Dharana Capital closes second growth fund raise of $250mn corpus; to invest in tech, consumer startups

Mumbai: Dharana Capital, which has backed startups like Urban Company, Zomato, LAT Aerospace and Pet Pooja, has raised its second growth fund of $250 million to continue investing in technology and consumer businesses in India.

Its founder and managing partner said the investment firm will continue to support founders who build large, independent publicly traded businesses. “We believe India’s listed tech market will grow several folds over the next decade as more next-gen businesses go public,” Vamsi Duvvuri said in a statement on Monday.

The firm has emphasized its long-term approach with its portfolio companies, supporting founders and teams to build resilient businesses and preparing them for the transition to public markets.

The new fund comes nearly four years after Dharana Capital raised its first fund with a size of $160 million in 2022. The firm said it aims to invest in 8-10 companies through each fund and check sizes vary depending on business need. Mint.

While its portfolio includes a large chunk of technology and consumer businesses, the firm is largely industry agnostic, focusing on companies that can become profitable independently. Most of his team is based in Bengaluru; It has a second office in Dubai.

Increase in fundraising activities

The increase in fundraising activity parallels a broader revival in India’s private equity and venture capital markets over the last 12-18 months. Many private equity and venture capital firms have launched new funds, including Kedaara, ChrysCapital, Stellaris Ventures, India Quotient, Sixth Sense, Prime Ventures, Accel, A91 Partners, Cornerstone VC, Fireside Ventures, Nexus Venture Partners, InCred Alternative Investments and Bessemer Venture Partners.

Others such as Lok Capital, Chiratae Ventures, Peak XV Partners, WEH Ventures, Blume Ventures and Avataar Venture Partner are in various stages of fundraising. Mint It was reported in May last year.

Overall, India-focused venture capital (VC) funds raised around $2.5 billion across 20 new vehicles in calendar 2025; This surpasses the $1.6 billion raised through 16 funds in 2024 and $1.9 billion across 19 funds in 2023. Although the pace of final closings has increased slightly, more managers have returned to the market to raise funds; This is an indication that investors expect deal activity to accelerate over the next few years.