In a sign of growing global confidence in India-led innovation, Nexus Venture Partners has closed its eighth fund — a $700 million vehicle focused on early-stage bets across AI, enterprise software, consumer, and fintech in both India and the US.
The raise mirrors its previous $700 million fund from 2023, but this time, Nexus is signalling a sharper, more deliberate strategy: equal commitment to India and the US, while doubling down on cross-border founders building for the world.
The fund continues to be led by general partners Abhishek Sharma and Jishnu Bhattacharjee in the US, and Anup Gupta and Sujan in India — a combined leadership that has helped Nexus back some of the most consequential startups emerging from the region.
Over the years, Nexus has quietly built one of the strongest track records in the ecosystem. The firm says it has returned about $700 million in cash in recent years through partial and full exits, with total liquidity reaching $1.5–2 billion since inception. Its exit portfolio includes names like Delhivery, PubMatic, Cloud.com, Mezi, and Gluster.
Nexus’ early-backer instincts have also paid off with breakout companies such as Zepto, Rapido, Turtlemint, Postman, and Apollo, where it continues to hold meaningful stakes as one of the earliest believers.
Speaking about the new fund, Nexus GP Sujan highlighted a balanced strategy: if the firm backs 30 companies, 15 will focus on Digital India, and 15 on global software. And the math is simple — “If we get one to two global enterprise AI winners and one or two digital India winners, that’s enough to return the fund multiple times,” he said.
Looking ahead, Nexus sees the next phase of Indian innovation being shaped by operationally intensive businesses like Rapido, Zepto, and Snabbit, while actively scouting opportunities in wealth-tech, payments, and modern lending.
For India’s startup ecosystem — especially founders building at the intersection of AI and global enterprise — Nexus’ latest raise signals deep conviction and long-term commitment.
-By Muskan Dengra
