AUM Ventures has launched India Innovation Fund II with a corpus of ₹750 Crore ($80 million) to back 25-30 deeptech startups. The fund will focus on initial investments between $750K and $2M, with follow-on provisions through Series A and B rounds.
- ₹750 Cr second fund targets 25-30 deeptech startups
- Investment range from $750K to $2M with follow-ons
- Fund led by general partner Nisha Shah, former COO of Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office
What happened
AUM Ventures, an early-stage focused venture capital firm, has launched its second investment vehicle, the India Innovation Fund II, with a target corpus of ₹750 Crore (approximately $80 million). This fund will focus on deeptech sectors such as spacetech, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and defense technology. The investment strategy includes initial tickets ranging from $750,000 to $2 million, with provisions for follow-on funding to support startups through subsequent Series A and B rounds.
The fund will be managed by general partner Nisha Shah, who joined AUM Ventures last year after serving nearly three years as COO at the Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office. Since its founding in 2022, AUM Ventures has deployed about $30 million across 24 companies, including India’s first spacetech unicorn, Skyroot Aerospace, as well as other innovators like Azimuth AI and Sanyark Space.
Why it matters
The launch of AUM Ventures' ₹750 Cr fund marks a significant boost in capital flow into India's deeptech startup ecosystem, which has seen rising investor interest and government support in recent years. The fund's focus on capital-intensive and complex technology sectors highlights increasing confidence in indigenous innovation areas that are key to national strategic priorities and advanced R&D.
India’s central government has actively supported deeptech entrepreneurship through policy incentives, including extended Startup India benefits, higher turnover eligibility thresholds, and major initiatives like the ₹1 Lakh Crore R&D and Innovation scheme and India Semiconductor Mission 2.0. Deeptech startups secured nearly $500 million across 87 deals in 2025, becoming the third most funded sector, with momentum continuing into 2026.
What to watch next
Market participants will be closely observing which startups AUM Ventures chooses for its initial investments and how the fund leverages follow-on funding to scale these companies through critical growth stages. The fund’s leadership under Nisha Shah could influence deal sourcing and portfolio growth given her background managing prominent family office investments.
The fund’s activities will also be a bellwether for broader venture capital interest in India's deeptech domains. As other funds like Fundamentum Frontier Advisors, Piper Serica’s Bharat Tech Fund, and Shastra VC’s $100 million vehicle launch similar initiatives, the ability of startups in sectors such as spacetech and AI to attract follow-on rounds, scale operations, and commercialize breakthrough innovations will be important indicators of the ecosystem’s health.