Mumbai: Tech-focused venture capital fund Athera Venture Partners, previously known as Inventus India, has received investment from HDFC AMC’S Select AIF FoF I Scheme for its Fund IV which is scheduled to close in 2025. HDFC Fund of Funds will be a dominant LP in Athera’s Rs 900 crore fund to be invested into fast growing tech startups operating in the Consumer Internet, Enterprise Software, AI and other emerging technologies.
Athera has already made investments in promising startups such as Ati Motors – autonomous robotics company, Terra – a 3D immersive online gaming platform, ClickPost – software to help brands manage logistics , Cyn:Lr – a computer vision for robotics, Hyperbots – an AI automation company and Billion Hearts, creator of simple digital consumer products for a global audience. With these 6 investments, 30% of the portfolio is already constructed and the fund is already in the positive IRR territory. Over the next 18-24 months, Athera will invest in a dozen more such startups from its Fund IV.
“We are delighted that HDFC AMC’s Fund of Fund scheme chose to believe in our investment philosophy and invest in us! With this fund we remain committed to support the Indian startup ecosystem and are looking forward to backing many exciting and innovative founders that are set to transform the world with their solutions,” said Rutvik Doshi, General Partner & MD, Athera.
Since 2008, Athera has backed mission-driven entrepreneurs heading early-stage and tech-first startups partnering largely in Series A and Seed stage funding. The VC firm has, so far, invested in over 40 companies that include category defining ventures like redBus, PolicyBazaar, Pixxel, MoveinSync, Sokrati, FundsIndia , Euler Motors, BluArmor, Vunet, Healthifyme, Playshifu, Unbxd, and many more. Over the last 16 years, Athera has become one of India’s few home-grown funds that has an enviable track record of exits which includes several M&As and IPOs leading to handsome returns for our investors.
About Athera Venture Partners:
Athera Venture Partners (formerly known as Inventus India) is a venture firm investing in early-stage technology-focused companies since 2008. The Athera team is a strong mix of deep, multi-dimensional operating and entrepreneurial experience; with 60+ years of collective early-stage venture experience across multiple cycles. The team has backed over 60 Indian technology start-ups in their venture careers.
With a strong founders-first ethos, Athera invests in tech-first business models across various ConsumerTech verticals (including HealthTech, FinTech, InsureTech, Media, Entertainment, Gaming, eCommerce, Devices, IoT, Transportation et al.), Enterprise SaaS (both horizontal and vertical plays) and Deep Tech (including Space, Automation, Robotics, Advanced Computing, Energy, AI/ML; including hardware + software plays).
The Athera team has advised/managed three prior funds with an AUM of $130M+, and is now actively investing out of Fund-IV. Across the prior funds, the Athera team has been part of 2 IPOs and ~10 profitable exits. In the course of this journey, Athera has backed prominent category leaders such as redBus, PolicyBazaar, HealthifyMe, Euler Motors, Pixxel, PlayShifu, Unbxd, MoveInSync, Tricog, Sokrati, Insta Health, Savaari, FundsIndia, Aasaan Jobs, Truebil, Funtoot – to name a few.
