VentureSoul Partners, a venture debt firm, has completed the first close of its Rs 600 crore maiden fund, raising Rs 146.5 crore. The firm plans to make debt investments in around 25 startups, with each investment ranging between Rs 20-25 crore. Founded by former banking professionals Kunal Wadhwa, Anurag Tripathi, and Ashish Gala, VentureSoul Partners is a SEBI-registered Category II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF). The fund targets a total corpus of up to Rs 300 crore, with an additional Rs 300 crore available through greenshoe options.
The firm has received commitments from a diverse group of investors, including family offices, corporates, and high-net-worth individuals (HNIs). VentureSoul aims to support startups typically in Series A or later stages, focusing on those with established business models and revenue streams. Pharmaceutical company Micro Labs serves as the anchor investor, alongside other corporate participants such as Kredibee founder E Madhusudan, Omkar Shirhatti of Perfios, Rupa Group, Glen Appliances, PSN Group, SKM Steels, and Zebronics.
The debt investments will have a repayment tenure of 24-36 months with quarterly repayments. VentureSoul’s founders bring extensive experience in credit and lending, leveraging their banking backgrounds to extend their expertise into venture debt. The firm anticipates finalizing its first investment, approximately Rs 20 crore, next week and aims to close three to four deals by year-end. The full fund deployment is expected within the next 15 to 18 months.
In 2023, 190 startups in India raised $1.2 billion through venture debt, marking a 50% increase from the previous year. Globally, venture debt totaled between $60-65 billion during the same period, reflecting a growing trend in this financing model. VentureSoul Partners is positioned to capitalize on this momentum, providing essential debt funding to growth-stage startups with strong business foundations.