z21 Ventures announces $20 million first close of $40 million Fund II

z21 Ventures, a venture capital firm specializing in early-stage technology investments, announced the successful first close of $20 million for its $40 million Fund II from anchor investor WestBridge Capital, a global investment firm renowned for its strategic focus and robust portfolio.

The fund comes after z21's successful deployment of its first $5 million fund in June 2024, which backed 26 startups across various sectors.

Supporting disruptive technology startups

Fund II is designed to continue z21 Ventures' mission of investing in disruptive technology companies.

It will focus on sectors such as artificial intelligence, enterprise software, and healthcare, maintaining a priority on pre-seed and seed-stage startups with strong leadership, innovative technologies, and substantial market potential. 

The new fund will help emerging companies, particularly those with ambitious visions, to scale rapidly.

"We are thrilled to announce the first close of our second fund and welcome WestBridge Capital as our anchor investor," said Raj Singh, co-founder and managing partner of z21 Ventures. 

"This successful fundraiser is a validation of our community-led model and our track record of identifying and supporting promising early-stage companies. We look forward to supporting entrepreneurs to build and scale purposeful companies by bringing the power of community and capital."

WestBridge Capital’s role as anchor investor

WestBridge Capital’s involvement as the anchor investor highlights its confidence in z21 Ventures' approach to early-stage investments.

Sumir Chadha, co-founder and managing partner at WestBridge Capital, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership. "We are excited to partner with z21 Ventures and support their mission of investing in innovative technology companies. z21's community-focused and operator-led model offers significant value for early-stage founders, and we believe it can help build category-defining companies," Chadha stated.

WestBridge Capital, a firm with over $7 billion in assets under management, has invested in several notable companies, including Innovaccer, KPN, Rapido, and PhysicsWallah, emphasizing its strong track record in identifying and supporting successful ventures.

Community-led model and support for founders

One of the unique features of z21 Ventures is its community-first approach, which allows the firm to leverage its limited partner (LP) network, consisting of industry experts and successful operators from leading companies like Google, Cisco, and Apple. These experts not only contribute financially but also mentor and guide startups, providing them with strategic expertise and essential connections.

“Our limited partner community helps us with early access to incredible founders and provides founders with deep functional and strategic expertise, strong connections and a supportive ecosystem in their initial journey. We are on a mission to unlock value for founders through a robust ecosystem,” said Jyotika Gupta, partner at z21 Ventures.

Who are the founders?

z21 Ventures was founded by Raj Singh (formerly Innovaccer, McKinsey and co-founder IBC) and Abhinav Shashank (Co-founder and CEO, Innovaccer), with Jyotika Gupta (formerly Glassdoor) and Sudarshan Ravi Jha (co-founder of LetsTransport) as partners in the fund. All four are alumni of IIT Kharagpur, bringing a wealth of experience and a shared mission of investing in the future of technology.

“AI is already disrupting the entire B2B SaaS stack, from infrastructure, data and middleware to apps and agents which will be deployed in almost every organization over the next few years. We’ve seen the era of systems of record (Salesforce and SAP), systems of intelligence (Innovaccer and Palantir), and now we will witness companies emerging as systems of action where multiple workflows at scale will be deployed,” said Sudarshan Ravi Jha.