Ashish Dave, who stepped down as head of Mirae Asset Venture Investments (India) in mid-2025, is setting up Mumbai-based Sanskrit Capital.

The firm is targeting 7 billion rupees (US$73.3 million) to 10 billion rupees (US$105 million) for its first fund, according to people familiar with the matter.

The sector-agnostic fund is expected to back series B and series C startups with established product-market fit, focusing on fintech, consumer internet, logistics, healthcare, and enterprise AI.

It plans to write cheques of 500 million rupees (US$5.24 million) to 1.5 billion rupees (US$15.7 million), with follow-on capital for selected portfolio companies.

Dave built Mirae Asset’s India venture practice after joining in 2018.

His portfolio included Zomato, BigBasket, Shadowfax, Unacademy, KreditBee, Raise Financial Services, and Jupiter, according to public profiles.

The launch comes as more Indian investors set up independent firms, including Mettle Capital, Ambition Capital, and Northpoint Capital Management, even as first-time fund managers face a tougher fundraising market.

Debut fundraises can stretch 12-16 months, and limited partners increasingly favor established managers.

🔗 Source: The Economic Times