Kriscore Capital has launched a new venture capital fund, achieving an initial close of 50 crore rupees (US$5.8 million).

The fund aims to raise a total of 100 crore rupees (US$11.6 million), with an additional 100 crore rupees (US$11.6 million) greenshoe option to support pre-seed and seed-stage startups in India.

The founder of the fund has prior experience as both an operator and investor in the US, Japan, and India.

Kriscore Capital will focus on early-stage investments, providing resources to emerging startups.

🔗 Source: Nilesh Balakrishnan

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Early-stage funding in India bucks global trends with robust growth

The launch of Kriscore Capital comes during a period of impressive resilience in India’s early-stage funding landscape compared to global markets.

While global VC funding declined by nearly 9% in early 2025, India registered a remarkable 40% year-on-year increase in the same period, highlighting the country’s growing prominence as an investment destination 1.

This resilience is further evidenced by the increase in deal volume to 1,270 in 2024 from 880 in 2023, with small- and medium-ticket deals (under $50 million) comprising 95% of all transactions 2.

Pre-seed and seed investments are particularly attractive in India’s current ecosystem, with 17 of the 23 new funds launched in Q1 2025 specifically targeting early-stage startups 3.

The robust funding environment is supported by India’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals, with GDP growth for FY 2025-26 projected between 6.3% and 6.8%, driven by private consumption and investment 4.

2️⃣ New fund launches signal strong institutional confidence in Indian startups

Kriscore Capital’s launch is part of a broader wave of new venture funds entering the Indian market, reflecting strong institutional confidence despite previous funding challenges.

The first quarter of 2025 alone saw 23 new funds launched with a combined corpus exceeding $3.2 billion, indicating substantial dry powder waiting to be deployed into promising startups 3.

This influx of capital comes after a funding rebound in 2024, when India’s VC funding increased to $13.7 billion, representing a 1.4x growth from 2023 levels 2.