Aakrit Vaish, a co-founder of artificial intelligence startup Haptik that was acquired by Reliance Industries Ltd in 2019, and a former executive at early-stage venture capital firm Together Fund have launched a $75 million (around Rs 675 crore) VC fund to invest in Indian AI companies.
The new early-stage VC firm, called Activate Venture Partners, aims to support founders at inception, often before a company officially exists, with investments ranging from $500,000 to $3 million.
Vaish has partnered with Pratyush Choudhury, former principal at Together Fund, to build what they describe as a platform for India’s next wave of AI innovation. Activate is intended to bring together technical talent, founders and resources in a single ecosystem, a model Vaish calls India’s native AI institution.
Vaish, who returned to India in 2013 with the goal of building AI in the country, has previously invested in over 100 startups, helped co-create TEAM for Mumbai and contributed to India’s sovereign AI strategy through the IndiaAI Mission. He said in a LinkedIn post that the fund combines these experiences with the partners’ decades-long experience in building AI companies, investing, running founder communities and shaping national AI policy.
“The world has built its AI moment. India’s is just beginning,” Vaish said. “India clearly has the technical talent and more entrepreneurial ambition than ever before, and now we also have the scale and infrastructure to participate in AI and lead the way. What is missing is a platform that brings it all together. Activate is designed to play that role.”
Vaish didn't disclose any details of the fundraising but Activate's website shows its limited partners include more than two dozen founders and top executives of techology companies and venture capital firms. These include Perplexity founder Aravind Srinivas, Peak XV Partners’ Shailendra Singh, Z47’s Avnish Bajaj, Dream11 founder Harsh Jain, Paytm’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma, and UpGrad’s Ronnie Screwvala.
The fund plans to support teams tackling core AI challenges and aims to accelerate applications across healthcare, education, agriculture, manufacturing and BPO services. Vaish said Activate will work closely with founders from day zero to lay the foundations for their companies, with guidance from top Indian founders, global AI leaders and leading research scientists.
“Activate will support AI doctors, AI tutors, AI farmers, and even our own AI research breakthroughs,” Vaish said. “The next time someone asks where AI in India is, the answer is simple. It starts here, it starts now.”