Ex-Warburg Pincus execs’ VC firm seals maiden fund at $96m

Filter Capital co-founders Nitin Nayar (left) and Sumit Sinha / Photo credit: Filter Capital

VC funding in India saw a drastic decline in 2023, plummeting by 72% to US$7 billion from the previous year’s US$25 billion.

But signs of revival are emerging, with VC firms such as Orient Growth Ventures and Cactus Venture Partners closing new funds.

In line with this, India-based Filter Capital has finalized its debut fund, called the Filter Capital India Fund I, after ecuring a corpus of 8 billion rupees (US$96 million).

Backers of the new investment vehicle include HDFC Fund of Funds, the Small Industries Development Bank of India, and SRI Fund, as well as individuals like Amansa Capital founder Akash Prakash and Dream11 CEO Harsh Jain.

Filter Capital is eyeing investments in SaaS and tech services firms expanding globally from India, notably those in series B and series C stages. The fund will also back companies in the consumer, financial, and business services sectors.

The VC firm was founded by former Warburg Pincus executives Nitin Nayar and Sumit Sinha, each with almost 20 years of private equity investment experience focusing on tech businesses in India.

“Through our capital, networks, and expertise, we can help our portfolio companies scale and build enduring businesses,” said Sinha in a statement.

So far, the fund has allocated more than 30% of its corpus to four ventures: SaaS loyalty startup Capillary Technologies, transportation firm Chalo Mobility, logistics service provider LoadShare Networks, and healthcare-focused data analytics platform THB.

See also: Why are Indian startups ready to pay big for a ‘reverse flip’?

Currency converted from Indian rupee to US dollar: US$1 = 83.31 rupees.