Trifecta Capital on Tuesday announced the first close of its late-stage venture capital Fund – Trifecta Leaders Fund I, with commitments of over Rs 1,000 crore (about USD 130 million). The fund was launched three months ago and has a target corpus of Rs 1,500 crore (USD 200 million). “The first close has seen strong participation from domestic investors including large corporates, insurance companies, marquee family offices, ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNIs), and entrepreneurs,” a statement said.
Existing investors of Trifecta Capital’s Venture Debt Funds have also made significant investments in this Fund, it added. For the balance Rs 500 crore (about USD 70 million), the firm is in discussions with several domestic and global institutional investors, the statement noted. Trifecta Leaders Fund I will invest Rs 100-200 crore (USD 15-30 million) each in around 10-12 companies for minority stakes, through a combination of primary and secondary positions. The fund will cater to the unmet needs of late-stage companies by providing off-cycle liquidity to early investors, angels, current and former employees including consolidation of equity cap tables, the statement said.
The fund has also set-up an advisory board comprising global tech experts who will support portfolio companies as they navigate their path to liquidity. Trifecta Capital, across its two Venture Debt Funds, has invested in over 75 companies and its portfolio now comprises of 20 unicorns and soonicorns including Big Basket, Pharmeasy, Cars24, Vedantu, Infra.Market, ShareChat, DailyHunt, UrbanCompany, CarDekho, Blackbuck, Ninjacart, NoBroker, Kreditbee, Dehaat, Turtlemint, Livspace, Mobikwik, Ixigo and BharatPe amongst several others. These companies cumulatively valued at USD 22 billion have raised over USD 8 billion in equity.
Since inception, Trifecta Capital has deployed over Rs 2,000 crore (USD 275 million). Through this new fund, we aim to provide investors access to the value creation opportunity in the last leg of private to public journey of tech companies. With strong institutional investor interest in India internet, we expect listings of several large well known startups, and creation of liquidity for existing investors as these companies tap the public markets for their longer term financing needs,” Trifecta Capital Managing Partner Rahul Khanna said. He added that Trifecta Leaders Fund-I is an attractive opportunity for investors who have so far been unable to access these great companies since they are predominantly funded by offshore VC and PE funds.
