Equirus InnovateX Fund (EIF), the early-stage enterprise arm of Equirus Group, has introduced the ultimate shut of its maiden B2B tech fund at Rs 166 crore. The fund’s first close was introduced in February 2024.

EIF backs seed and pre-series A startups constructing in deeptech, SaaS and fintech, sometimes groups which might be post-product and dealing towards product-market match.

The fund goals to companion with founders fixing onerous issues with clear distribution and defensibility, and who’re constructing for long-term sustainability from day one. The shut attracted each home and world traders who convey operational expertise and market entry along with capital.

EIF counts quite a few founders and operators amongst its backers, together with Girish Gaitonde (Founder & Board Member, Xoriant), M.R. Jyothy (Chairperson & MD, Jyothy Labs), Dhimant Bhayani (Founder & CEO, iRevo), Raj P. (Founder & Government Chairman, Zaggle), Shankar Vailaya (Former Director & Co-Founder, Sharekhan) and Nitin Seth (Vice Chairman, GD Meals).

The Fund is led by Krishna Jha, Sunder Nookala and Sadhika Agarwal.

Sunder Nookala, Companion, Equirus InnovateX Fund, stated, “On the seed and pre-series A stage, capital alone isn’t the differentiator – context and conviction are. Having constructed and backed firms ourselves, we perceive the inflection factors founders face round product-market match, enterprise entry and organisational build-out. With Fund I totally closed, our dedication is to work intently with portfolio firms to assist them scale responsibly, strengthen fundamentals and construct establishments that stand the check of time.”

EIF has deployed over one-third of the corpus, backing seven startups from Fund I, with a goal portfolio of as much as 15 firms. Lively investments embody Pointo, Datazip, GreenStitch, CtrlB, Consuma AI, RSPL and NeverInstall. The remaining capital is predicted to be deployed over the subsequent 12-18 months.

Krishna Jha, Companion, Equirus InnovateX Fund, stated, “As India’s startup ecosystem matures, we’re seeing a brand new technology of audacious founders fixing structurally advanced issues. As a agency of ex-operators, our focus is on partnering with these founders as they stroll the lengthy highway from early concept to enduring, category-defining firm.”