Fundamentum Partnership launches tech-focused investment platform with ₹2,000 crore corpus
Nandan Nilekani-backed Fundamentum Partnership has launched Fundamentum Frontier Advisors (F2A), a technology-focused investment platform. ₹2,000 crore.
F2A will manage Fundamentum’s Fund III, which will focus on artificial intelligence and deep technology companies. Infosys co-founder Nilekani is the fund’s principal investor.
while ₹2,000 crore corpus is being raised in India with both domestic and foreign investors, ₹1,000 crore investment vehicles will be set up outside India. Both of these vehicles will be managed by F2A to create a portfolio of 12-15 startups.
The announcement comes at a time when investors in the country are bullish on both deeptech and artificial intelligence. With deeptech, investors are writing bigger checks. Meanwhile, with AI, investors have become more selective, but they are more willing to write bigger checks to startups as long as their underlying intellectual property rights are sustainable in the long term.
“F2A is a continuation of our effort to partner with founders who are building enduring, technology-focused businesses with the same disciplined, long-term approach that defines Fundamentum,” Fundamentum co-founder Ashish Kumar said in a statement.
During his tenure at the firm, Kumar has sourced and invested in consumer technology companies including Spinny, Kuku, AppsForBharat and Wishlink, as well as enterprise technology companies such as FarEye, Whizzo and GenieMode.
F2A said Fundamentum will continue to evolve the investment approach that defined its previous funds. “Technology-driven innovation continues to create new opportunities across sectors. Platforms that combine long-term thinking with strong execution capabilities can play a key role in supporting this evolution,” Nilekani said in a statement.
As part of the new fund, the firm has roped in former Sidbi Venture Capital senior fund manager Debraj Banerjee as general partner to co-lead the AI and deep technology strategy alongside Kumar.
“Having seen similar adoption cycles in more mature markets like the US in sectors such as utilities, BFSI, manufacturing and high-tech, I believe India is poised to build globally relevant technology-driven businesses over the next decade,” Banerjee said in a statement.
Founded in 2017, Fundamentum operates as a growth-stage investment company focused on supporting technology-focused companies operating in large and emerging markets.
