Early-stage venture capital in India is maturing, with investors sharpening their focus on disciplined allocation, sector depth and long-term value creation. Anirudh A Damani, director at Artha India Ventures, says the firm’s strategy is to back founders early while retaining the ability to double down on winners as they scale. In a conversation with businessline, he outlines the firm’s investment philosophy, sectoral bets and approach to exits.
Edited excerpts:
How has Artha evolved as an investment platform over the years?
We manage over ₹2,400 crore in AUM (assets under management) today, but this has been a compounding journey rather than a step change. Each fund has built on the discipline and learnings of the previous one. Our first fund, at ₹225 crore, helped establish underwriting discipline and delivered over 5x TVPI (total value to paid-in capital) with strong IRR (internal rate of return) and real distributions. We have since added vehicles like the ‘Select Fund’ to double down on top-performing companies and ‘Continuum’ to bring in family offices. ‘Venture Fund II’ remains our core early-stage engine.
What defines your investment thesis today?
Our thesis is simple — the strongest companies are built in constrained environments. We look for founders who demonstrate early revenue traction and clarity on scaling up. At a portfolio level, we start wide but concentrate aggressively. We deploy about 30 per cent of capital at entry and reserve nearly 70 per cent for follow-ons. This allows us to build meaningful ownership in companies that are actually working, rather than spreading ourselves too thin.
Which sectors are you bullish on currently?
Applied AI is a key focus area, particularly where it delivers measurable outcomes rather than being a superficial layer. Deep-tech is another area where India is seeing a shift from concept to execution, especially in space-tech and semiconductors. Fintech infrastructure also continues to evolve, with increasing sophistication in underwriting and compliance. On the consumer side, premiumisation is emerging as a structural trend.
How do you balance early-stage investing with follow-on capital?
Our core focus remains early-stage because that is where we can engage most meaningfully with founders. But continuity is equally important. Through our ‘Select Fund’ we continue to back companies as they move into Series B and C. The idea is to not lose exposure to our best-performing assets just as they begin to scale up. Early-stage investing is not about access — it is about judgement and follow-through.
What has been your experience with exits and investment horizon?
We have completed over 35 exits so far, and our view is that liquidity matters more than the format. Typically we see three exit windows — early exits if the thesis breaks; high-IRR exits around Series C; and long-term IPOs for companies that achieve institutional scale. Increasingly, we are seeing more portfolio companies reaching the 9– to 12-year mark, where public markets become a viable outcome.
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Published on April 13, 2026