Stride Ventures Closes $200 Mn Worth Fund To Back 60-70 Startups

Venture debt company Stride Ventures has closed its second fund, the $200 million Stride Ventures India Fund II. Over a four-year period, the fund will write off checks totalling $4-$5 million to 60-70 businesses. The sector-agnostic fund has so far supported companies in a variety of industries, including consumer, fintech, agritech, B2B commerce, healthtech, B2B SaaS, mobility, and energy solutions.

Yubi (formerly CredAvenue), MyGlamm, Zepto, BluSmart, Uni, Upstox, WayCool, MensaBrands, MediBuddy, Wiz Freight, Perfios, Moneyview, VideoVerse, Chalo, and Groyyo are among the firms in the fund's portfolio. Banks, marquee family offices, corporate companies, sovereign funds, private equity funds, insurance companies, and well-off individuals have all made commitments to the fund.

"Stride Ventures has already given a portion of the fund to firms that are leaders in their fields, and our objective is to keep serving as a preferred lender while also creating creative other funding options for entrepreneurs. According to our mission, we have successfully helped them expand their businesses while providing our investors with the finest returns in the market, according to Ishpreet Singh Gandhi, Stride Ventures' founder and managing partner.

The venture debt company was founded in 2019 and is run by Gandhi and Abhinav Suri. Both partners have banking industry experience. They've worked for organisations like Citi, ANZ, IDFC, Kotak Bank, and Yes Bank.

The current business climate has made successful companies more receptive to debt transactions than ever before. "We are certain that we will continue to contribute to accelerating the expansion of the ecosystem. The success of our second fund is a testament to this," said Apoorva Sharma, partner at Stride Ventures.

Stride claims to have invested over INR 1600 Cr in more than 70 businesses, including those that provide energy, mobility, consumer, and B2B SaaS products as well as fintech, agritech, and B2B commerce services. After raising INR 550 Cr., Stride closed the first closure of their second fund in August 2021.