YourNest launches Rs 300 cr fund for startups

Early stage venture capital firm YourNest today announced the launch of its second fund with a corpus of Rs 300 crore.
The YourNest India Fund II, which will tap into Indian HNIs, will focus on pre-Series A funding in 25-30 technology startups with globally-focused B2B and B2B2C models over the next 3-4 years.
Sectors of interest include Internet of Things, electronic system design, artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, enterprise software and mobile Internet.
The first close of the fund is expected in about 6 weeks, and the final close in 18 months.
YourNest has also brought Vivek Mansingh, a technology veteran and startup mentor, on board as a General Partner.

Annually, the portfolio plans to fund about 4-8 ventures.

"This will allow the fund to construct a concentrated portfolio where YourNest is able to co-create successful companies by mentoring and working closely with the startups," YourNest founder and CEO Sunil K Goyal said.
The first fund's (corpus of 90 crore) commitment period was over in end-March this year with an investment in 16 companies.
"The percentage invested is 70. In keeping with international best practices, the remaining 30 per cent has been retained for follow-on rounds," he said.
Goyal added that while the initial commitment will continue to be in the range of Rs 2 to 4 crore with each startup, there will be greater opportunity to continue investments in subsequent rounds.