SIDBI Venture Capital announces first close of Rs 1,600 crore Antariksh VC Fund for spacetech enterprises

SIDBI Venture Capital Ltd (SVCL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of SIDBI, today announced the first close of the Antariksh Venture Capital Fund (AVCF) at Rs 1,005 crore, anchored by Rs 1,000 crore from IN-SPACe. 

Registered as a Category II AIF with a 10-year tenure, AVCF, will invest across early and growth stages in Indian spacetech enterprises spanning launch systems, satellites and payloads, in-space services, ground services, earth observation, communications and downstream applications.

The initiative, SVCL’s 12th VC fund, advances the national objective of building a $44 billion space economy by 2033.

AVCF is being launched with a target corpus of Rs 1,600 crore. Following the execution of the Contribution Agreement with IN-SPACe as an anchor investor, SVCL has declared the first close and will now mobilise additional commitments from domestic and international investors, including institutional and sovereign investors, under the green-shoe option.

Arup Kumar, Managing Director and CEO, SVCL said, “SVCL’s journey dates to 1999 with the National Venture Fund for Software & IT Industry as its first VC fund. Over the years, SVCL-managed funds have backed category-defining companies, including unicorns like BillDesk and Data Patterns. The Antariksh Venture Capital Fund, India’s largest spacetech-focused fund and among the largest globally, will play an instrumental role in advancing national space capability and competitiveness.”

Established in 1999, SVCL is the investment management subsidiary of SIDBI, managing SEBI registered Alternative Investment Funds to provide patient, governance-led risk capital to startups and MSMEs. 

It works with the central and state governments, public institutions and private investors.