Hariharan Premkumar

Agilitas x Virat Kohli partnership is one of the masterstroke deals I have seen in recent times. Virat invests 40 CR in Agilitas for a 1.94% stake, putting Agilitas’s valuation around 2000 CR. 📈 In turn, Agilitas acquires one8world, making Virat a co-founder and shareholder. They now get two very important growth levers: ⬇️ 1. A powerful manufacturing (via Mochiko Shoes - a 600 CR+ footwear brand that Agilitas acquired in 2008 ), 2. India’s biggest athlete — exclusively aligned. Easily becomes a 4000 CR revenue brand in the next 5 years. Footwear + retail scale requires capital — but this partnership compresses customer acquisition, product cycles, and brand-building like few others. Even Virat said in his podcast with Abhishek Ganguly, the co-founder of Agilitas that, “I didn’t want a brand deal… I wanted to build something that outlives me.” And Abhishek said something even beautiful - “An ambition to build from India but be globally relevant.” This isn’t marketing. This is legacy building with shared skin in the game. And that is how startups work - shared ambition with one goal (to make the company big) and food (read stake) in the table for everyone! A company that can be built in the long term with culture, capital, and conviction aligned. This might be the first time in India, where an athlete joins hands with a sport company to re-imagine and build the sport ecosystem of India - truly revolutionalising the game with a clear vision. 🙌

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At Atomic Capital, we are committed to backing exceptional founders building for the next wave of India’s consumption story. The country’s consumer market is expected to more than double by 2030, reaching over $4 trillion, with fashion emerging as one of the fastest-growing categories. By 2030, India’s apparel market is projected to cross $125 billion, driven by a rising middle class, increased digital adoption, and evolving consumer preferences. Fashion, particularly women's apparel, will play a significant role in this growth. Despite being a highly competitive category, we believe there's still white space for brands that combine customer insight, product excellence, and operational efficiency. We are incredibly excited to announce our investment in ANNY. From our very first interaction with the founding team, we felt there was strong alignment in vision, strategy, and focus on building a lean, sustainable, and scalable business. Here's why we chose to partner with them: 1. Aligned Operating Philosophy: The founding team - Japjot, Aveen, and Rahul, shares our belief in building a capital-efficient brand. They focus on solving scale challenges with systems, data, and discipline—not by burning cash. From day one, they valued our partnership beyond just the capital contribution. 2. Distinctive Product Supply: Anny excels at the intersection of freshness × fabric × fit. Thanks to rigorous efforts in curation and sizing, Anny has achieved some of the lowest return and cancellation rates we’ve seen in the category. 3. Lean Inventory Model: The team has cracked a unique approach to managing inventory. Their system allows for timely sourcing of new designs that often become hero products—ensuring working capital efficiency while minimizing stockouts and lost sales. 4. High Consumer Love: With 100% of revenue coming through their own website and a substantial share from repeat customers, the brand has cultivated a deep and loyal customer base. 5. Efficient Acquisition Strategy: Anny has built a robust content engine, helping consumers visualize style and fit on real people. This “real-world relatability” has significantly improved conversion and reduced acquisition costs. 6. A Complementary Team: The founding team brings the perfect blend of design and curation, finance and analytics, and technology—a necessary trifecta to scale a modern, digitally native apparel brand. The founder-market fit here is strong and clear. 7. Strong Revenue Momentum: The team has scaled 7x in 12 months. Consistent growth, increasing repeats, and strong unit economics are a testament to the brand's product-market fit and sharp execution. In our experience, operational discipline, new launch velocity, a data-driven approach, and sharp storytelling can collectively build an enduring brand in Fashion. We believe the Anny team is uniquely positioned to do just that. Atomic Capital Nikhil Patil Manish Jain #ConsumerBrands #Fashion #D2C #IndiaConsumption #AtomicCapital

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Eternal Capital (India), an early-stage VC fund started by former bharatpe COO Dhruv Dhanraj Bahl, has rebranded itself as Sadev Ventures. The firm said the new name aligns with its family office identity and values. With this change, Sadev Ventures will continue its India-first focus while also helping portfolio companies expand globally through support from international LPs and strategic partners. Read full article link in the commment 👇 #sadevventures #eternalcapital #vc #rebrand #startupnews

