Artha India Ventures has closed its new Artha Select Fund (ASF) at INR 432 crore, which is 31% higher than its original target of INR 330 crore.
The fund will back the top 15% of Artha’s 135 portfolio startups, providing Series B and C investments of around INR 20 crore each.
Over the next four years, ASF plans to invest in 12–14 startups in areas like space technology, fintech infrastructure, premium consumer brands, and applied AI.
The fund is designed to fill the gap for India’s “missing middle,” where many startups between Series A and C struggle to raise enough money to grow.
“For founders, it means they don’t have to run to market every time they want to raise. They already know there’s an investor on the board willing to put more capital,” Anirudh A Damani, managing partner of the fund, said.
He added that since Artha has already worked with these startups for 3–4 years, it doesn’t need to spend as much on due diligence and also has stronger ties with founders compared to traditional Series B/C investors.
About 80% of ASF’s capital comes from Indian family offices and wealthy individuals, while the rest comes from global investors in places like Singapore, UAE, Mauritius, Hong Kong, Africa, and the US. Artha itself contributed about 10% of the fund.
The closing of ASF comes shortly after Speciale Invest raised INR 600 crore for its third fund, reflecting renewed interest from investors after a slow year. “Fundraising was tough for more than a year, but since March 2025, it has become easier,” Damani said.
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