Stride Ventures wraps up $165 million India Fund III, eyes diverse investments across key sectors

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Venture debt firm Stride Ventures has announced the closure of its India Fund III at $165 million, achieved within a year of the first close in 2023. This third fund has a diverse mix of investors, that includes insurance companies, family offices, corporate treasuries and high networth individuals.

Discussing the strategic direction for Fund III, Apoorva Sharma, Managing Partner at Stride Ventures said, “The idea is to invest in about 50 to 60 companies across the length and breadth of the startup ecosystem. In terms of sector focus, for US consumer has been a primary sector for us and around 40% of our earlier two funds has also been consumer. So it will still remain one of our priority sectors. I would say consumer financial services and clean tech which encompasses whether it’s companies in the solar space or EV space, etc. So these three sectors will be priority to us and about 55 to 60 companies that we intend to invest over the course of next one year out of Fund III.”

Retail tech startup, Daalchini Technologies, through its smart vending machines, is offering 24/7 convenience to customers. The firm extended its reach to over 200 brands. Since its inception, the company has grown about 22% to 24% on a quarterly basis.

Daalchini which provides instant meals through IoT-enabled physical vending machines has a presence across 100 sites which include startups, co-working spaces, MNCs, hospitals and more. CNBC-TV18 spoke to Prerna Kalra, Co-Founder & CEO of Daalchini Tech to find out more about their growth plans.

If you are thinking of jumping a traffic junction, think twice! Artificial intelligence will capture your violation and track you down for a challan. But, who is enabling the police? Well, it’s a Hyderabad-based and T-hub incubated startup called Pushpak AI, which is not only helping the police, it has another technology that will help you stay less irritated on the Indian roads. CNBC-TV18’s Akhil Vishwanath gets more details.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow