Venture capital firm Capital-A has raised Rs 160 crore in the first close of its second fund.
The fund, which focuses on manufacturing startups, is targeting a total base corpus of Rs 300 crore, with a greenshoe option to selectively upsize to Rs 400 crore.
The fund is primarily being anchored by its general partner and has seen participation from a mix of domestic family offices, HNIs, industrialists, and corporate leaders, including Chamaria Group, Steel House Family Office, Avyay Jhunjhunwala, and MP Family Office.
According to the firm, the fund is in advanced discussions with select domestic institutional and quasi-sovereign investors that are aligned with its sector focus.
The new fund comes at a time when global supply chains are realigning themselves and domestic capabilities are strengthening in sectors such as advanced manufacturing, AI, robotics, defence and aerospace components, semiconductors, and hardware technologies, said the VC firm.
Capital-A’s Fund II, which will back 15-18 early-stage companies across emerging sectors, has already begun deploying capital. To date, the firm has made seven investments including Manastu Space, Agrileaf, Misochain, and CraftifAI. Three more are in advanced stages of investment.
“We are seeing a clear shift in how both founders and investors are approaching manufacturing and deeptech in India. These are businesses that require patience, strong execution and deep operating involvement,” said Ankit Kedia, Founder and Lead Investor, Capital-A.
He added, “Having spent years building and scaling manufacturing businesses at Manjushree Technopack, our focus at Capital-A has been on partnering early with founders solving real industrial problems and working alongside them to build enduring companies.”
