 "Fundraising")
Blacksoil, an alternative credit platform, has raised $25 million in funding from banks, family offices, corporate treasuries, and high-net-worth individuals.
As many as 60 per cent were repeat investors in the Mumbai-based firm that earlier raised $35 million in the first half of FY23.
Amid a funding winter in the Indian technology ecosystem, start-ups are shifting focus towards alternative funding routes, including venture debt as an asset class. Venture debt providers are emerging as preferred partners for upcoming companies.
"We have witnessed a strong interest from investors, and we are confident that our robust portfolio performance in the current funding winter environment will continue to attract investors in the years to come," said Ankur Bansal, co-founder of BlackSoil.
Blacksoil said its approach of investing in sustainable growth companies and focus on structuring opportunities in a risk-adjusted manner has garnered investor interest in its platform.
Blacksoil's recent notable investments include new-age sectors such as battery swapping (with Battery Smart), OTA travel (Yatra.com), discount broking (Upstox), healthtech (HealthPlix), and deeptech (Tonbo Imaging). The firm has invested in unicorns like MobiKwik, OYO, Udaan, Upstox, Spinny and Zetwerk.
The venture debt provider’s platform consists of an RBI-registered NBFC as well as a SEBI-registered AIF/ Fund. Using these avenues, the firm recently hit the $300-million milestone in venture debt deals, across more than 100 start-ups and growth companies. It has more than $100 million in assets under management (AUM).
