Campus Fund launches $100M fund to back student-led start-ups
What's the story
Campus Fund, a venture capital firm that invests in student-led start-ups, has launched its third and largest fund yet. The new fund has a corpus of $100 million (approximately ₹825 crore) and has already raised over $50 million in its first close. The fund is backed by family offices, entrepreneurs, industrialists, and financial institutions such as 360 One (formerly IIFL Wealth).
Investment strategy
Plan to invest in 60-80 start-ups over next 4 years
The Fund III has already made two early-stage investments, including one in Serendipity Space, a company that processes pharmaceutical compounds in space. With this fund, Campus Fund plans to invest in 60-80 start-ups over the next four years. The initial investment per start-up will be between ₹1 crore and ₹8 crore. About half of the fund will be reserved for follow-on investments.
Entrepreneurial support
Next big start-up could emerge from anywhere in India
Richa Bajpai, the CEO of Campus Fund, emphasized their commitment to supporting student entrepreneurs with this new fund. She said, "With Fund III, we double down on our conviction that student founders aren't just dreamers—they're doers." Bajpai also highlighted that the next big start-up could emerge from anywhere in India, not just Silicon Valley or Bengaluru, but even a hostel room in Bhopal or a garage in Surat.
Past performance
Campus Fund's journey so far
Campus Fund launched its first fund of ₹7 crore in July 2020, which was invested in 10 start-ups. In 2022, it launched its second fund of $10 million. The firm's portfolio companies include Expand My Business, Digantara and EtherealX (space-tech firms), Sarla (flying taxis company), and D-Nome (decentralized genomics infrastructure).