Sidbi Venture Capital fund marks first close of Rs 1,600 crore Antariksh Spacetech Fund

SIDBI Venture Capital Ltd (SVCL), the investment branch of SIDBI, has launched the Antariksh Venture Capital Fund (AVCF) with an initial amount of ₹1,005 crore. Most of this, ₹1,000 crore, comes from IN-SPACe, India’s space promotion organization.

The fund aims to raise a total of ₹1,600 crore from both Indian and foreign investors, including institutions and government-backed funds.

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The fund is registered as a Category II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) with a ten-year term. It will invest in early and growth-stage Indian spacetech startups. These startups may work on launch systems, satellites and payloads, in-space services, ground services, earth observation, communications, and other related applications.

“Over the years, SVCL-managed funds have backed category-defining companies, including unicorns like BillDesk and Data Patterns. The Antariksh Venture Capital Fund, India’s largest spacetech-focused fund and among the largest globally, will play an instrumental role in advancing national space capability and competitiveness,” SVCL’s managing director Arup Kumar said.

The fund got SEBI’s approval on October 31. Soon after, IN-SPACe and SIDBI signed an agreement to start the VC fund. In March, SIDBI Venture Capital was chosen as the fund manager for the ₹1,000 crore fund.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman first announced the spacetech fund in her July 2024 budget speech. She said the fund supports the government’s focus on growing the space economy and encouraging private-sector research and innovation at a commercial scale.

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