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With over 11,000 startups, India’s healthtech sector is brimming with talent. But a shortage of early-stage capital is pushing promising ventures overseas. This sector needs more than funding. It needs better infrastructure, public procurement support, and founders who can balance tech brilliance with business savvy. The good news is that 2025 is seeing a funding revival, and the ecosystem is warming up. With the right push—smart capital, supportive policy, and a shift towards commercial thinking—India could become the global hub for healthtech. The foundation is here. It’s time to build on it. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g-65ANC5 #Healthtech #StartupIndia #Innovation #Deeptech #MakeInIndia #EarlyStageFunding

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Natasha Malpani, former partner at Kae Capital, has launched Boundless Ventures, a ₹200 crore early-stage fund focused on AI-native startups from India. The fund will invest at pre-seed and seed stages, targeting consumer AI applications, infrastructure, agent tooling, healthcare, logistics, and Make-in-India AI hardware. Backed by Malpani’s personal network, Boundless has already made six investments, including Superhealth, Armatrix, PierSight, Knot, and two stealth AI ventures. Apart from capital, the fund will support founders with storytelling, market access, and network building. “Founders who combine technical depth with cultural fluency will set the terms of the next wave. Boundless exists to back them before the world catches on,” said Malpani. #seedStage #funding #opportunity #FundAlert #startupUpdates #startupro

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🚨A91 Partners closes third fund at $665M Mumbai-based VC firm A91 Partners has secured $665M for its third fund, focusing on Series B & C investments in India's promising mid-stage startups. Founded by ex-Sequoia leaders in 2018, A91 aims to back enduring businesses across sectors. Notable portfolio: Akshayakalpa Organic, Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters, SUGAR Cosmetics. This milestone follows a wave of funding activity in India’s VC ecosystem, with Accel and Bessemer Venture Partners also closing significant funds recently. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gw3P-FWR By Bhuvana Kamath #VentureCapital #StartupFunding #IndianStartups #A91Partners #Innovation

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🚨 RBI’s New Co-Lending Directions, 2025 – Effective Jan 1, 2026 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued new Co-Lending Arrangements Directions, 2025, which will come into effect on January 1, 2026. These guidelines will likely broaden the scope of co-lending 1️⃣ Mandatory Skin in the Game – Each Regulated Entity (RE) must retain minimum 10% of every loan (no shadow partnerships) 2️⃣ Blended Interest Rate – Final rate to borrower = weighted average of each lender’s rate. All fees to be factored into APR & Key Facts Statement 3️⃣ 15-Day Transfer Rule – Partner RE must book its share within 15 days of disbursement. Else, loan stays with originator 4️⃣ Default Loss Guarantee Cap – Max 5% of outstanding loans allowed 5️⃣ Borrower-Level Asset Classification – If one lender marks SMA/NPA, the other must follow 6️⃣ Escrow Account Mandate – All transactions to flow through an escrow, ensuring clear fund appropriation 7️⃣ Full Disclosure – Public list of co-lending partners + detailed reporting in financials Bottom line: Clearer rules, stronger consumer protection, tighter operational discipline >> co-lending just got a lot more transparent. #RBI #CoLending #NBFC #Fintech #Credit https://lnkd.in/gKxrz_hC

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India’s boldest startups deserve long-term capital that stays the course. 360 ONE Asset’s ₹500 Cr early-stage VC strategy has been launched, with 4 deals closed across diverse sectors. A core part of our ‘Idea to IPO’ capital stack. Read Abhishek Nag, Senior Fund Manager & Strategy Head, Early-Stage VC, 360 ONE Asset’s interview in Mint here: https://lnkd.in/diBcy86N 360 ONE

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📈 Strategic sales accounted for 50% of VC exits in H1 2025, totalling USD 229 Mn across 23 deals. As capital turns cautious, founders are opting for outcomes over optics, leveraging M&As to unlock scale, access, and stability. From Fisdom and Minimalist to Outplay and Milk Mantra, the story is clear: consolidation is driving liquidity in an evolving ecosystem. Our founder, Pearl, shared her thoughts with #TheHinduBusinessLine on why early-stage investors and disciplined founders are leaning into strategic exits in this environment. 📰 Dive into the full story: https://lnkd.in/gbGRbpHB ---- Sindhu Hariharan businessline | #VCExits #EximiusVentures #PreSeed #VC #FounderFirst

