pi Ventures launches second fund to invest in tech startups

Early-stage venture capital firm pi Ventures said on Monday it has launched its second fund of target corpus Rs 565 crore ($75.6 million) and greenshoe option of Rs 185 crore. 

The target corpus of the new fund is more than double the sum raised for the first fund. 

A major push by companies to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis will disrupt business models, pi Ventures said. 

Its latest fund would look to back ventures offering such disruptive tech. pi Ventures said the fund will also invest in segments like space technologies, material science, biotech and life sciences. 

Through the fund, pi Ventures intends to back around 25 global disruptors from India, the venture firm said.  

“So far our strategy has worked extremely well and we have a healthy portfolio of companies that have scaled massively despite the current pandemic,” said Manish Singhal, co-founder and managing partner of pi Ventures. 

The venture firm has invested in 13 categories of deep-tech startups like breast cancer screening firm Niramai, logistics automation company Locus, AI-based platform focusing on mental health Wysa, space-tech startup Agnikul. 

pi Ventures closed its first fund at Rs 225 crore in 2017-18.

Its Fund I was backed by key contributors including Hero Enterprise chairman Sunil Kant Munjal, Electronic Development Fund (managed by Canbank Venture), Sidbi (Small Industries Development Bank of India), as well as entrepreneurs like Mohandas Pai, Binny Bansal, Deep Kalra, Sanjeev Bikhchandani and Bhupen Shah.  

pi Ventures was established in 2016 by Manish Singhal.