VC firm Stellaris Venture Partners closes its third fund at $300 million

Stellaris Venture Partners, a Bengaluru-based early-stage venture capital firm, has closed its third India-dedicated fund of $300 million, bringing its total assets under management to over $600 million. 

The new fund aims to back 25-30 early-stage startups in technology and technology-enabled sectors, targeting seed and Series A funding rounds.

Stellaris’ latest fund saw participation from existing Limited Partners (LPs) and new commitments from global investors including university endowments, foundations, pension funds and reputed fund of funds.

Backing notable startups

Since its inception in 2017, Stellaris has invested in 44 startups, including the consumer brand Mamaearth, which went public last year, and the digital adoption platform Whatfix, which raised $125 million in a Series E round.

Recent investments include electric vehicle (EV) financing startup Turno, credit-on-UPI provider Kiwi, and AI SaaS companies Orbitshift and CARPL.ai.  

Stellaris highlighted the transformation of India’s startup ecosystem, noting a fourfold increase in deal flow and a growing number of repeat entrepreneurs.

 “With this new fund, we’re excited to back founders using technology to solve deep problems in large markets. Our team, consisting of former entrepreneurs and business builders, brings deep expertise and global networks in key sectors like consumer tech, AI, SaaS and financial services to support our portfolio companies throughout their journey," the firm said.

Focus on talent and growth

The firm has also strengthened its team to better support its portfolio companies. Naman Lahoty, previously a Principal, has been promoted to Partner, becoming Stellaris’ first non-founding partner.

Naman joined the firm in 2019 to focus on consumer investments and has invested in AI webcomic startup Dashtoon and D2C consumer brand Zouk, among others.

Other key appointments include Chetan GMS as Chief Financial Officer, Preseedha Premnath as General Counsel, and Vardhan Dharnidharka, an AI/ML engineering expert who relocated from New York to Bengaluru as an Investment Principal.