Piper Serica’s ₹800 Cr Bharat Tech Fund Hits First Close At ₹300 Cr

Mumbai-based asset management firm Piper Serica has achieved the first close of its ₹800 Cr Bharat Tech Fund at ₹300 Cr. The development comes months after Piper Serica launched the Category II AIF with a target corpus of ₹600 Cr and a ₹200 Cr greenshoe option. 

The fund will back Series A and Series B deeptech startups across deeptech sectors, including semiconductors, AI, spacetech, defence tech, biosciences, and fintech infrastructure.

Piper Serica plans to invest between ₹20 Cr and ₹50 Cr in each startup and is targeting a gross internal rate of return (IRR) of about 30% over an average holding period of six years. 

Nearly 50% of the commitments for the fund have come from existing investors in Piper Serica’s first venture fund. 

Piper Serica Bets On India’s Deeptech Opportunity

According to Piper Serica, it is seeing a strong pipeline of deeptech startups that are moving beyond early-stage product development and building revenue-generating businesses. 

The firm’s first venture fund backed startups including Alt Mobility, Pantherun, Rupeeflo, OTPless, Yaanendriya, Vobiz, and Six Sense Mobility. 

Founded in 2003 by Abhay Agarwal, Piper Serica invests across public markets and early-stage startups. Its first venture fund, Piper Serica Angel Fund, was launched in 2022 with a target corpus of ₹100 Cr and has made 35 investments across sectors such as semiconductors, AI and spacetech. 

The firm backed startups including Mysa, Sensesemi Technologies and Vobiz in the first quarter of 2026. It also recently invested $1 Mn in airport operations technology startup Blunav. 

Piper Serica initially planned to complete the final close of the Bharat Tech Fund by December 2026 but now expects to close the fund ahead of schedule.

The fundraise comes at a time when investor interest in India’s deeptech sector is gaining momentum, with startups working on AI, semiconductors, spacetech and defence technologies drawing increased attention.

The trend is visible in the rise of new funds targeting the space. Recently, Groww’s cofounders were said to be planning a second fund with a corpus of ₹400-500 Cr for seed and early-stage startups.

AUM Ventures also launched its India Innovation Fund II with a ₹750 Cr target corpus to back startups across deeptech segments.

Government support has also played a role in strengthening the 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 Centre’s push has further expanded with the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) 2.0, backed by a ₹1.27 lakh Cr outlay to support the semiconductor value chain, including chip design, equipment and advanced manufacturing.

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