Rupee capital sees an opportunity, rushes in to back tech funds

It is not just entrepreneurs who are busy raising millions of dollars in funding over Zoom calls in the last 12 months. 

A slew of early- and late-stage funds focusing on technology startups is mopping up record amounts of capital from local family offices and wealthy or so-called high net worth individuals as they look to get a piece of new economy companies. 

This appetite to back local startups, most of which have relied on global capital pools such as Accel and Sequoia Capital, has increased with several of these companies preparing for their public share offerings. 

The record mop-up has also gained from the entry of late-stage and pre-IPO funds floated by relatively new entrants—wealth management outfits, investment banks and venture debt firms. This stage of funding till now has been dominated by hedge funds such as Tiger Global Management and SoftBank. 

Funds floated by wealth management firms IIFL Wealth Management and Edelweiss, investment banks Kotak and Avendus Capital, and venture debt firm Trifecta Capital are on the road to mop up over Rs 10,000 crore ($1.35 billion). 

Early-stage funds like India Quotient, Blume Ventures and Stellaris Venture Partners with established track records are also mopping up record amounts from local investors.