Nandan Nilekani's new venture bets ₹3,000cr on AI, deep-tech start-ups
What's the story
Fundamentum Partnership, the venture capital firm co-founded by Nandan Nilekani, has launched a new investment platform called F2A (Fundamentum Frontier Advisors). The platform will focus on investing in artificial intelligence (AI) and deep-tech start-ups. The firm has committed ₹3,000 crore to this initiative. Of this amount, ₹2,000 crore will be raised through an alternative investment fund (AIF), while the remaining ₹1,000 crore will be deployed through co-investments with other investors.
New addition
Debraj Banerjee joins as general partner
Former SIDBI Venture Capital senior fund manager Debraj Banerjee has joined the F2A platform as a general partner. He will co-lead its AI and deep-tech strategy. Sanjeev Kumar, another co-founder of Fundamentum Partnership, said that F2A will invest across consumer AI, enterprise AI, and physical AI start-ups with cheque sizes ranging from ₹40 crore to ₹90 crore.
Investment plan
Targeting 12-15 companies in 3 years
The F2A platform plans to back around 12-15 companies over the next three years. Kumar said that the fund's limited partner (LP) base will be a mix of domestic and international investors, with more than half of the capital expected from India. He also noted a structural shift in how AI and deep-tech are being built and adopted across sectors.
Target sectors
Focus on commercialization stage companies
Kumar said that the firm will focus on companies at commercialization stages rather than early research phases. The sectors being looked at include semiconductors, drones, robotics, quantum computing, energy transition and space tech. He believes India has a "right to win" in these areas. Kumar also said that the platform has already gone into active deployment mode and expects to invest in four-five companies over the next nine months.
Strategy
Sovereignty tech will be a focus area
The platform will also explore opportunities in "sovereignty tech" - sectors where India wants more domestic capabilities and supply-chain independence. Kumar said, "One part of our diligence process is evaluating how much of the supply chain can eventually be localized in India." He added that if founders are not aligned with that long-term vision, they are unlikely to invest.