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🚀 Funding Update in the Indian Startup Ecosystem Mumbai-based Luma fertility, a tech-enabled fertility care startup, has successfully raised $4 million in seed funding, led by Peak XV Partners (via its Surge program), along with participation from notable investors like Ameera Shah (Metropolis Healthcare) and Vijay Taparia (B2V Ventures). Founded by Neha K Motwani, Luma Fertility is building a patient-first platform to offer end-to-end reproductive care—covering IVF, fertility assessments, egg freezing, at-home diagnostics, and more. The startup is leveraging technology and empathy to modernize fertility services in India. 📍 With a flagship clinic in Bandra West, Mumbai, Luma now aims to expand across multiple cities over the next two years. This is yet another sign of rising investor confidence in healthtech and femtech sectors in India. As a funding consultant, I closely track such movements and assist businesses in navigating their own equity and debt funding journeys. 📩 If you're a startup or growing company looking to raise capital or explore funding options, feel free to connect. #FundingNews #StartupFunding #SeedFunding #LumaFertility #PeakXV #HealthTech #FemTech #IndianStartups #Linkedin #techindia #healthcare

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I run many reference checks on founders during our due diligence process at NXTP Ventures. Generally speaking, there are two types of founder refs: 1️⃣ VC network references (Type 1) 2️⃣ References provided by founders (Type 2) Type 1 references are run by VCs using their network. These reference calls have the advantage that the reference can speak candidly—their feedback is unencumbered. Type 2 references are individuals selected by the founder to vouch for them, so it is generally harder to get negative feedback from them. But that does not make these calls less revealing. A "bad" type reference is characterized by a total lack of enthusiasm about the founder—nothing too negative, but nothing outstanding either. On these calls, I look for information that suggests the person you are referencing is an outlier. They set themselves apart in at least one crucial aspect: Leadership skills, technical prowess, work ethic, product vision, or something else meaningful to a start-up's success. The best references consistently comment on the founder's outlier characteristics, and the raw enthusiasm and admiration for the founder shine through. You walk away from the call feeling like you want to have the founder on your team. That is when I get most excited. #VC #Duediligence #Founder #References

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At Riverwalk Holdings we were among the earliest backers of Karza (By Perfios), investing when ‘Fin Infra SaaS’ wasn’t even a category. Having seen their full journey from 0–1 to 1–100 and then a successful exit to Perfios in ’22, we deeply understand what it takes to build foundational fintech infrastructure — and we’re here to help the next generation do it even bigger and bolder. In our latest monthly piece, we dive into the current state of the Fin Infra SaaS market, the challenges that companies have to navigate and themes we are bullish on (link in comments) Jai Satveer Abhishek Ali Avik

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𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗜𝗙? 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝘆-𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲. I sat down with Lion Amirr Virani on The Koffee Conversation Show to discuss the practical realities of launching an AIF—specifically for fund managers who are navigating the transition from a strategy to a structured entity. You can watch the full breakdown here: https://lnkd.in/gcjkBDJJ After structuring 50+ funds, I’ve seen that the first time fund managers often start with a belief that "structuring an AIF" is a clerical exercise but end up realizing it is an architectural challenge. We tackled the questions that actually matter to a Fund manager long-term success: 𝟭. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 "𝗪𝗵𝘆" 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 "𝗛𝗼𝘄": Why do you actually need an AIF? We discussed why this flexible structure isn't for everyone and how to avoid over-complicating your vehicle before you’ve even made your first call for capital. 𝟮. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘃𝘀. 𝗗𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗗𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗺𝗮: We broke down the rule of thumb for choosing a jurisdiction. Is your capital global or local? Your answer changes your entire structural foundation. 𝟯. 𝗔𝗜𝗙𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀: How sophisticated family-managed businesses are using AIFs to "ring-fence" their wealth , use QIB status and create professional investment verticals that operate like institutional platforms. It was a great session, moving past the theory and into the practical realities of what it takes to run a fund today. 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸: What is the one structural hurdle you wish someone had told you about before you launched your first scheme? Let’s share some insights below. #AIF #FundManagers #GiftCity #VentureCapital #PrivateEquity #AssetManagement #FamilyOffice

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