8X Ventures achieves 1st close of Rs 200 cr fund, plans to finance 18-20 deeptech startups in 3 yrs

New Delhi, Jun 19 (PTI) Deeptech-focused venture capital firm 8X Ventures on Wednesday announced the first close of its Rs 200 crore fund, along with an additional Rs 100 crore greenshoe option, and said it plans to finance 18-20 early-stage startups in the next three years.

The IIT-Madras-based firm said the fund has already obtained commitments worth more than Rs 60 crore, with "a strong investor pipeline promising further contributions".

"Over the next three years, the fund plans to invest in 18-20 early-stage Indian DeepTech startups, offering initial cheques ranging from Rs 2-5 crore each and targeting total investments of up to Rs 20 crore each in 8-10 startups," a company statement said.

The companies emerging from Indian DeepTech are poised to address fundamental global issues and generate substantial shareholder value, 8X Ventures Managing Partner Chirag Gupta said.

"This fund will concentrate on sectors such as water sanitation and hygiene (WASH), industry 4.0, advanced Computing, BioTech, and B2B Enterprise SaaS. We foresee Indian startups in these sectors leading the world in the next few decades," he said.