AUM Ventures Marks First Close Of ₹750 Cr Deeptech-Focused Fund At ₹225 Cr

Deeptech focused early-stage VC firm AUM Ventures has marked the first close of its India Innovation Fund II at ₹225 Cr (about $23.6 Mn).

The fund has a target corpus of ₹750 Cr ($80 Mn) and will primarily invest at the pre-seed and seed stages across deeptech and frontier technology sectors. 

The firm claimed that it received over 65% of commitments coming from international limited partners (LPs) across the US, the West Asian market and other global markets. 

It will primarily invest at the pre-seed and seed stages, with initial investments typically ranging from $750K to $2 Mn. The firm also intends to reserve a significant capital for follow-on investments through Series A and Series B. Over its lifecycle, the fund is expected to invest in 25–30 startups.

AUM Ventures’ DeepTech Bet

AUM Ventures’ second fund builds on the track record of its maiden fund, launched in 2023. Fund I has delivered a gross MOIC of 2.23X and a gross IRR of 53%, with two portfolio companies recording valuation gains of more than 14X from AUM’s entry valuation. 

The firm was an early institutional investor in spacetech startup Skyroot Aerospace, which became India’s first spacetech unicorn. Its portfolio also includes Azimuth AI, Cosmoserve Space, Sanyark Space, Sully.ai and Latentai.

Recently, AUM Ventures also exited Sharang Shakti following its acquisition by LAT Aerospace, a venture backed by Eternal cofounder Deepinder Goyal.

The launch of Fund II comes as institutional investors queue up to back innovations in the Indian deeptech and spacetech ecosystem, which is continuing to grow at an unprecedented scale.

For instance, just a few days back, asset management firm Piper Serica marked the first close of its ₹800 Cr Bharat Tech Fund at ₹300 Cr. The fund was launched earlier with a target corpus of ₹600 Cr and a ₹200 Cr greenshoe option.

Meanwhile, Groww’s cofounders are said to be firming up plans to launch a ₹400–500 Cr fund to back seed and early-stage startups, including those building in deeptech.

Government support has also helped strengthen the deeptech ecosystem. The Centre has extended Startup India benefits for deeptech startups to 20 years and raised the turnover eligibility limit for related schemes to ₹300 Cr from ₹200 Cr.

The push has also extended to semiconductors, with the Centre approving India Semiconductor  Mission (ISM) 2.0 with a ₹1.27 Lakh Cr outlay to support the country’s semiconductor value chain, including chip design, equipment and advanced manufacturing.

India’s deeptech market is projected to grow 2.5X from $9 Bn–$12 Bn in FY25 to around $30 Bn by 2030, driven by rising defence innovation and advancements in robotics. 

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