VentureSoul Partners has initiated its debut debt fund, VentureSoul Capital Fund I, targeting a corpus of INR 600 Cr. This SEBI-registered Category II AIF has already attracted investments from family offices, corporates, and affluent individuals, including notable investors like Micro Labs Ltd., KreditBee's Madhusudan Ekambaram, and representatives from Glen Appliances Ltd, PSN Group, and others.

The fund, co-founded by former HSBC bankers Ashish Gala, Anurag Tripathi, and Kunal Wadhwa, will primarily invest in technology startups across various sectors such as fintech, B2C, B2B, and SaaS. These startups are expected to be at least at the Series A funding stage, demonstrate a viable revenue model, and have secured a minimum of $10 Mn in equity funding.

VentureSoul aims to close the first round of funding by the end of June. The fund is designed to offer innovative debt solutions that cater to the burgeoning tech startup ecosystem in India, which currently sees a mere 3-5% of startup funding coming from debt, as highlighted by Wadhwa.

The founding trio, who collectively bring over 65 years of experience in financial services, established VentureSoul to provide structured financial solutions that go beyond traditional debt models. They believe that the shift towards sustainable growth in the new economy presents a timely opportunity for their debt-focused fund.

As the Indian startup sector evolves, the need for specialized debt financing is expected to grow, particularly as themes like mergers and acquisitions and sector consolidation become more prevalent. VentureSoul is positioned to meet these needs by integrating sound banking practices with modern credit assessment technologies and adopting a partnership-oriented approach with its portfolio companies.

Tripathi envisions VentureSoul as a pivotal player in India’s future economic growth, aiming to build a sustainable and scalable organization that not only provides growth capital but also supports broader economic objectives as India progresses towards becoming a $25-35 trillion economy by 2047.