Venture CapitalEximus Ventures
StagesPre-Seed, Pre-Series A
SectorsAI / ML, SaaS / Enterprise, Fintech · Early-stage builders, Founder-led / operator capital
Ticket$100K – $1M
Family OfficePioneer of India's micro-VC model — back tech-enabled (not tech-first) 'category creators' from day zero, combining early-stage experience, operator insight, family-office networks and institutional discipline; concentrate capital on winners via a proprietary '1–2–4' escalating follow-on model.
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Pioneer of India's micro-VC model — back tech-enabled (not tech-first) 'category creators' from day zero, combining early-stage experience, operator insight, family-office networks and institutional discipline; concentrate capital on winners via a proprietary '1–2–4' escalating follow-on model.
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Artha Venture Fund (AVF) is a Mumbai-based, early-stage micro-VC widely regarded as a pioneer of India's micro-venture model, led by Managing Partner Anirudh A. Damani — a second-generation investor and fourth-generation entrepreneur — and backed by Artha India Ventures, the family office of Ashok Kumar and Ramesh Damani, alongside Madhusudan Kela's Singularity Ventures. Artha backs tech-enabled (deliberately not 'tech-first') category creators from day zero, combining operator insight, family-office networks and institutional discipline, and concentrates capital on winners through a proprietary '1–2–4' escalating follow-on model. Its debut fund (AVF I), a roughly ₹225 crore Category-I AIF closed in 2021, deployed across 32 seed-stage startups and has reported a 61% IRR with portfolio valuation exceeding ₹750 crore and FY25 portfolio revenues over ₹2,100 crore. A 'winners-only' follow-on vehicle, the Artha Select Fund, closed at about ₹432 crore ($49 million) in 2025 to back the top 15% of its portfolio in Series B/C rounds. In October 2025 Artha announced the first close (₹250 crore) of Artha Venture Fund II, targeting ₹500 crore plus a ₹100 crore green-shoe to back 36 seed-stage startups across premium consumption, fintech infrastructure, applied AI and deeptech, with ₹4 crore initial cheques. Across its platform — managing roughly ₹2,100–2,300 crore — Artha has backed 130-plus companies including OYO, Rapido, Purplle, Everest Fleet and Agnikul Cosmos.
Damani — a second-generation investor and fourth-generation entrepreneur — and backed by Artha India Ventures, the family office of Ashok Kumar and Ramesh Damani, alongside Madhusudan Kela's Singularity Ventures.
Mumbai. India's first early-stage micro-VC. MP Anirudh A. Damani (2nd-gen investor, 4th-gen entrepreneur). Backed by Artha India Ventures (family office of Ashok Kumar & Ramesh Damani) + Singularity Ventures (Madhusudan Kela). AVF I INR 225 Cr (final close 2021), 32 seed startups, 61% IRR; Artha Select Fund (winners-only) final close INR 432 Cr/$49.4M (2025); AVF II INR 500 Cr target (INR 250 Cr first close Oct 2025) + INR 100 Cr green-shoe, 36 seed startups. Platform AUM ~INR 2,100–2,300 Cr; 130–140 cos since 2012. Portfolio: OYO, Rapido, Purplle, Everest Fleet, Agnikul Cosmos, InstaAstro.
Data confidence: Verified (web sources, 2021–26)
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