fund, so it just won’t be a single LP fund,” Sumit Jain, senior partner, Sistema Asia Fund Advisory told Business Standard. 

SAF is already in talks with several HNIs and Indian institutions to raise the fund. Depending on the interest generated from external investors, SAF has a greenshoe option of going up to $150 million for this fund, added Jain. 

The venture capital fund will announce the first close of the fund top-up in the next few weeks, while the full close will happen by early next year. “We will continue to make new investments, and use some of the top-up capital to invest in our existing portfolio companies.” 

Sistema, which has so far invested in a diverse range of start-ups in India, including meat start-up Licious, internet kitchen brand Faasos, health and fitness app HealthifyMe, online pharmacy marketplace NetMeds, and social commerce platform Wooplr is also seeking to extend its portfolio to around 15-18 by next year.

The VC firm, which typically invests $3-5 million in a particular round, is looking at start-ups in sectors such as shared economy, logistics, wellness and deep tech for investments.