9Unicorns to nearly double investments to Rs 400 cr in 2022

9Unicorns, an accelerator fund, is targeting to nearly double its investments in start-ups in the new year by infusing over Rs 400 crore, a senior official said on Monday. The city-based platform invested USD 32 million or Rs 240 crore in 2021 in 101 deals, as per an official statement.

“Next year, we plan to be more aggressive and invest in a total of 150 start-ups globally with approximate investments worth Rs 400 crore or more,” Apporva Ranjan Sharma, one of those who launched the fund, said. Sharma said 9Unicorns is a sector and stage agnostic fund which backs ideas and seed-stage start-ups but given the exit opportunities created by tech start-ups’ initial public offerings, it has also started looking at Series B and C (later stage) investing.

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The number of deals grew three times to 101 in 2021, up from 32 in 2020 in the fund’s maiden year of operation, the statement said. Multiple billionaires and LPs (limited partners) have backed the USD 100 million fund, which witnessed over 30 up-rounds in 2021 and 10 times co-investing in its portfolio by multiple global VCs, family offices, Unicorn founders and top executives, the statement said.