Syndicate / NetworkSamarthya Investment Advisors
StagesPre-Seed, Pre-Series A, Series B
SectorsSaaS / Enterprise, Fintech, Consumer / D2C · Early-stage builders, Founder-led / operator capital
Ticket$500K – $1M
AcceleratorBe the 'Y Combinator of India' — provide initial capital plus committed follow-on to idea-stage startups, supporting them across their first three funding rounds before connecting them to large VCs for growth capital.
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Be the 'Y Combinator of India' — provide initial capital plus committed follow-on to idea-stage startups, supporting them across their first three funding rounds before connecting them to large VCs for growth capital.
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Background and context for founders evaluating this investor.
100Unicorns — formerly 9Unicorns — is a Mumbai-based accelerator venture capital fund founded in 2020 as the flagship early-stage vehicle of the Venture Catalysts Group, and is often described as India's first accelerator VC. Co-founded by Apoorva Ranjan Sharma (also Managing Director of Venture Catalysts) along with Gaurav Jain, Anil Jain and Anuj Golecha, its explicit ambition is to become 'the Y Combinator of India', backing promising founders right from the ideation stage with initial capital plus committed follow-on, and supporting them across their first three funding rounds before connecting them to larger VCs for growth capital. Its first fund closed at $100 million and invested in more than 140 startups across fintech, deeptech, enterprise SaaS, media, insurtech and D2C, producing several category leaders and around nine exits. In 2024 the firm rebranded to 100Unicorns and launched a second fund targeting $200 million with a $100 million green-shoe, aiming to back 200 early-stage startups; roughly 60% of the corpus funds first cheques of $250K–$300K with follow-ons up to $3 million, and about 15% is earmarked for startups in the US, Middle East, Africa and Asia, supported by a new ADGM presence in the UAE. Portfolio names include VideoVerse, Zypp Electric, Renee Cosmetics, Trunativ, IGP, LiquiLoans and ImpactGuru.
Co-founded by Apoorva Ranjan Sharma (also Managing Director of Venture Catalysts) along with Gaurav Jain, Anil Jain and Anuj Golecha, its explicit ambition is to become 'the Y Combinator of India', backing promising founders right from the ideation stage with initial capital plus committed follow-on, and supporting them across their first three funding rounds before connecting them to larger VCs for growth capital.
Mumbai. Founded 2020 as 9Unicorns; rebranded to 100Unicorns in 2024. Flagship accelerator-VC fund of Venture Catalysts Group. Co-founders Apoorva Ranjan Sharma (MD), Gaurav Jain, Anil Jain, Anuj Golecha. Fund I $100M (140–185 startups, ~9 exits); Fund II $200M + $100M green-shoe (target 200 startups), with UAE/ADGM presence; ~15% allocated to US/MENA/Africa/Asia. Portfolio: VideoVerse, Zypp Electric, Renee Cosmetics, Trunativ, IGP, LiquiLoans, ImpactGuru.
Data confidence: Verified (web sources, 2024–26)
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