Growth-stage investor Elev8 Venture Partners has marked the final close of its maiden fund at Rs 1,400 crore ($160 million) — about 20 percent lower than its initial $200 million target.

The Bengaluru-based company chose a reduced corpus to alleviate return pressures and rely on co-investments from its limited partners (LPs), a strategy it believes will facilitate greater overall capital inflows into portfolio companies without expanding the fund size.

The growth-stage investor has allocated one-third of the fund by investing $8–14 million each in five startups — astrology service Astrotalk, identity verification company IDfy, investment platform Smallcase, logistics provider Porter, and BNPL firm Snapmint.

The leftover funds will be utilized in the upcoming 12 to 18 months. The company intends to concentrate its investments in areas such as fintech, software-as-a-service, B2B platforms, and consumer products.

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The company plans to invest in three additional firms this year and support five startups next year. It seeks to completely allocate its fund's capital by the end of 2026 to mid-2027, with an average investment amounting to $12-15 million.

Overall, investor (limited partner) optimism remains elevated. A significant amount of capital is ready to be invested in India.

“There is sufficient capital available for the right companies and prospects,” says Navin Honagudi, Managing Partner at Elev8 Venture Partners.

In September 2022, Elev8 aimed to raise a $200 million fund but ultimately closed at $160 million. The fund is supported by KB Investment, a segment of South Korea's largest financial group KB Holdings, which has provided approximately 20 percent of the overall capital.

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Elev8’s limited partner pool is approximately divided equally between local and international investors, comprising institutions, family offices, and high net-worth individuals (HNIs). Supported by the incubator Venture Catalysts, the fund aims at businesses in fintech, software-as-a-service (SaaS), business-to-business (B2B) platforms, and consumer brands.