VentureSoul Partners Launches Rs 600 Cr Fund

VentureSoul Partners, a venture debt firm, has launched its first Rs 600 crore fund and received commitments from corporates and CXOs. Pharmaceutical company Micro Labs is the main investor for the firm’s first fund. The CXOs participating in the fund include E Madhusudan, Founder of Kreditbee; Abhishek Khemka of Baazar Kolkata; and Ponnuswami M from Pure Chemicals group.

VentureSoul Partners was founded by three former bankers from HSBC, Anurag Tripathi, Ashish Gala and Kunal Wadhwa. The Sebi registered Category II alternative investment fund is aiming to do its first close soon and will invest in companies with a demonstrated revenue model, at the Series A stage or beyond.

VentureSoul Partners is open to investing in various sectors but will focus on startups in the fintech, B2C, B2B and SaaS segments. VentureSoul aims to stand out by combining banking principles with new-age credit evaluation technology, while providing long-term support and tailored solutions to companies from the new economy.

VentureSoul Partners will offer growth capital for the startups. According to a recent report by Stride Ventures, venture debt investments into Indian startups increased by 50 per cent in 2023, reaching USD 1.2 billion. The report also indicated a compounded annual growth rate of about 34 per cent from 2017 to 2023, with around 175-190 deals in 2023.