Cornerstone Ventures Reveals 200 Mn Dollars Corpus for Second Investment Fund

Cornerstone Ventures is a Mumbai-based venture capital firm that focuses on investing in early-stage technology companies. The firm was founded in 2015 and has since invested in several startups across various sectors, including e-commerce, fintech, and healthcare. Cornerstone Ventures typically invests between 500,000 and 500,000, and 2 million in each startup and provides not only capital but also strategic guidance and mentorship to help these companies grow and succeed.

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Cornerstone Ventures, a Mumbai-based venture capital (VC) firm, has recently unveiled its second fund, aiming for a substantial $200 million (approximately 1,667 Crores INR) target, which includes a flexible green-shoe option.

This fund caters to a diverse range of startups, particularly those in the early growth stages. With investment opportunities ranging from $5 million to $15 million, it adopts a multi-stage approach.

Focusing primarily on B2B tech prospects, the fund zeroes in on software platforms and marketplaces. These ventures span various sectors, including financial services, insurance, retail, consumer goods, e-commerce, distribution, supply chain, and healthcare products and services. Additionally, it remains open to sector-agnostic technological innovations.

The goal of the fund is to provide more than just financial support to entrepreneurs. It offers access to a wide network of potential customers from big businesses, opportunities for strategic funding from future investors, and a supportive community of mentors and partners to help bring ideas to market.

Moreover, Cornerstone Ventures, through this fund, is specifically looking to support budding companies in their early growth stages. They seek out those with the potential to make a significant impact on the way businesses operate in today’s fast-paced technology-driven world, fostering sustainable growth along the way.

Abhishek Prasad, managing partner of Cornerstone Ventures, stated that their second fund is a continuation of the success of Fund-I and demonstrates their dedication to supporting emerging B2B Enterprise Tech opportunities. Their goal is to invest in significant value creators within the realm of ‘Next Generation Enterprise Technologies,’ whether they are developing products in India for a global market or focusing solely on the domestic market.

Prasad added that they have a strong preference for innovations that enhance essential business processes, involve various stakeholders throughout the value chain to create multiple revenue streams, and show clear profitability at the account level.

Established by former Reliance executives Rajiv Vaishnav and Abhishek Prasad, Cornerstone Ventures focuses on making early-stage investments in B2B enterprise technology companies.

In the middle of 2019, Cornerstone Ventures kicked off its inaugural fund, raising an impressive sum of around $50 million. Fast forward to today, Fund-I has been diligently invested across 21 promising companies, mainly focusing on the B2B enterprise SaaS model. Among its notable investments are NimbleBox.ai, CreditNirvana, and UniAcco.

In a recent report on Indian Tech Startup Funding in 2023, there was a significant downturn in funding for enterprise tech startups, dropping by a staggering 68% to $1.3 billion from the previous year’s $4 billion. The number of deals also took a hit, plummeting over 46% to 157 from 292 in 2022.

Furthermore, late-stage enterprise technology startups experienced the most significant impact. The funding raised by these startups dropped by 71% year-on-year to $602 million, and the number of deals decreased by 50% year-on-year to 11.

Cornerstone Ventures, a Mumbai-based venture capital firm, has launched its $200 million second fund to support early-stage startups, focusing on B2B tech prospects in sectors like finance, retail, and healthcare. The fund offers more than just financial aid, aiming to connect entrepreneurs with potential clients and investors. Led by Abhishek Prasad, the firm prioritizes ‘Next Generation Enterprise Technologies’ and has a successful track record of investing in B2B enterprise technology companies. Despite a significant drop in funding for enterprise tech startups in 2023, Cornerstone Ventures remains committed to fostering innovation and sustainable growth in the industry.