8X Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm, has announced the first close of its second VC fund dedicated to deeptech startups. Launched a year ago, the fund has secured Rs 60 crore and aims for a total corpus of Rs 200 crore with a greenshoe option of Rs 100 crore.
This fund targets investments in 18-20 early-stage Indian startups specializing in sectors like water sanitation and hygiene (WASH), Industry 4.0, advanced computing, biotech, and B2B enterprise SaaS.
Chirag Gupta, Managing Partner at 8X Ventures, highlighted the fund’s focus areas and investment strategy, stating, “We intend to invest between Rs 2-5 crore initially per startup, with total investments potentially reaching up to Rs 20 crore per company.”
8X Ventures’ first fund, which also explored opportunities in the Middle East and Singapore, is nearly fully deployed. It boasts investments in 14 deeptech companies including Solinas, Lightspeed Photonics, XYMA Analytics, and Zenpulsar, achieving an impressive internal rate of return (IRR) of approximately 40% and a multiple on invested capital (MoIC) of 2.1X since its deployment in 2022.
The firm’s team, comprising individuals with strong backgrounds in technology, brings both technical expertise and business acumen to support startups in overcoming technological and commercial challenges.