Pre-seed investor Antler India on Friday has closed Rs 500 crore of its maiden Rs 600 crore (USD 75 million) India-focussed fund, expecting to make the final close this quarter, according to media reports. 

Antler’s India operations and the local fund were set up by Rajiv Srivatsa and Nitin Sharma. The fund is significantly oversubscribed on its base corpus target, and is now completing the exercise of the greenshoe portion to reach nearly double the initial target in 2021, allowing for faster expansion, more reserve capital and additional capabilities to support portfolio startups.

At ~INR 600 crores, this is one of the largest pools of venture capital dedicated to the company formation and pre-seed stage in India. The Antler India fund is backed by several marquee investors representing 6 institutional and sovereign wealth investors (including SIDBI), as well as 125+ limited partners that include more than a dozen unicorn founders.

Nearly half of the completed investments (27) have already raised follow-on capital. With a deep belief in the grit, ambition and adaptability of the new-age Indian entrepreneur, the fund is now strategically increasing the pace of investments in 2023 despite the market downturn. The fund has also built a full fledged team of 20, of which 80% have previously worked in startups and nearly half have been founders.