On May 1, the firm announced the final close of its third fund at $165 million, which was short of its initial target of $200 million. From this fund, it invested in companies like BlueStone, Moneyview, Foxtale, NewMe and Nat Habit, among others.
According to the firm, it has fully returned Fund I, a $50-million fund raised in 2019, to its investors, including banks, HNIs and others. Its second fund, raised in 2021, had a $200-million corpus.
“Our role is of an enabler, working alongside founders and stakeholders to unlock possibilities beyond financial support. This journey has been one of collaboration, learning, and resilience, and it inspires us to continue empowering entrepreneurs and building a future where innovation thrives,” said Apoorva Sharma, managing partner of Stride Ventures.
Stride Ventures also said its venture debt commitments have crossed $1 billion. It has made investments, with ticket sizes exceeding Rs 100 crore, in companies such as BlueStone, Upstox, Moneyview, Ather, Pharmeasy, Infra.Market, Battery Smart, Moove, Ola Electric and Lohum.
“Crossing the $1-billion milestone is a testament to the strength of India’s startup ecosystem and the growing recognition of venture debt as a powerful enabler. At Stride, we remain committed to empowering entrepreneurs with innovative solutions that drive sustainable growth,” said founder and managing partner Ishpreet Singh Gandhi.
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About 190 startups in India raised a total of $1.2 billion in venture debt in 2023, marking a 50% increase from 2022. In 2023, venture debt globally stood at about $60-65 billion, according to a report by Stride Ventures.Some of the other debt funds operating in India are Alteria Capital, Trifecta, InnoVen Capital and Blacksoil.
On March 28, ET reported that venture debt firm Alteria Capital announced the final close of its third fund at Rs 1,550 crore ($195 million). In August, Trifecta Capital launched its fourth fund, aiming to raise up to Rs 2,000 crore (around $240 million), including a greenshoe option of Rs 500 crore.
In recent months, several funds have been launched and have also raised capital.
On December 11, business-to-business and deeptech-focused venture capital firm GrowX Ventures, which has backed startups like Pixxel, Bellatrix Aerospace, CynLr and Stashfin, launched its Fund-II with a target of raising Rs 400 crore to back 20-24 startups.
On November 13, Anup Jain and Rajeev Suri, who left early stage venture firm Orios Venture Partners as managing partners in September 2023, floated investment firm BlueGreen Ventures with a target of raising $75 million, along with a greenshoe option of $25-30 million.
On October 23, early-stage investment firm Avaana Capital, which has backed startups in the consumer, food and agri sectors, made the final close of its dedicated climate and sustainability-focused fund at $135 million.
On September 23, ET reported that Oister Global, the Gurugram-based investment company that has backed private market funds, partnered with the India arm of Silicon Valley VC firm Tribe Capital to launch a fund focused on secondary deals. It aims to invest $500 million in the next two years.
