Stellaris closes 2nd fund at USD 225mn, to make 25-30 seed, Series A investments

Early-stage venture capital firm Stellaris Venture Partners on Wednesday announced the closing of its second fund at USD 225 million (about Rs 1,675.5 crore) that will be deployed towards 25-30 new investments in seed and series A rounds of technology companies. In addition to strong support from existing Limited Partners, the fund saw participation from several new global institutions, a statement said.

Global institutional capital formed more than 80 per cent of the capital base of the second fund, it added. The fund had its first close in April and was fully subscribed within 45 days. With this fund, Stellaris Venture Partners now has more than USD 300 million in assets under management. Stellaris had invested in 19 startups after raising its maiden fund in 2017. Some of Stellaris’ portfolio companies include Mamaearth, Whatfix, mFine, Slintel, Loadshare, Signzy and Propelld.

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In the past four years, Stellaris has built a specialist, depth-oriented investment model that allows us to take early bets in new areas. Whether it is healthcare AI with mFine or D2C brands with Mamaearth, we have developed conviction ahead of the curve and have been able to back market leaders in emerging categories, Stellaris Venture Partners Partner Rahul Chowdhri said. From the new fund, Stellaris expects to make 25-30 new investments in seed and series A rounds of technology companies, the statement said.

Stellaris has started investing capital from the second fund with commitments to 4 startups so far. The firm most recently invested in D2C lifestyle brand Zouk, it added. India’s venture ecosystem has come of age over the last few years with large exits and a massive increase in the volume and quality of new startups. The larger second fund gives us dry powder to tap into this growing opportunity with an ability to back entrepreneurs with more capital and support them for longer,” Chowdhri said. He added that Stellaris keeps a large reserve for its best-performing portfolio companies and backs them through 3-4 funding rounds.