Rishi Navani’s Epiq Capital closes second fund at $225 million

“70% to 80% of the Nifty 50 will be tech firms in the near future; our aim is to find and invest in them,” Navani said during the fund close announcement. The venture capital firm has already backed startups such as eyewear retailer Lenskart, news aggregator Dailyhunt, fitness platform Cultfit, app development company Builder.ai, and healthtech startup Pristyn Care.

These companies have an average annualised revenue run rate of over $250 million and have achieved over 75% revenue CAGR over the last three years, a statement from Epiq Capital said.

For the second fund, Navani said Epiq had roped in both domestic and global investors, unlike with its maiden fund, which was sponsored solely by foreign limited partners.

“We don’t have a large portfolio, we’re very selective about the companies we invest in… but when we invest, we invest with aplomb,” Navani said.

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The new fund comes at a time when venture funding in India has slowed significantly and valuations are being pared by investors. Large US investors have been marking down several of their startup bets, including in India, with the likes of _{Swiggy, PharmEasy, Pine Labs, and Byju’s, among others. Epiq Capital was launched five years ago by Navani, who had cofounded venture capital fund Matrix Partners along with Avnish Bajaj in 2006. While it took a few years for the fund to kick off, since 2018, Epiq has been selectively getting into bigger companies in certain sectors.}