Mirae Asset Venture Investments India, which has backed new-age companies such as Shadowfax, Dhan, Snabbit and KreditBee, has raised Rs 1,125 crore in the first close of its second flagship fund for India, as it looks to back startups in the early-growth stages amid a tougher funding environment for technology companies.
The Mirae Asset Venture Opportunity Fund-II has a target corpus of Rs 1,800 crore. This compares with the investment firm’s first flagship fund, which had a corpus of Rs 370 crore, and a late-stage vehicle it launched with a corpus of Rs 700 crore.
The latest fund is Mirae’s third dedicated India-focused vehicle and will primarily invest in companies that have established product-market fit and are entering their next phase of expansion, CEO Puneet Kumar told ET.
The fund will focus on technology platforms, artificial intelligence (AI) and software, deeptech, advanced manufacturing and consumer discretionary businesses.
The fund has received contributions from Mirae Asset India and its global businesses, as well as from Unicorn Growth Fund, a Rs 6,000 crore technology fund launched in April in partnership with South Korea’s Naver and gaming company Krafton.
Mirae Asset said the fund will focus on raising capital domestically following the first close.
"This is an early-growth fund and we’ll back high-growth, new-age companies that have found product-market fit but not those that are too late. This is where I see the biggest opportunity. Today the risk-reward in this stage is good and valuations are sensible. In the private market, valuations are defined by supply and demand, and there aren’t enough funds investing at this stage," Kumar told ET.
The firm said the new fund would target companies in the Series B-D stages, when startups typically seek capital to scale beyond initial product-market fit.
The raise comes at a time when venture investors have become more selective in deploying capital, with greater emphasis on companies demonstrating a path to scale and sustainable business models. Mirae Asset’s focus on the early-growth segment places it between traditional early-stage venture capital and larger growth-equity investors.
Kumar, who joined Mirae Asset Venture Investments India as CEO from Steadview Capital earlier this year, will lead the India investment platform.
“While the ecosystem has gotten more vibrant over the years, there is a big gap today in the Series B-D stages when they are looking for growth capital. With Mirae Asset Venture Opportunity Fund-II, we want to partner with founders at this important stage of their journey and help them build large, enduring companies,” he said.
Mirae Asset Group said it globally managed more than $800 billion in assets as of March 31, 2026.
The firm’s latest fund comes as large venture capital investors continue to raise sizeable pools of capital. This year, Peak XV Partners raised $1.2 billion, followed by Paytm-backer Elevation Capital closing a $500 million fund. In August, Flipkart and Swiggy-backer Accel announced a $550 million India-dedicated Fund IX.
