Navam Capital announces first close of maiden fund at Rs 50 crore

Early-stage venture capital firm Navam Capital has announced the first close of Navam Venture Fund I with commitments totalling Rs 50 crore from family offices, corporates and ultra-high net worth individuals.

“With a target fund size of Rs 250 crore, the fund aims to invest in intellectual property-rich ventures translating science and engineering breakthroughs into differentiated products and services,” Navam Capital said.

The venture capital focuses on making early-stage investments in frontier technology and science-driven innovation.



"The successful launch milestone underscores the confidence of the limited partner universe in India’s formidable science and technology capabilities, and reaffirms the trust Navam has built as an early partner for ventures in frontier technology innovation," said Rajeev Mantri, founder and managing director of Navam Capital.

“I am delighted to be associated with the team, as Navam expands the canvas of its activities and helps to build out the next generation of IP-driven ventures in a diverse set of industries, including sectors of national strategic importance,” said former Director-General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Dr Raghunath Mashelkar, who will be chairman of Navam Capital.

Last month, Dutch investment firm Orient Growth Ventures, a limited partner in venture capital firms including Blume Ventures, Jungle Ventures and Chiratae Ventures, announced the close of its second India and Southeast Asia fund at $90 million.

Cactus Venture Partners, an early growth-stage venture investment firm that backs startups in climate tech, enterprise software and health tech, also recently announced the final close of its first fund with a total corpus of about Rs 630 crore (about $75.9 million).