BENGALURU, August 10, 2026: Aum Ventures has raised ₹225 crore in the first close of its second India focused venture fund, setting the stage for a larger ₹750 crore corpus aimed at backing early stage technology companies from India.
The firm plans to invest in 25 to 30 startups through India Innovation Fund II, with most investments coming at the pre seed and seed stages. Initial cheques are expected to range from $750,000 to $2 million, with capital also reserved for selected portfolio companies as they move into Series A and Series B rounds.
The fund is taking a focused approach to sectors where technology and intellectual property can provide a meaningful competitive advantage. Its investment mandate covers spacetech, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, aerospace, defence technology, robotics, energy transition and advanced manufacturing.
Global investors make up 65% of first close of AUM Ventures Fund
More than 65% of the commitments in the first close have come from international limited partners across the US, the Middle East and other global markets. The investor base includes family offices, entrepreneurs and strategic investors.
The international participation is significant given the nature of the companies Aum Ventures intends to back. Startups building in areas such as semiconductors, aerospace and defence often need access to customers, technical expertise, strategic partners and capital markets beyond India as they move towards commercialisation.
Aum Ventures is also building follow on capital into the fund strategy. While the initial investments will largely be made at the pre seed and seed stages, the firm intends to continue backing companies that demonstrate the potential to scale through Series A and Series B. For capital intensive businesses, where product development and commercialisation can take several years, that continuity can be important.
The new fund comes three years after Aum Ventures launched its first fund in 2023. The firm said Fund I has so far delivered a gross multiple on invested capital of 2.23 times and a gross internal rate of return of 53%.
Its first portfolio includes Skyroot Aerospace, Azimuth AI, Cosmoserve Space and Sanyark Space in the space technology segment, along with Sully.ai and Latentai. Aum Ventures was an early institutional investor in Skyroot Aerospace, which it said has since become India’s first spacetech unicorn. The firm has also recorded an exit from Sharang Shakti following its acquisition by LAT Aerospace.
The portfolio provides a useful indication of the investment philosophy behind Fund II. The common thread is technically differentiated businesses where engineering capability, proprietary technology or intellectual property can create barriers to entry and support expansion into global markets.
Chetan Mehta, founding partner at Aum Ventures, said the first close reflects investor confidence in the firm’s team, investment approach and the founders it backs.
For portfolio companies, Aum Ventures said it will look beyond capital to provide access to global markets, strategic partnerships, talent and industry expertise through its network across India, the US, Israel and the Middle East.
With ₹225 crore committed against a ₹750 crore target, the firm now has the capital to begin deploying Fund II while continuing to raise towards the final corpus.
The fund’s focus is clear, but the more important test will be execution. Deeptech investing requires investors to identify companies early, support them through long product development cycles and remain patient as they move from technical validation to commercial scale. Aum Ventures’ first fund offers some evidence of that approach, but the larger ₹750 crore vehicle will test whether the firm can repeat that performance across a broader set of technology categories.
For now, the first close puts fresh capital behind a strategy that is increasingly central to India’s startup ambitions: backing companies that are not simply building software for the domestic market, but developing technology and intellectual property in India with the potential to compete globally.
