VC firm Merak Ventures launches $100 million fund to back start-ups

Merak Ventures, early-stage venture capital (VC) firm, on Monday launched a fund with target corpus of $100 million. The firm is co-founded by fund managers Manu Rikhye and Sheetal Bahl, and aims to invest in 18-20 start-ups over the next three-four years.

Merak said it will invest in seed-stage B2B and emerging technologies companies creating sustainable business models and utilising new technologies to help solve real problems and create large-scale impact. While the fund will remain sector-agnostic, some investment themes it will proactively chase include ClimateTech (encompassing AgriTech, mobility, carbon, climate finance, and digital solutions), InsurTech, and Enterprise SaaS, it added.

Manu Rikhye, Partner, Merak Ventures, said, “The genesis of Merak is our success and learning while managing a fund, and the sustained confidence of our investors. There are passionate founders who want to solve real world problems and we want to empower them, not just with capital but as a mentor-partner. At Merak, we firmly believe businesses who solve authentic problems will always make for a sound investment.”

Sheetal Bahl, Partner, Merak Ventures said, “Merak is the culmination of a decade of thinking, learning, and investing in the Indian start-up ecosystem. It represents our strong belief that financial gains and impact, whether on industry, people, or the planet, are not mutually exclusive. And it is built on the foundation of our passions – B2B and emerging technologies, and our values: boldness, empathy, fun."
 

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