YourNest launches fast-track funding programme for startups

YourNest Venture Capital on Friday launched a new fast-track funding programme 'SOAR' to identify and fund early-stage startups.

YourNest Venture Capital has developed a programme to identify and fund startups within just weeks from the close of applications, a statement said.

SOAR will invest between USD 250,000 and USD 1 mn in funding each startup that is selected, it added.

For its ongoing second fund, which SOAR is a part of, YourNest is focused on tech-enabled startups especially in the deep-tech domain like artificial intelligence/machine learning, distributed ledger technologies, cloud offerings, developer tools, enterprise SaaS, robotics, hardware, industrial IoT, robotic process automation software, wearables and augmented reality/virtual reality/mixed reality.

The SOAR application process will be open for two weeks from May 1, 2020 and post May 14, the shortlisted startups will be contacted. After another round of screening, the term sheets will be issued by June 15.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic along with the global macroeconomic uncertainty is hard and will last a long time but YourNest feels this is the right time to encourage committed entrepreneurs in India who will create not just life-changing solutions but also employment opportunities, YourNest Venture Capital Managing Director Sunil K Goyal said.

"We will continue to fund the most promising startups in DeepTech SaaS domains, particularly if they are building IPs and have a global outlook to make the world a better place to work and live in," he added.

Apart from the funds, the first cohort of SOAR startups will get access to a large range of advisors and mentors in diverse disciplines and functional experts.

The SOAR startups will receive support in key entrepreneurial matters related to strategy, compliance, legal, secretarial, talent sourcing, etc.

They would also be eligible for a follow-on funding and YourNest's proprietary 'Post-investment 100-day Playbook' to focus and achieve scale quickly along with credits/rewards from its ecosystem partners, the statement said.