Trifecta Capital Raises $130 Mn For Close Of Its Late-stage VC Fund The fund will invest in category-leading, late-stage tech startups that are likely to seek liquidity outcomes in the next one-three years. The fund has already made commitments to five companies

Trifecta Capital on Tuesday announced the first close of its late-stage venture capital Fund - Trifecta Leaders Fund – I, with commitments of over $130 million.

The fund was launched 3 months ago and has a target corpus of $200 million. The first close has seen strong participation from domestic investors including large corporates, insurance companies, marquee family offices, UHNIs, and entrepreneurs. Existing investors of Trifecta Capital's Venture Debt Funds have also made significant investments in this Fund. For the balance of $70 million, the firm is in discussions with several domestic and global institutional investors.

Trifecta Leaders Fund – I will invest in a targeted set of category leaders, selected predominantly from Trifecta Capital's portfolio across its Venture Debt Funds where the firm has proprietary knowledge of the businesses as well as deep relationships with founders and investors. The Fund will invest $15-30 million each in around 10-12 companies for minority stakes, through a combination of primary and secondary positions.

"Through this new Fund, we aim to provide investors access to the value creation opportunity in the last leg of private to public journey of tech companies. With strong institutional investor interest in Indian internet, we expect listings of several large well-known startups, and the creation of liquidity for existing investors as these companies tap the public markets for their longer-term financing needs. We believe that Trifecta Leaders Fund-I is an attractive opportunity for investors who have so far been unable to access these great companies since they are predominantly funded by offshore VC and PE funds," said Rahul Khanna, co-founder and managing partner, Trifecta Capital.

The Fund is filling a structural gap in the late-stage VC ecosystem in India, and in addition to primary infusions, will cater to the unmet needs of late-stage companies by providing off-cycle liquidity to early investors, angels, current and former employees including consolidation of equity cap tables.

"Having built a strong foundation over the last six years, we have expanded the Trifecta Capital platform to address new investment opportunities arising in the maturing Indian tech ecosystem. We are overwhelmed with the support of the investor community for our Equity Fund and are excited to be active market participants in the late-stage VC ecosystem in India. With the addition of this Fund, Trifecta Capital is truly a lifecycle partner to startups, starting with Venture Debt at the early growth/ growth stage and then with Equity financing at the late stage," commented Nilesh Kothari, managing partner, Trifecta Capital.

With a term of only five years, Trifecta Capital believes this Fund provides a unique investment opportunity for investors, both domestic and offshore, to partner with India's new economy category leaders that are already executing at scale, and will continue to grow significantly over this decade.

"At Trifecta Capital, we are leveraging our existing relationships as well as strong equity investing and exit experience to extend our financing capabilities to late-stage companies. Having already made five investment commitments from the Fund, we are solving for diverse capital needs spanning primary capital for growth and off-cycle liquidity to early investors. Our team is equipped with the skills and experience to partner with founders as they embark on the path to finding permanent sources of capital and will fill a structural gap in the late-stage VC financing landscape," added Lavanya Ashok, partner, Trifecta Activity.

Trifecta Capital, across its two Venture Debt Funds, has invested in over 75 companies and its portfolio now comprises 20 unicorns and soonicorns including Big Basket, Pharmeasy, Cars24, Vedantu, Infra.Market, ShareChat, DailyHunt, UrbanCompany, CarDekho, Blackbuck, Ninjacart, NoBroker, Kreditbee, Dehaat, Turtlemint, Livspace, Mobikwik, Ixigo, and BharatPe amongst several others. These companies cumulatively valued at $22 billion have raised over $8 billion in equity from the marquee, global VC funds and have created substantial value in the digital economy. With the launch of Trifecta Leaders Fund-I, the firm is extending its platform capabilities as a lifecycle capital provider to the startup ecosystem.