Elevation Capital to invest in a dozen startups from $400-mn new fund

The firm, earlier known as SAIF partners, will be deploying the full fund in the next 2-3 years

VC fund Elevation Capital will start deploying capital for startups from its newly-raised $400-mn fund from early next year, said a top firm official. The VC fund will be investing in at least a dozen startups in 2021, said Mridul Arora, Managing Director at Elevation Capital.

Elevation Capital, earlier known as SAIF partners, will be deploying the full fund in the next 2-3 years. Some of the areas it will invest in from Fund VII include SaaS, consumer, e-commerce, content, gaming, fintech, and edtech. 
 

The VC firm which follows the core principles of starting early, partnering deep, and not getting into conflicting investments, has been running India focussed funds raised from US-based LPs. 

 

Elevation Capital which has made over 100 bets in India over two decades, has seen seven of its portfolio companies touching the $1 billion milestone such as Swiggy, Paytm, and Unacademy. Two of its current portfolio start-ups namely Meesho and Urban Company are on the verge of becoming unicorns. “There are a lot of companies which may not have touched that valuation but are already category leaders such as NoBroker,” says Arora.

When Covid struck, the VC was taken aback for the first 6-8 weeks as time went in figuring the situation but it was business as usual later on. “It’s been as active as 2019 past that and sometimes I feel it was busier than earlier,” says Arora.

The VC will continue to focus on startups which would be able solve the country’s problems uniquely. “For us, what’s most important is the founding team and the unique approach they bring to solve problems, which are contextual to India,” says Arora.