100Unicorns launches $200 million fund, plans to deploy it in 5.5 yrs

Early-stage accelerator firm 100Unicorns, formerly 9Unicorns, has launched its second fund with a total corpus of $ 200 million, which it plans to invest in 200 startups over a period of 5.5 years, a senior official of the company said.

Venture Catalysts Group Managing Director and 100Unicorns Cofounder Apoorva Ranjan Sharma said the fund size is $ 100 million with 100 million greenshoe option.

"We expect to announce the first close of $ 100 million by November. The fund will be invested in 200 startups. 

The plan is to deploy the entire fund in five years after the first close in November," Sharma said.

The accelerator fund provides funding ranging from $ 300,000 to $ 1 million per startup in the first round, along with extensive product, business and fundraising support.

This is followed by $ 500,000 to $ 2 million in subsequent rounds with co-investors.

The company has rebranded itself as 100Unicorns from 9Unicorns with the aim to create 100 unicorns (startups valued at $ 1 billion) under its second fund.

"There is a consistent investment requirement in India. There is a player which is required to do at least 1,000 investments in the next 7 years and develop these companies. 

Our target is to create 100 unicorns potentially in the next 10 years," Sharma said.It had invested in 140 startups across fintech, deeptech, enterprise SaaS, web 3.0, fintech, media, insuretech, healthtech, edutech, and direct-to-customers (D2C) firms.

"For the last fund, we evaluated around 14,000 startups and invested in 1 % of them. Similarly, for the second fund we expect to evaluate 20,000 startups," Sharma said.

Some of the portfolio companies of 100Unicorns under fund 1 are Wiom, BluSmart, DrinkPrime, LeverageEdu, Prescinto, ZyppElectric.

"We will include 10-15 % global startups. We have partners in the Middle East and Africa and soon are going to have partners in Singapore and the US who will help us in getting local startups.

"We are also setting up an entity in Dubai. Today, there are 5,000 venture capitalists who are investing in India. 

India is becoming an interesting destination where global VCs will grow," Sharma said.He said US-based Y Combinator has made around 4,500 investments and has 91 unicorns in its portfolio and 100Unicorns is trying make a similar impact in India.

Sharma said 70 % of the total corpus was committed by domestic investors, but the company will try to increase the share of global investors in the second fund.