AJVC, an early-stage venture capital firm, on Wednesday announced that it has closed its maiden fund with capital commitments of nearly $23 million (Rs 200 crore), more than double its original target of Rs 100 crore.
Backed by global LPs and family offices, the fund reached its final close just nine months after launch and aims to support a total of 80–90 startups, according to a press statement.
Founded in August 2024 by Aviral Bhatnagar, AJVC targets pre-seed investments in early-stage startups. The firm claims to have backed 25 startups so far across AI and consumer technology.
“India is witnessing an unprecedented wave of first-time entrepreneurs. Meeting their ambition requires venture capital to operate at an entirely new velocity. At AJVC, we are building a new-age investment firm, where technology powers deeper diligence, smoother fundraising, and scalable support. Our vision is simple: to back hundreds of founders while staying uncompromisingly founder-first,” said AJVC founder Aviral Bhatnagar.
The development comes amid growing interest from venture capitalists in supporting early-stage startups. In August, Mumbai-based Atomic Capital closed its maiden fund at $45.6 million to back early growth-stage consumer, consumer-tech, and consumer-enabler startups in India.
Last month, Natasha Malpani, former venture partner at Kae Capital, also announced the launch of Boundless Ventures, a $23-million early-stage venture capital fund focused on AI startups in India. Boundless will invest in pre-seed and seed-stage startups across consumer AI, AI infrastructure, agent tooling and vertical AI applications in sectors like healthcare and logistics, and make-in-India hardware and deep tech.
According to proprietary data compiled by DealStreetAsia, early-stage funding in India is picking up momentum. In Q2, pre-seed and seed startups raised $196.3 million across 100 deals — up from $173.4 million in Q1.
