Sauce VC closes Rs 750 crore opportunities fund

Sauce VC, a venture capital firm that invests in consumer brands, has raised a fund of ₹700–750 crore to support some of its fast-growing portfolio companies.

The new fund will support four to five early-stage startups from Sauce VC’s portfolio, helping the firm invest more in its top picks. These include ice-cream brand Hocco, clean-label snacks maker The Whole Truth, luggage brand Mokobara, skincare startup Innovist, apparel brand XYXX, and petcare company Supertails.

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“With this fund, we can now write cheques of up to Rs 250 crore in our highest-conviction bets, allowing us to back companies from the idea stage all the way to IPO,” founder and managing partner Manu Chandra said. “Our approach is simple…stay concentrated and build returns by doubling down. When we find a strong company and founder, we want to partner with them in a meaningful, long-term way.”

“It is the first time we’ve raised capital from large global institutions outside India. We’ve raised about $66-67 million (about Rs 600 crore) from overseas investors, along with around Rs 160 crore from domestic backers,” Chandra said. “The international capital has come largely from the US, Europe, the Middle East, Singapore and Hong Kong, spanning large global institutions and family offices.”

After closing its second opportunities fund, Sauce VC plans to launch its fourth early-stage fund by July 2026.

Sauce VC was founded in 2019 by Manu Chandra and focuses on pre-seed, pre-revenue startups. The firm backs companies early and works closely with founders through their zero-to-one journey. Its first fund was ₹60 crore, mostly from personal capital and close networks. The second fund was ₹158 crore, supporting 13 startups, while Fund III closed at ₹360 crore in 2024.

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Sauce’s portfolio includes 31 startups, mainly in the D2C space. Some of its early-stage investments are Hoovu, Postcard, Aroleap, and Loopie.

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