Elev8 Venture Partners, started by ex-Kae Capital partner Navin Honagudi, has raised its first fund of INR 1,400 crore ($160 million) to invest in startups in consumer internet, enterprise software, and fintech.
The fund is supported by investors from South Korea, Hong Kong, and India, including sovereign funds, family offices, and founders of unicorn startups. KB Investment from South Korea is the primary investor, with the Self-Reliant India Fund also joining. Around one-third of the fund has already been invested.
Elev8, which invests in growth-stage startups, plans to use the remaining fund over the next 12–18 months. It will invest $10–15 million in each of 12–14 startups valued between $100 million and $ 300 million.
Its portfolio already includes Astrotalk (online astrology), Idfy (identity verification), Smallcase (wealthtech), Porter (on-demand logistics), and Snapmint (fintech). According to the firm, these startups are growing more than 30% each year while staying profitable.
“We do not look at investing in companies with binary risk, like hit-or-miss-like gaming companies. We typically look to back only profitable companies and companies that have existing institutional investors, because then corporate governance would not be a challenge,” said managing partner Honagudi.
The fund received its AIF Category II license from SEBI in 2022.
Its main investor, KB Investment, has backed Indian startups such as PharmEasy, Spinny, Fareye, Vedantu, Kuku FM, Rupeek, Rivigo, Cashify, and Tracxn. It is also one of the 13 subsidiaries of South Korea’s KB Financial Group.
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