AUM Ventures Launches ₹750 Cr Fund To Back Deeptech Startups
AUM Ventures has launched its ₹750 Cr India Innovation Fund II to back early-stage deeptech startups in India. The fund will target 25-30 companies across spacetech, semiconductors, AI and defence tech.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
AUM Ventures is raising its second fund with a ₹750 Cr target to invest in pre-seed and seed deeptech startups in India. The firm plans to write initial cheques of $750,000 to $2 Mn and support winners into later rounds.
AUM Ventures is setting up a big money pot to help young Indian companies build hard tech, like space rockets, chips, AI, and defence tools. It is like giving seeds and careful watering to plants that take longer to grow, but can become very strong.
Analysis
What AUM Ventures announced
AUM Ventures has launched its second fund, India Innovation Fund II, with a target corpus of ₹750 Cr, or about $80 Mn. The firm is using a Cat II AIF structure and plans to back 25-30 startups focused on deeptech.
Where the money is going
The fund is aimed at early-stage companies in spacetech, semiconductors, AI, and defence tech. AUM says it will invest at pre-seed and seed stage, with initial cheques ranging from about $750,000 to $2 Mn. It also plans to reserve capital for follow-on investments through Series A and Series B.
Who is leading it
General partner Nisha Shah will lead investments for the new fund. Before joining AUM last year, Shah was COO at Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office for nearly three years.
AUM's track record and context
Founded in 2022, AUM Ventures says it has already deployed around $30 Mn across 24 companies. Its portfolio includes Skyroot Aerospace, which the article says became India’s first spacetech unicorn at a $1.1 Bn valuation, along with Azimuth AI and Sanyark Space. Another portfolio company, Sharang Shakti, was acquired by LAT Aerospace, a venture started by Eternal cofounder Deepinder Goyal.
The article places this fund launch inside a broader wave of investor interest in Indian deeptech. It points to other recent fund announcements and to policy support from the central government, including extended Startup India benefits for deeptech and incentives linked to RDI and semiconductors. It also says deeptech startups raised about $500 Mn across 87 deals in 2025 and $166 Mn in Q1 2026.
Key points
- AUM Ventures launched its second fund, India Innovation Fund II, with a ₹750 Cr target.
- The fund will back 25-30 startups in spacetech, semiconductors, AI, and defence tech.
- Initial investment sizes are planned at $750,000 to $2 Mn, with follow-on support later.
- Nisha Shah will lead investments as general partner.
- The launch comes amid rising investor interest and policy support for Indian deeptech.
If the fund deploys successfully, more Indian deeptech startups could get the patient capital they need to build complex products. The follow-on funding reserve could also help promising companies survive the jump from prototype to scaling.
Deeptech startups often take longer to commercialize, so the fund may face slow exits and long holding periods. The article also shows the sector is still dependent on policy support and broader investor appetite, both of which can shift.
