BAT VC announces $100 Mn fund to back Indo-US startups

Entrackr · 10h

Former X India head Manish Maheshwari’s venture capital (VC) firm, BAT VC, has made a foray into India with the announcement of a $100 Mn fund to back early-stage ventures in the country. According to BAT VC, its Fund II will focus on startups operating in both India and the US across sectors such as AI, fintech, and SaaS. The fund is co-founded by Manish Maheshwari, Aditya Mishra, and Ravi Metta, with Maheshwari leading the VC firm’s regional expansion in the country. The VC firm says that Fund II has already attracted interest from “top-tier” institutional limited partners (LPs), strategic investors, and family offices in both India and the US. BAT VC plans to invest in startups before product-market fit (PMF), de-risking the execution with active support and internal frameworks. It will help founders access customers, capital, and talent in both India and the US. The VC firm prioritizes startups that place AI at the center of their product and business model. BAT VC also eyes Indo-US dual-market startups, which raise more capital on average than single-geography peers, adding that SaaS companies with operations in both nations demonstrate 1.8X higher median revenue growth. Established in 2021, BAT VC is a cross-border VC firm that backs AI-first early-stage startups in sectors such as fintech and SaaS. The VC firm claims to help founders achieve PMF and scale globally. It has backed notable companies including StockGro, Uptiq AI, Nickelytics, Accern, and others. The New York-based VC firm launched its maiden fund in 2022, which claims to have clocked an internal rate of return (IRR) of 30% and a multiple on invested capital (MOIC) of 1.61X. It also claims that the portfolio startups in its inaugural fund have achieved an average revenue growth of 210% within 18 months.