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Bengaluru-based venture capital firm Gemba Capital launched its second fund, targeting a corpus of Rs 250 crore, including a green shoe option of Rs 50 crore.

Gemba Capital’s Fund-II plans to invest in 30 pre-seed and seed startups, especially “platform-first” businesses in fintech, consumer tech, and B2B sectors, each with an initial Rs 5 crore cheque and a 30% reserve ratio for follow-on investments.

“Our journey has evolved from investing proprietary capital to running an angel syndicate and then raising and investing from our Rs 70 crore Fund-I. We are now looking to partner with institutional LPs for our Rs 250 crore Fund-II. The Indian early-stage startup ecosystem needs more institutional capital to be deployed through Single-Stage VC funds like us,” said Adith Podhar, General Partner, Gemba Capital.

Established in 2018, Gemba Capital is a micro VC fund focusing on consumer internet, SaaS, fintech, and deeptech sectors and has invested in 50 startups. Its Fund I, established in 2022, had a corpus of Rs 70 crore, with an average cheque size of Rs 2 crore.

“We are one of the leading institutional micro VC funds in India at the seed stage, and we remain committed to being a seed investor. Founders recognise the immense value we bring to the captable, which sets us apart. The fund has supported its portfolio companies in multiple areas, including customer introductions, fundraising and strategic planning,” said Govind Lohia, Principal at Gemba Capital. 

It has invested in notable companies, including Plum, Grip Invest, Wint Wealth, Strata, Navadhan, Zuper, Showroom, Smartstaff, ClickPost, and LightFury.