8i Ventures Raises $50M For Its Fund II, Will Focus On Fintech Startups
8i Ventures, a Mumbai & Bangalore based early-stage fund, has raised $50 million for its Fund II. The fund aims to invest in startups operating in the fintech space as the founder believes that “every consumer friction point in finance and consumer is a billion-dollar startup opportunity”.
Speaking on the development, Vikram Chachra, Founding Partner at 8i Ventures, said,
“The money from this fund will be used to invest in fintech players, who are making money simpler. Getting a credit card was a challenge for everyone. But with Slice, you get it within a few minutes. That’s what we look at before backing firms.”
8i Ventures | Early-stage VC fund
Founded in 2018, 8i Ventures backs founders creating fintech and consumer category leaders in India. Its partners have backed 28 seed to early-stage startups that, over the last decade, have created more than a billion dollars of value for their shareholders.
8i Ventures raised its first fund of $13 million in 2020, which the firm used to invest in startups, including omnichannel coffee seller Blue Tokai, fintech product builder M2P, and Slice, the latest entrant in the unicorn club.
Bengaluru-based Slice raised $220 million in its Series B funding round led by New York-based investment firms Tiger Global and Insight Partners.
Vikram Chachra, who invested in Slice out of his personal wealth, claims to have grown his investment by 96X with the latest funding round raised by Slice.
With the new fund, the early-stage investment firm aims to cut bigger cheques to seed and early-stage startups. 8i Ventures will invest between $500,000 and $5 million in early-stage startups for an exchange of 10-20% equity.
Vikram, who holds an MBA from New York University’s Stern School, added that the investment firm can now lead seed and A deals and support our companies till they break out and attract late-stage VCs.
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