Indian VC firm Java Capital launches its third fund with a target corpus of Rs 400 crore

Seed-stage venture capital firm Java Capital has launched its third fund with a target corpus of Rs 400 crore, including a Rs 150 crore greenshoe option, as it scales up its focus on early-stage deeptech startups emerging from India.

The new vehicle, Java Capital Fund III, marks a step up in size and ambition for the Bengaluru-based firm, which has positioned itself as a “first-cheque” investor backing science-led and intellectual property-driven startups at inception. The fund will continue to focus on seed-stage investments in sectors marked by long development cycles, high entry barriers and defensible IP.

Java Capital Fund III plans to invest in 15 to 20 companies over the next three to four years. Initial cheque sizes will range between Rs 6 crore and Rs 8 crore, with the firm retaining significant follow-on reserves to support portfolio companies through Series A and subsequent growth stages. The fund expects to lead or co-lead early rounds.

Founded by Vinod Shankar, who is based in Bengaluru, and Bhargavi Vijayakumar, who is based in the United States, Java Capital operates with teams embedded in both markets. The firm said this cross-border presence helps portfolio companies access customers, talent and capital globally at an early stage.

“At Java Capital, we have always believed that the next decade of global innovation will be shaped by hard science and deep engineering. With Fund III, we are reinforcing that conviction. India has emerged as a global hub for deeptech talent, and we aim to be the first institutional partner for founders building frontier technologies,” Shankar said.

Vijayakumar said Indian deeptech startups are increasingly being built with global markets in mind from day one. “The best Indian deeptech companies will be global from the start. That’s the shift we’re seeing. By being embedded in both markets, we help founders think globally from day one. Java Capital Fund III is a launch platform for Indian IP, not just capital support,” she said.

The new fund will invest across sectors including semiconductors, space and aerospace, cybersecurity and defence technologies, robotics and physical intelligence, AI infrastructure and vertical AI, advanced manufacturing and materials, energy and climate infrastructure, quantum systems and synthetic biology.

Java Capital’s existing portfolio includes startups such as Agnikul, Lightspeed Photonics, Eplane, CynLr, Okulo Aerospace, Oorja Energy and Healium.