TLDR:
- IVY Growth Associates launches Rs 250 crore fund called Arigato Capital for startups in various sectors
- VC fund aims to connect angel investors and startups with a focus on agri, Gen AI, SaaS, and more
Micro venture capital firm IVY Growth Associates has announced the launch of its SEBI-registered Category I AIF venture capital fund called Arigato Capital with a target corpus of Rs 250 crore. The fund will invest in startups across sectors including agritech, cleantech, generative AI, fintech, consumer brands, and software-as-a-service (SaaS). Arigato Capital is set to begin capital raising in June 2024 and aims to close all commitments in the next 15 to 18 months. The first close target is Rs 100 crore, with a focus on startups beyond seed stage or in pre-series A stages, offering an average ticket size of $500,000.
The VC fund was founded by Prateek Toshniwal, Rachit Poddar, Mehul Shah, and Sharad Todi, with IVY Growth Associates as the limited partner. IVY Growth aims to establish and expand a global corridor to connect angel investors and startups, with a special focus on the Middle East, the US, and Europe. The firm has invested in over 100 growth-stage startups, deploying Rs 20 crore from its fund and utilizing over Rs 80 crore from syndicate funds within its network. Portfolio startups include Rupeek, BluSmart, and Zappfresh.
Despite a slowdown in startup funding in India, IVY Growth’s launch of Arigato Capital comes at a crucial time to support companies leveraging Gen AI. According to Tracxn data, Q1 2024 saw a $1.6 billion investment across 222 rounds, a 27% decrease from Q4 2023. This decline in funding rounds and investment amount has been ongoing but India still secured the fourth-highest position globally in terms of funding raised during this period after the US, Europe, and China.
