Nexus closes Fund VIII at $700 million to invest in US and Indian early-stage startups

Nexus Venture Partners has raised $700 million for its eighth fund, marking one of the largest commitments to early stage investing across India and the United States this year.

The new vehicle, Nexus Ventures VIII, will back founders building AI platforms, enterprise software, consumer products and financial technology at inception, seed and Series A stages.

The fund has secured support from long standing limited partners who have been with the firm since its early years. Nexus will continue to operate as a single integrated team across the Bay Area and India, a structure the firm says allows it to stay close to two of the world’s most active startup ecosystems.

Founded in 2006 by a group of entrepreneurs and engineers, Nexus now manages $3.2 billion across its funds. Over the past two decades, it has invested in more than 130 startups and recorded over 30 exits, including several public listings. Its portfolio includes Postman, Apollo.io, Zepto, MinIO, Fingerprint, Avoca, Firecrawl, Orkes, Gumloop, Neysa, Giga, Tensorwave, Delhivery, Turtlemint, Rapido, India Shelter and Infra.Market.

General partner Suvir Sujan said the firm will maintain equal focus on the US and India, with a plan to support roughly 30 companies through the eighth fund, divided evenly between the two markets. According to him, even one or two strong winners in enterprise AI or digital India can return the fund multiple times.

Nexus has generated $1.5 billion to $2 billion in total liquidity since inception. The firm said it has returned about $700 million in cash through partial and full exits over the past few years. It continues to hold significant positions in companies like Turtlemint, Zepto, Rapido, Postman and Apollo.