Homegrown venture capital firm Elevation Capital, which typically makes early-stage bets, has forayed into late-stage investing with the launch of a dedicated fund, driven by growing momentum and maturity in India’s startup ecosystem.
The VC firm, formerly known as SAIF Partners, has launched Elevation Holdings to back late-stage companies preparing to go public in one-three years.
“Elevation Holdings is a unique late-stage vehicle dedicated to supporting technology founders who are seeking to go public in India in the near future,” the firm said in a statement.
The vehicle, which has a corpus of $400 million (Rs 3,516 crore), will aim to make concentrated, high-conviction investments, remaining committed well beyond the IPO.
“India today has a large set of category-leading companies that are profitable or very close to profitability, run by founders who are still young and ambitious,” said Mridul Arora, partner, Elevation Capital, in response to VCCircle’s queries. “Our intention is to partner with companies that are one-three years away from IPO, and back them with patient, long-term capital.”
Cheque sizes will range between $20 million and $50 million. The company is also open to doubling down on previous bets. “The vehicle is very flexible – it can be primary or secondary, and can support ESOP buybacks as well. The goal is to be a non-intrusive partner, while still being meaningful enough on the cap table to support founders in their journey to and beyond IPO,” Arora added.
Elevation plans to make 10-15 selective investments over the life of the fund, with two-four deals annually. According to Arora, the fund will target category leaders that are profitable or nearing profitability, with proven unit economics.
In terms of sectors, Elevation Holdings will focus on tech-enabled companies, primarily in consumer and financial services, sectors where it has a strong track record of backing category-defining and ambitious founders over the years.
Notably, the firm has already made its first investment from the fund in Spinny, an existing portfolio firm. “We are equally keen to partner with very high-quality businesses outside our portfolio where we may not have had the chance to invest earlier,” Arora said. “The mix will depend on opportunities available, but we expect it to be fairly balanced between existing portfolio winners and new companies we deeply admire.”
Elevation Holdings is positioned as a complement to the firm’s early-stage strategy. “Our approach will continue to be anchored in Elevation’s venture DNA, taking a long-term view, being close thought partners to founders, and focusing on building defensibility and unlocking new optionalities rather than only short-term metrics,” Arora said.
The new vehicle will be managed by the same investment team, with members who bring prior experience in growth and late-stage investing, dedicating most of their time to the new platform, the firm said.
The fund’s launch comes amid a potential pipeline of late-stage exits Elevation is eyeing.
It recently sold its stake in Le Travenues Technology Ltd, the parent company of travel platform ixigo, which listed on the bourses last year. It has also logged exits from Swiggy and Firstcry. Its portfolio includes Aye Finance, Urban Company, Acko, Wakefit, and Meesho, which are all preparing to go public.
“We’ve seen how generational companies are built, and we know the journey doesn’t end at IPO–in many ways, that’s just the beginning. With this experience, we believe we are uniquely positioned to support the journey to going public and, more importantly, what comes the day after,” the firm said in a statement.
The company is actively deploying from its $670 million Fund VIII, its largest India-focused early-stage fund, which closed in 2022. The fund focuses on seed to Series A startups, with recent bets including Jeh Aerospace, BlissClub, and secondary stake purchases in Wakefit ahead of its IPO.
