Equentis Wealth Advisory Services has launched its inaugural Category I Alternative Investment Fund, targeting ₹500 crore ($60 million) to invest in early-stage Indian start-ups. The Equentis Angel Fund plans to back 40-50 start-ups over the next 18-24 months, focusing on sectors including Defence, Consumer Tech, Deep Tech, LogiTech, FinTech, and AI.

The fund will target Pre-Series A and Bridge-to-Series A rounds, investing between ₹4-10 crore ($5,00,000-$1.2 million) in companies with a total addressable market of at least ₹8,000 crore. Its first investment is in LogiTech start-up Yatnavat Technologies Private Limited, operating under the OORJAA brand.

This launch comes amid a robust Indian start-up ecosystem, which boasts over 1,28,000 start-ups in 2024, making it the world’s third-largest. Start-up funding in 2024 is projected to exceed $15 billion, with early-stage investments already securing $3.28 billion across 1,546 rounds by November.

Manish Goel, Founder & Managing Director, emphasised the fund’s mission to democratise wealth creation and support entrepreneurial growth. The fund will be managed by a team of professionals from investment banking, private equity, and research backgrounds.