Early-stage VC firm Prime Venture Partners unveils fifth fund of $100 million

Early-stage venture capital firm Prime Venture Partners has announced its fifth fund, worth $100 million, as it looks to tap into India’s growing startup ecosystem.

The Bengaluru-based firm has already secured more than 80% of the fund’s commitment from global institutional investors, including family offices, university endowments, and fund-of-funds spread across the United States, Singapore, Europe, and the Middle East.

It expects to close the fund in the next few months and plans to begin deploying the capital in the second half of the year.

Strong investor backing

Sanjay Swamy, co-founder and managing partner at Prime Venture Partners, said investors appreciate the firm’s consistent strategy and track record of working closely with startup founders.

Although many venture capital firms tend to raise larger funds over time, Swamy noted that Prime preferred to maintain the same size for its fifth fund as it had for its fourth, focusing on sticking to an approach that has delivered steady returns.

He added that limited partners often value stability over high-risk investments and are happy with multiple mid-sized successes rather than a single “unicorn” bet that may not deliver a strong stake for the fund.

Shift to pre-series A

Since its launch in 2012, Prime has typically invested in seed-stage startups, but it now places more emphasis on ventures that have achieved a product-market fit and gained a few early customers.

Its investments, once around $500,000, have grown to a median check size of $3.5 million. The firm’s latest fund allows initial investments ranging from $2 million to $4 million and could go up to $12 million in later rounds. 

Prime intends to invest in about 16 to 18 startups over the next four to five years, focusing on fintech, artificial intelligence, Software as a Service, and ventures that align with India’s digital growth.

Growing startup prospects

India’s startup ecosystem has more than 100 unicorns and has attracted over $140 billion in venture capital investments during the last decade.

Swamy said limited partners remain optimistic about India’s long-term potential, driven by digital platforms like Aadhaar, the Unified Payments Interface, and the Open Network for Digital Commerce.

He pointed out that artificial intelligence and deeptech are creating new paths for product-led growth, suggesting that recent tech IPOs showing strong investor appetite could encourage more high-growth startups to consider public listings.

Prime Venture Partners has backed more than 50 startups, including WheelsEye, MyGate, Quizizz, PlanetSpark, Dozee, and Zuper. It has successfully exited companies such as Happay (acquired by Cred), Recko (acquired by Stripe), Perpule (acquired by Amazon), Ezetap (acquired by Razorpay), and Tracxn, which went public.