Former Warburg Pincus executives-led Filter Capital makes final close of Fund I at Rs 800Cr

Filter Capital, steered by ex-Warburg Pincus executives Nitin Nayar and Sumit Sinha, recently announced the closure of its maiden venture fund, the Filter Capital India Fund I, with a total corpus of Rs 800 crore.

Nayar and Sinha bring a wealth of experience to the team. Nayar has a background as a managing director at Warburg Pincus India, while Sinha has experience in technology investments from his time at Multiples Alternate Asset Management. 

Together, they aim to support and grow technology-focused companies, finding a special spot that sits between the larger areas of private equity and venture capital investments.

Who are the investors?

The fund has attracted attention from both domestic and international investors, with 60% of the capital coming from within India.

Prominent investors include HDFC Fund of Funds, SIDBI, Akash Prakash of Amansa Capital, and Harsh Jain of Dream11. Notably, It has allocated over 30% of its funds to ventures in SaaS, consumer technology, and B2B services.

Investment philosophy and outlook

Nayar and Sinha are focusing on investing in technology companies, especially those involved in enterprise software and SaaS that use advanced technologies like cloud-based data engineering and generative AI.

The team aim to meet the growing need for digital transformation, planning to invest in four to six companies in their mid-stages over the next three years.

What does Filter Capital do?

Filter Capital is a growth investment firm that partners with India’s tech entrepreneurs from inflection point to industry leadership.

The fund targets opportunities in SaaS and tech services where companies are expanding from India into regional and global markets, as well as technology-led businesses in consumer, financial, and business services, where companies are harnessing special demographics spanning Indian consumers and businesses.

Filter Capital will focus on leading/co- leading Series B and C rounds.

Market trends and future prospects

Amidst a dynamic landscape marked by a surge in secondary market deals and a strategic shift towards sustainable growth over mere expansion, Filter Capital aligns its strategy with the evolving ecosystem.

The venture firm is not just navigating through the current climate but is also keenly eyeing the horizon for secondary deals, albeit with a cautious approach towards non-profitable entities. This strategic foresight extends to anticipating the resurgence of investment exuberance driven by future technological trends and market cycles.

Nitin Nayar, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Filter Capital, said, "Our country has a vibrant start-up ecosystem and an active VC community to support early-stage businesses as well as deep public markets and private equity to support more mature companies. However, there are few investment firms focused on helping today’s breakout technology companies to become tomorrow’s industry leaders. This is the opportunity for Filter Capital. We are privileged to partner with a sophisticated and experienced group of investors who are aligned with our vision to build a leading technology-centric growth investment platform in India.”