Anicut Capital marks first close of Rs 500 cr Opportunities Fund 

Alternative asset management firm Anicut Capital has secured a first close of Rs 110 crore for its new fund, called Anicut Opportunities Fund I.  

The fund, with a target corpus of Rs 500 crore, aims to make a final close by March-April 2023, Ashvin Chadha, Founding Partner, Anicut Capital, told Business Today. 

The new fund will invest between $2-5 million in Series A and B start-ups over the course of next two and a half years, and aims to build a portfolio of 10-12 companies. 

The fund is raised fully from domestic investors including family offices, high-net-worth individuals and government entities. The company said a majority of limited partners in the fund are returning investors who have previously participated in its debt funds and angel fund. 

“Over the last 6-7 years, Anicut has partnered with ~70 start-ups through its debt and angel products. Many of these start-ups are breaking out and are exhibiting immense potential over the next 5-7 years. The opportunities fund aims to double down on our relationship with these start-ups by investing in their Series A and B rounds and thereby compounding returns for our LPs. The fund will also layer these ecosystem investments with external investments and build a diversified portfolio,” Chadha said. 

Anicut Capital is founded by financial services veterans Chadha and IAS Balamurugan. It launched its maiden debt fund ‘Grand Anicut Fund-1’ in 2016 and achieved final close of its second debt fund at Rs 875 crore recently. The company also operates an angel fund which was deployed Rs 200 crore in early and growth stage start-ups. Across these three vehicles, the company has assets under management of about Rs 1,600 crore. 

It holds a clutch of 30 start-ups on debt side and 42 on equity side. Anicut’s portfolio include Bira, Wow! Momo, ShareChat, Neemans, MilkyMist, and Lendingkart. 

The company has also announced the appointment of Dhruv Kapoor as a partner. Kapoor was a partner at Sistema Asia Fund, a $120mn Asia focussed growth stage fund. He has worked with Helion Ventures, McKinsey & Co. and ABN Amro Bank in the past.  

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